[chris (OP)]

Occasionally I come across a real gem of a popular science book that's an absolute pleasure to read and learn from. Chris McManus's "Right Hand Left Hand" about handedness in everything from atoms and molecules right through to humans is one fantastic example.

However, now I have another favourite. "The Hidden Life of Trees", by Peter Wohlleben, is absolutely superb.

I was sent this book to review. Nothing exceptional there: I get sent a lot of books to review. Most are nice, and worthy, and usually interesting, but some are genuinely exceptional. This is one of the latter, and deserves special recognition for being an excellent read, really nicely written, evidence-based (you can look up the footnotes and get the published sources if you want them), and the style is charming. I'm not being paid to write this review, I'm doing it spontaneously because I think that, when someone's done an excellent job on a book like this, it deserves special recognition.

You don't need to be a scientist to read this book. In fact, the author is a forester by trade, but the content satisfied my scientific scrutiny. What's it about? In a nutshell (perhaps a "beech nut shell"?!) it transforms a walk in the woods into an incredible journey. You meet the world's oldest tree (which I'll reveal as almost 10,000 years old and living in Scandinavia); you learn how trees talk to each other underground through the "wood wide web" of root connections; you discover how different tree types are adapted to the different ecological niches they inhabit; the war that goes on between rival species fighting for light and space; how mankind's manipulation of the world's forests has upset the applecart and the subtleties of tree interactions that escaped foresters of yester-year; and things like why deciduous trees ditch their leaves while coniferous species don't.

Honestly, it's a wonderful and thought provoking read that anyone from an older teenager upwards will enjoy. Well done, Peter. Bravo!

[RD]

You meet the world's oldest tree (which I'll reveal as almost 10,000 years old and living in Scandinavia)

It looks like the last Christmas-tree in the shop  ...


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tjikko