Bruce Irving, former executive producer of PBS’s This Old House, is pleased to announce the publication of his first book, New England Icons, due on shelves September 19th. The book, published by Countryman Press, features a foreword by This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram. 

New England Icons offers a lively and engaging collection of 23 short essays written by Mr. Irving, along with beautiful, full-color photographs by noted architectural photographer Greg Premru. We tend to think of icons as dusty leftovers from bygone eras, important historically but not all that interesting or relevant today–this book reveals the back-stories and vibrancy of the things that make New England a region unlike any other.  

The stories and photographs tap in to the collective consciousness by emphasizing the powerful sense of place associated with such New England sights as icehouses, church steeples, lobster boats, and village greens.  New England Icons invites readers to wander into the woods, with their deep and hidden history, to find an old stonewall or a sugarhouse with its billowing clouds of steam, or visit an old Cape Cod home, tour a massive brick mill, or discover how the saltbox house got its shape.  

Complete with a map pinpointing a selection of the most quintessential of each of these icons, this insightful guide is a memory-evoking and adventure-making companion for long-time residents and first-time visitors alike.  

Bruce Irving, the Emmy-award-winning producer of This Old House, Ask This Old House, and Inside This Old House for 17 years, is currently a real estate agent at Hammond Real Estate in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has his own home-renovation consulting business. Mr. Irving is vice-chairman of the Cambridge Historical Commission, a member of the Congress of Residential Architecture, a contributing editor at Design New England magazine, and a writer for Boston Home, This Old House and Maine Home + Design magazines. Additionally, he is a speaker and panel moderator at trade shows and symposia as well as a respected industry judge for The Boston Globe Home of the Year.  

Greg Pemru has been photographing the architecture and interiors of New England for nearly two decades. His work is regularly featured in both national and regional publications including The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Design New England, New England Home, Boston Common, Boston Magazine and Boston Home.  

Bruce Irving’s book, New England Icons, is due on shelves September 19th. For more information  visit  www.bruceirving.biz