Moving Heavy Things

by Jan Adkins, 48 pages, 10¼x6¾, softcover. Years ago, I received a copy of this little book as a gift from my dear friend Carol Bryan, who inscribed it: “May your back be forever young.” I often turn to it for instruction and for amusement. Written the year I was born, the book becomes increasingly relevant as I find myself looking for smarter ways to lug the rocks, soil, wood and water that life demands be moved from here to there. Adkins writes, “As you begin this business of moving heavy things you should know that you have a disadvantage: your body.” With humorous line drawings and simple precepts and instructions, Adkins finds ways to move any heavy thing by employing ingenuity, simple tools (i.e. wedges, jacks, levers, line) and often a friend. The lessons are practical, grounded in historical wisdom and physics, and the sentiments and illustrations will please readers of all ages. -Elisabeth Benjamin