Joel White: Boatbuilder, Designer, Sailor

This is really a beautiful book that celebrates the life of boatbuilder, designer and ardent sailor Joel White. There's lots of color photography of the boats that he designed set against the scenic coast of Maine. All the photography was taken by Benjamin Mendlowitz, one of the very best marine photographers ever, IMO. There are sail plans and construction plans for each design, as well as technical analyses. It's important to know that the authors and photographer were good friends and sailing partners with White and provide a very intimate and readable portrait of a talented, special man. If you're into wooden boats and beautiful photography I can highly recommend this book.

This is a beautiful book. The pages are heavy, the type clear, and the pictures are very high quality. I was impressed at the quality of the book for the price. For those interested in sailing and wooden boats in particular this book is a feast for the eyes. The plans of Joel's boats which constitute the 2nd half of the book are wonderful - the best I have seen for this type of book. The text of the book while interesting is not as engaging but that is more than made up by the incredible pictures and plans. If only we could convince the authors and photographer to do a similar book on Olin Stephens. I recommend this book.