With our particular project - building a retaining wall with field stone recycled from decaying fences around our house in the Catskills - we found that Vivian's book did not include quite enough detail. He only supplies a few paragraphs on the construction of a retaining wall, though to be fair, what information he gives is practical. By itself, however, this would not have been enough to guide us through the project.

For more detailed information on retaining walls, we turned to "The Granite Kiss", "Stone in the Garden" and "The Art and Craft of Stonescaping." Keep in mind, however, that the latter two books are more lavishly illustrated, a cross between a how-to book and a coffee-table book, so you probably would not take them out in the field.

That said, if you have never worked with stone, and want to get an idea of what is involved in planning and preparation, finding and moving stone, and building a wall, Vivian's book is a practical and inexpensive book to buy first. Five stars for useful, concise information in a very usable format.


Very brief, minimal detail.   September 23, 2001
 29 out of 35 found this review helpful

This book concentrates on dry stone walls, even though the title does specifically say this. Although the book does mention mortar stone walls, minimal detail and description is provided. One could not possibly build a mortar stone wall from reading this book.


iNFORMATIONAL AS WELL AS ENTERTAINING   August 3, 1999
 17 out of 24 found this review helpful

Believe it or not, I read this book from the library of a house we rented in Kilcrohane, Ireland - we have always wanted to build stone walls and this book was an inspiration to begin in earnest. We live in Florida but that doesn't mean we can't have a beautiful stone wall like we saw in Ireland, or like they have in New England.


McRaven did it better!!   May 5, 2005
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

Charles McRaven's "Building Stone Walls" is much better. Covers all the material and techniques that Vivians book does and more! Don't waste your time on this book. If you're looking for more detail on working with stone, McCraven's book is the one.