The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath, 2nd Edition

No complaints

A wonderful book! Some great ideas and designs in here, as well as in depth reasoning, by an experienced and knowledgable author, of how and why the sauna nay be built. Anyone interested in building a sauna needs this book!

I bought this based on Rob's other books and the subtitle. "A complete guide to the Construction......" lured me. This may be true for those who build regularly, but the book doesn't even list a complete detailed plan. It does explain many wonderful options that a builder can use, but for those of us who can't build from scratch by looking at a picture, the lack of details is detracting.The book does not deal with Coordwood only. In fact many of the examples have nothing to do with Cordwood at all.

I love ALL the books this author has written. Great pictures, easy instructions, clearly well thought out. My husband and I will use this book when we build our sauna this Spring. Glad I bought it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was practical, interesting, at times humourous, and it shares a great deal of helpful information about the wonderful topic of saunas.

I wouldn't feel compelled to write a review of this book, except for the low star rating of the only other reviewer of this book [at this writing anyhow]. This is an excellent book for building a free-standing sauna--as long as cordwood masonry building style works for you. Rob Roy is the master of this technique and written much about it in a number of books. He has an easy style and knows his material. But yes, if you're looking to build a wood-only sauna, look elsewhere.

As our author eventually points out, this book is slightly misleading: it is called "The Sauna," but is predominately about a very rare (although arguably superior) style of sauna construction called cordwood masonry. Although he makes a valiant effort to convince the reader at this style of construction, this decision could only really be made with a real life comparison, as the sauna is a visceral rather than cerebral experience.First and foremost, this book is about cordwood masonry construction. If you're looking for a how-to, and know you want to use this construction style, I would recommend it. If you're just interested in learning about saunas, this is likely not the best place.That said, my favorite material in the book is the generalist material about saunas, their culture, their history, the benefits, the experience. This is where I feel Roy's writing really shines, and also is the most compelling for me personally.I have not yet built a cordwood sauna, and am left daughter rather than encouraged, as I have a moderate degree of proficiency with more traditional construction techniques, but none with cordwood masonry.

bought for someone else

Interesting read, discusses the actual sauna and how to take one. It has the basics for sauna construction, though a little limited in types. A good source for materials such as the heaters. All in all it fulfilled my expectations and I would recommend it for anyone who is thinking about building their own sauna.