Lester Walker's new book contains over 40 invitations to explore -and maybe build-some of the most charming, eccentric, fantastical tiny houses ever built or conceived in America. Some are centuries old, some are exciting new ideas existing only in the imagination of these brilliant drawings and anecdotal stories. These houses are so small that anyone can afford to have one. And they are so thoughtfully designed that practically anyone can build one. Here is a tour of Thomas Jefferson's Honeymoon Cottage, Thoreau's cabin by Walden Pond, and George Bernard Shaw's writing hut. Each tiny house offers the dream of solitude, romance, meditation or whimsy. In the accompanying text Walker describes the background of each home or shelter, the community or setting where it is located, and the kind of living that is part of the experience. The illustrations naturally include floor plans and furniture layouts, plumbing and heating systems, details of construction and design, measurement specifications, and a square footage that never exceeds 325 square feet. Photographs of existing structures convey the charm of both the size and the setting whether it is a tiny house in the middle of a huge metropolis or a tiny house in the middle of the wilderness. There are tiny houses here that can be packed up and taken away on the top of a car, tiny houses designed just for eating, just for sleeping, just for writing poetry or reading. Tiny, tiny, tiny. There is a tiny house built in the back of a truck and a whole community of tiny shanties built on a frozen lake. There are tiny houses here by famous architects and there is a tiny house designed and built by a retired school teacher with only hand tools. Using sequenced drawings, exploded plans and detailed illustrations, Walker has discovered the essence of beautiful design in this delightful exploration of the tiny house Economy of space, seen through the earliest tiny houses of the settlers to the highly technological designs of today, reveals a persistent fascination with self- sufficiency in American living. With this book, everyone's dream of owning a home or building a second home in the country is at hand. There is a house and a dream in this book for everyone interested in the art and craft of housebuilding. Tiny Houses, with energy and style may be only a beginning. "Part history, part fantasy, part builder's guide, this engaging book reflects our continuing fascination with smallnessand miniaturization." Witold Rybczynski, author of Home 787