From ash die-back to the Great Storm of 1987 to Dutch elm disease, our much-loved woodlands seem to be under constant threat from a procession of natural challenges. Just when we need trees most, to help combat global warming and to provide places of retreat for us and our wildlife, they seem at greatest peril. But these dangers force us to reconsider the narrative we construct about trees and the roles we press on them.
In this now classic book, Richard Mabey looks at how, for more than a thousand years, we have appropriated and humanised trees, turning them into arboreal pets, status symbols, expressions of fashionable beauty - anything rather than allow them lives of their own. And in the poetic and provocative style he has made his signature, Mabey argues that respecting trees' independence and ancient powers of survival may be the wisest response to their current crises.
Originally published with the title Beechcombings, this updated edition includes a new foreword and afterword by the author.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9780099587231
Number of pages: 304
Weight: 212 g
Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 19 mm
Wonderfully subversive, far-reaching and unsentimental - Observer
Richard Mabey is a man for all seasons, most regions and every kind of landscape - Andrew Motion, Financial Times
An elegant and heartfelt essay on mankind's changing relationship with trees - Sunday Telegraph
A leaf-storm of philosophical musings, journeys of mind and body, reflections and anecdotes that imprint the tree on human culture - Sunday Times
A terrific combination of both natural and intellectual history, informed by penetrating insight - Independent
This is the book of range and ambitions that his many admirers hoped he would write. Refreshing, droll, politically alert, occasionally self-mocking, he has the enviable ability both to write historical overview and also to slip into the woods like a dryad, bringing us back to the trees themselves, their colours and lights and textures - Guardian
A writer to cherish - Evening Standard
A characteristically rich and individual mix of history, natural science, folklore, poetry, politics and personal observation... Mabey's writing is a brilliant in its minutely observed detail as in its broad sweeps - Diane Summers, Financial Times
As always, Mabey's thoughts make compelling reading... This is a book by a man who doesn't just know, but understands trees - Tree News
It's a scientific, historical, poetic account written in a quietly humorous, thoughtful style - Tom Moriarty, Irish Times
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