Great Reading About the Power of Trees

Here are some very interesting  books about trees for your late summer reading.

The Overstory  by Richard Powers  is a sweeping novel about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forests and urban trees. It won a 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and is one of the most interesting novels about trees you may ever read. From the American Chestnuts to the Giant Sequoias, the beautifully multi-layered novel shows how deeply humans are affected by trees. The wisdom and utility of trees underpins much of the novel.  According to Washington Post Critic Ron Charles, "This ambitious novel soars up through the canopy of American literature and remakes the landscape of environmental fiction."

Two non-fiction sources used for the novel include Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees, and The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant. Both books are excellent reads as well.

Wohlleben’s book  presents previously unknow science about how trees communicate and share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold within the whole groups of trees. As a result of such interactions, Wohlleben explains that forestry must take a different approach.

Vaillant’s book recounts the controversial true story of the felling of a sacred tree known as the Golden Spruce in Canada and the environmental impact of logging.

Happy reading.