The USDA Forest Service has published a comprehensive wood handbook.
The handbook, which was released to celebrate the Forest Products Laboratory’s 100 years of service to the public, was produced in 2010. It is titled “Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. The handbook has the aim of being a reference on the use of wood in many applications, ranging from general construction to decorative purposes. It provides wood users with information on the properties of wood, its relationship with moisture, and the characteristics of various wood-based materials.
The handbook will be of most interest to wood scientists and technologists, but is also of great interest to foresters. It contains 20 chapters, and the chapters that will have a specific interest to foresters include:
- Wood as a sustainable building material
- Characteristics and availability of commercially important woods
- Structure and function of wood
- Drying and control of moisture content and dimensional changes
- Biodeterioration of wood
Source: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs.php?grouping_id=100&header_id=p