The Hidden Life of Trees
What They Feel, How They Communicate
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- €8.49
Publisher Description
Sunday Times Bestseller
‘A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement’ Charles Foster
Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month (September)
Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings?
In The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben makes the case that the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.
A walk in the woods will never be the same again.
Reviews
‘Marvellous’ John Banville, Irish Times
‘The Hidden Life of Trees is a wonderful, provocative book that draws together half a century of much-neglected and misunderstood plant science and frames it within field observations by an acute and empathetic forester.’ New Statesman
‘Shafts of light and mossy greens fill The Hidden Life of Trees. The reader does not leave the forest, and this aura intensifies the awareness of intricate natural life that the book has to offer. So much is happening in this one place. The colours, airs and sounds are all connected. They give us contact with the invisible world we now know to be there.' Guardian
‘The matter-of-fact Mr. Wohlleben has delighted readers and talk-show audiences alike with the news long known to biologists that trees in the forest are social beings.’ The New York Times
‘Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees breaks entirely new ground … [Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.’ Thomas Pakenham, New York Review of Books
‘A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.’ Washington Post
‘A magical book about fixtures that we walk by every day and take for granted … The Hidden Life of Trees may be the most important environmental book of the year.’ San Francisco Chronicle
About the author
Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally-friendly woodland, where he works for the return of primeval forests. He is the author of numerous books about trees.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This fascinating book will intrigue readers who love a walk through the woods. Wohlleben, who worked for the German forestry commission for 20 years and now manages a beech forest in Germany, has gathered research from scientists around the world examining how trees communicate and interact with one another. They do so using a variety of methods, including the secretion of scents and sound vibrations to warn neighboring plants of potential attacks by insects and hungry herbivores, drought, and other dangers. The book includes a note from forest scientist Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia, whose studies showed that entire forests can be connected by "using chemical signals sent through the fungal networks around their root tips" and led to the term "the wood-wide web." Wohlleben anthropomorphizes his subject, using such terms as friendship and parenting, which serves to make the technical information relatable, and he backs up his ideas with information from scientists. He even tackles the question of whether trees are intelligent. He hopes the day will come "when the language of trees will eventually be deciphered." Until then, Wohllenben's book offers readers a vivid glimpse into their secret world.
