Lives of the Trees: An Uncommon History
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- ISBN13: 9781565124912
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Diana Wells, leader of 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names now turns her attention to something larger—our deep-rooted relationship with trees. As she investigates the names and meanings of trees, telling their legends and lore, she reminds us of just how innately bound we are to these protectors of our planet. Since the human race started, we have depended on them for food, shade, shelter and fuel, not to mention furniture, musical instruments, medicine utensils and more.
Wells has a remarkable ability to dig up the curious and the captivating: At one time, a worm establish in a hazelnut prognosticated ill chance. Rowan trees were planted in churchyards to prevent the dead from rising from their graves. Greek arrows were soaked in deadly yew, and Shakespeare’s witches in Macbeth used “Gall of goat and slips of Yew” to make their lethal brew. One bristlecone pine, at about 4,700 years ancient, is thought to be the oldest living plant on planet. All this and more can be establish in the perfectly illustrated pages (themselves born of birch bark!) of 100 Trees.
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Gave this book to a amateur botanist who likes it. She learned many arcane and small known facts.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
As a plant lover I have permanently wondered about both the folklore and scientific background of the plants I like.
Though the scientific information is attainable it is so regularly hard to know unless you are a botanist. The folklore has permanently been hard to take. This wonderfullly written book by Ms. Wells combines both in a compendium of scientific fact and cultural history together.
Simply magnificent! A “must have. for any botanist, arborist, or gardener.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
Diana Wells’ Lives of the Trees is a fine book. I judge it to be well researched. Every chapter has appealing comments on a species or family tree of trees. The chapters are, but, fleeting. I was expecting more in-depth reporting of the trees than in books that I currently own. Not certain why that expectation was there except I had read a very positive review and my hopes were high. Too high, in fact. A glance at Ms. Wells’ bibliography shows that her theme is well researched, but one book there, Don Peattie’s A Natural History of Trees, which I currently own and treasure, shows the limitations of her work. Where Peattie’s writing is eloquent and poetic at times (indeed I challenge anyone to point to a better writer of non-fiction) Well’s is colorless and common. Also, at least so far in my reading, every appealing aspect of Wells’ book is already in Peattie’s. Many details of Peattie’s book, but, are absent from Wells’. For instance, in the chapter on Cherry, Wells does not even chat about the Black Cherry, that most august, and gorgeous of cabinet woods. She speaks of the blossoms in Japan, the fruit of the Bing, but not one of the most treasured hardwoods in our forest. I am flummoxed as to why.
So why not just get Peattie’s? Of course you could have both, as I have. But if you only want one, make it Peattie’s.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
It is not unusual to feel sorrow over the loss of a tree. Conversely, a certain kind of altruism is linked with planting a tree. We have a tie with trees–they provide shade, wood, medicine, and perches for swings. Diana Wells captures the marvel of these stately sentinels of scenery in //Lives of the Trees//, her follow-up to //100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names// and //100 Birds and How They Got Their Names//.
Organized alphabetically, //Lives of the Trees// is a gem of a book featuring fleeting descriptions of one hundred trees from around the world, from common trees such as elm, maple, and oak to more unusual trees such as the handkerchief tree, rowan, and the delightfully named monkey-puzzle. Each description contains a snappy combination of science, etymology, and trivia, providing a snapshot of each tree’s history, along with a charming pencil illustration of the tree’s leaf structure.
Wells clarifies in her introduction that //Lives of the Trees// is for non-experts, although arborists, botanists, and gardeners may well find something of interest here. Even persons who never knew how interested they were in trees–or how appealing trees really are–will find something to like in this clever book.
Reviewed by Kelli Christiansen
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
One does not need to be a botanist or even a tree-hugger to like this book. This is a concise history of a number of trees, how they got their names, myths and facts, occurrences in literature and many additional fascinating bits of information on common and not so common trees. I loved it and bought several copies as gifts.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5