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Rating: 
Summary: who's the audience?
Review: are woodworkers the target audience? no. this book is explicitly about carpentry, so it's not geared towards the legions of folks who know norm abram through his popular woodworking series on pbs. fair enough.carpenters? not really. norm does a great job describing the physical shape of just about every basic hand tool you can imagine, and how to hold it and use it. but if you've ever worked with--or even seen--the tools, you don't need to imagine them, and you're pretty aware that their use is not complicated. there are a few clever tips, but most of the information should be second nature to any carpenter. for instance, norm spends several pages--actually several mini-chapters of the book--describing how to snap chalk lines effectively. granted, this is an important procedure, but it's definitely not complex. would-be carpenters? maybe. let's be honest and admit that the basics of a practical craft like carpentry cannot be learned from a book describing tools and how to wield them. having said that, norm's experience certainly informs a good tip or two about which tools to choose, or how to find the telltale signs of quality toolmaking. if nothing else, this focus on hand tools proves that norm's famed preference for pricey power tools was engendered by many hours of working without them. he's a trustworthy fellow, and the book offers his advice up in spades; it's a simple distillation of years of hands-on work by a straight-talking carpenter. eager carpentry hobbyists looking for a quick read will find it an entertaining, if not particularly illuminating, read.
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Summary: Reader from Fairborn
Review: I am neither a carpenter nor a handy person but that didn't stop me from enjoying Norm Abrams' book. I found Mr. Abrams' book a delightful read his writing style is "let's sit down and have a cup of coffee and talk" comfortable and relax. Even if you don't have a home workshop with every tool ever manufactured give this book a chance and you just might find out a lot more about a man then what you see on TV.
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Summary: Measured Inspiration - A Nice Gift
Review: I was wary of this little book at first. Little inspirational volumes are popping up everywhere, and are usually less than inspiring, and far less than useful (there is a plague of these in recent fishing literature). Norm Abram's book is different. This is inspiration, yankee carpenter style. Abram discusses hand tools in a fair amount of detail, with some notes on proper use, level of efficiency, and personal preferences. A small smattering of stories about his father and his childhood experience doesn't detract from the practicality of all this; instead, Abram manages to show the roots of his profound knowledge, presumably leading us down the path of agreeing with his choices in an area where agreement can be difficult to reach. I am a novice carpenter at best. In fact, that's probably overly generous, but I can say with some confidence that any beginner will benefit from Abram's take on the evolution and utility of hand tools. But I'd also go so far as to say that even more experienced carpenters would enjoy this book. It's a rare opportunity to learn, from a master, some of the details about everyday tools that even experienced users might not be aware of.
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Summary: A short read... worth the effort
Review: I'd certainly agree that too much time was spent describing the appearance of each tool when a picture would suffice but for a new or novice user a description of the usage of each tool and the pros and cons of variations was interesting. This book is such a short read I'd recommend it to anyone getting started.
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Summary: Next best thing to talking with Norm personally
Review: It doesn't matter if you're a carpenter, a woodworker, a do-it-yourselfer, or a homemaker, you're going to enjoy reading and owning "Measure Twice, Cut Once" by Norm Abram. The things you will learn from this book are invaluable for any of the above. This book shows that Norm is not just the master carpenter and woodworker that we see on "This Old House," and "The New Yankee Workshop." As you will see, when you own this book, he is a very down-to-earth writer that has a knack of presenting hand tools and their functionalities in a light that you have not read before. In fact, as you read this book, you will most likely feel as if you were sitting with Norm at his kitchen table discussing these topics over a cup of coffee.
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Summary: I enjoyed and reread this book 8 times and took notes
Review: While it wasn't the technical treatise I had expected (and hoped for), it still was an enjoyable book to read. I spent the better part of a rainy Saturday absorbing the information it presented. The book is written in a manner that echoes Norm's own admitted style of learning: less lecture and more watching and listening. It presented useful tips and "secrets" in an easy to read and enjoy format. This book was written as a memorial to Norm's father, from whom his lifelong love of carpentry has come. It is a fitting tribute to the skills of both men, and I would recommend it for all but the strictest purists.
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