Making the Adobe Brick

Berkeley, California: Fifth Street Press - An Imprint of Bookworks, 1972. Second Printing Stated . Trade Paperback. Very Good. 7"X10 1/2. - A Handy Alphabetical Guide to the Repertoire, Literature and Terminology of Magic and Magicians with 392 Illustrations. 88 Pages. This is the October 1972 Second Printing. Illustrated with photographs and drawings. Tight straight book with no marks. The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with all the information necessary to make adobe bricks that conform to the specifications of the Uniform Building Code, and thus can be used for building a home or other structure. My wife and I made 7,000 adobe bricks, totaling about 120 tons, and then built a nine room house with them. Much of my knowledge was gained through trial and error as I had no previous experience in this art, being a geologist by trade. Several persons have told me that they once had the intention of making adobe bricks but that the lack of good information on the subject had kept them from ever getting started. If the reader has similar ideas and is similarly frustrated, then perhaps this book will "engage his gears" for him. Good results can be accomplished if the prospective adobe-maker follows the basic ideas herein, uses common sense and is willing to perform a great amount of hard manual labor. Man has been making adobe bricks for several thousand years, and although they have constituted the main building material in several parts of the world the average American knows little more about them than to ask an experienced adobe, maker, "Do you use any straw?" The knowledge that the Israelites were forced to make them without straw for Pharoah seems an intrinsic part of most people's basic learning. Even though the uncomplicated procedure of making adobes is little known or practiced in the United States, there is a wide and deep regard for the appearance of adobes and of structures built with them, perhaps because they signify "Mother Earth." "Plain as a mud wall" is an old expression implying a great lack of physical beauty.