American Windmills. An Album of Historic Photographs

Editorial Review
Boasting nearly two hundred striking images, this book is the first devoted to photographs illustrating historic wind machines throughout North America.

T. Lindsay Baker, an expert historian on windmills, has written about wind-power history for twenty-five years. His album contains historic images captured by professional windmiller B. H. "Tex" Burdick and from corporate archives of windmill manufacturers. It depicts windmills in a wide range of settings and uses--not only on ranches and farms but also alongside railroads, in industry, and even in urban areas.

The photos chosen for this book illustrate windmill manufacture, distribution, and use in all regions of the United States, with an emphasis on the Great Plains. They take us into the factories to show how commercial windmills were mass-produced and marketed--and also into rural America to show how inventive individuals designed their own homemade wind machines.

An introduction by photography historian John Carter provides an overview of the importance of windmills in rural life and Americans' compulsion for photographing them.
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Customer Reviews

Great Book

2008-09-10
Amazing book, great antique photos of early wind machines. Knowing how rare these are one can appreciate the work and time T.L. Baker took for this book!

A top pick for any comprehensive collection strong in early American history.

2007-08-04
Any collection strong in early American history will find plenty to admire in AMERICAN WINDMILLS, by an expert historian on windmill who's been writing about wind-power history for a decade. His coverage here gathers historic images captured by professional windmiller B.H. Burdick and from corporate archives of windmill manufacturers, so it goes far beyond the usual light travelogue approach to cover the entire country's windmill production. Photos show wind machines in use and in manufacture and provide a fine survey which could have been equally well profiled in our Photography Shelf area, but which is recommended here as a top pick for any comprehensive collection strong in early American history.

a wonderful education tool

2007-07-07
This book was a complete surprise, meaning, I never knew there was such a colorful history about windmills. This book would be good to have in a school library. It would be useful for historians writing about early America.

An American icon on the landscape

2007-06-12
Prairie Wind, Poems & Stories
"The windmill is a fondly recognized feature of the American landscape, a sentinel rising above rooftops and fields. Its stalwart presence states clearly that human ingenuity has been at work."
And so we begin an enjoyable guided tour of one of the mechanical icons of America. Even while rushing by on interstates, in the far distance a windmill can often be seen. If less hurried and slower routes are taken, windmills can be seen along the roadside as reminders of man and nature cooperating.
American Windmills is a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Through Lindsay Baker's photographs and clarity of writing, windmills and those who made them and used them are brought to life. Having written about wind power history for twenty-five years, his album contains historic images captured by professional windmiller B. H. "Tex" Burdick and from corporate archives of windmill manufacturers.
Windmills were used in a wide variety of settings: ranches and farms, alongside railroads, in industry and even in urban areas.
The photographs depict the manufacture, distribution and use of windmills in all regions of the United States with an emphasis on the Great Plains.
In a visual tour, we are taken into the factories showing how commercial windmills were mass produced and marketed. In rural America we learn how inventive people designed their own homemade wind machines.
Windmills are the remnants of lives lived in harmony with the earth. They are symbols of a peoples' determination. They are Americana.