The Heartbeat of Trees
Embracing Our Ancient Bond With Forests and Nature
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
I invite you to join me in the forest, where we will discover that the ancient tie that binds humans and nature exists to this day and is as strong as ever.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees comes a powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground. Where the color green calms us, and the forest sharpens our senses.
In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of mobile phone addiction, climate change, and urban life, many of us fear we’ve lost our connection to nature, but Wohlleben is convinced that age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact.
Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, exploring the language of the forest, the consciousness of plants, and the eroding boundary between flora and fauna. A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees shares how to see, feel, smell, hear, and even taste the forest.
“Peter Wohlleben knows the battle that lies before us: forging a closer relationship with nature before we destroy it. In The Heartbeat of Trees he takes us deep into the global forest to show us how.” —Jim Robbins, author of The Man Who Planted Trees and The Wonder of Birds
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Forester Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees) takes an eclectic look at humanity's relationships with trees in this heartfelt survey. To prove that "the ancient tie that binds humans and nature exists to this day and is as strong as ever," Wohlleben looks at tree worship (including the "marriage of trees" ritual in Italy), common expressions such as "shaking like a leaf," and the various ways humans use products derived from plants for medication (willow tree bark helps with headaches, for example). He also notes traits shared between plants and humans: a South American vine can see, he argues, as it creates leaves exactly like those of its host tree, and he offers evidence that spruce trees feel pain when attacked by bark beetles. Paramount to Wohlleben is the role forests play in the health of nature and civilization—he mourns the destruction of diverse old-growth forests, and decries modern forestry's single species "plantations," where endless cycles of planting, thinning, and clear-cutting destroy the very meaning of forest. Along the way, moving accounts of fellow activists' efforts to save treasured woodlands bolster his plea that humans should let forests return to their natural state. Nature-minded readers will enjoy this episodic deep dive.
