Moving Heavy Things

Great book. It has all the info you need to move heavy things. The images are easy to understand and the book keeps the explanations simple.

This is a charming "physics 101" book for CHILDREN who are interested in moving heavy things. I'm surprised that the other reviewers who HATED this book didn't understand that the audience is CHILDREN, but don't let the nay-sayers deter you if you are buying for the intended audience. It's a charming, brief look at the history of power-schlepping simply written and nicely illustrated for the under-12 set. My son is interested in science and has found this to be an entertaining book. Most importantly, it is as much information on the subject as he requires at 9 years old. I recommend this book!

A little book about big stuff. How to use knots, ropes, chains, blocks, tackles, wedges, jacks, levers, ramps, motors and even, in worst case scenarios, your muscles, to levitate the lumps of matter that matter to you. Grand piano in a garret? Barrels of flour in a schooner? Cannon on a peak? Adkins is your man. Aptly illustrated by the author.

This book presents knowledge that is uncommon in our power tool saturated world. I think the greater value however is in the way that it encourages the reader to think outside the box that modernity puts us in. It includes a good foundation of technical information on the subject of moving heavy objects including the use of leverage, wedges, and rope etc. But it also emphasizes the use of creativity in solving problems that inspires the reader to cast off any assumptions of infeasibility and find the way our grandfathers would have gotten the job done.

I have owned and used and loved this book for years, and have given copies to good friends because I knew they'd love it too. The anecdotes the author uses to explain the ingenious tools and techniques people have come up with to "move their heavy things", are so well written and sometimes humorous you'll find yourself reading them just for entertainment, even if you never have a need to move anything. With drawings as witty as the writing, this book honors the ingenuity of our forebears, before the age of the hydraulic brutes that do all our work for us today. Farmers, sailors, pioneers, builders of all kinds, have solved these problems, and this book passes on this clever heritage.The pen and ink drawings are entertaining, and illustrate clearly how these tools and techniques work. One beauty is the trick of standing a tombstone up on ice cubes to facilitate positioning it over its base stone as the ice melts... without a scratch!Adkins outlines a number of principles our grandfathers followed to arrive at elegant solutions, while minimizing sweat and risk of injury. Two of my favorites are "Applied Sloth" and "The Geezer Ploy". I could go on, but why give away too much? Treat yourself or your favorite "mover of heavy things" to this little gem. It's worth every penny! I tried to buy a copy a few years ago, but was told it was out of print. I'm delighted to see it available again. I have a few more friends in mind...