Friday, April 22, 2022

Into the Forest: The Secret Language of Trees by Susan Tyler Hitchcock (TLC Book Tours)

 


Happy Earth Day!

What are your favorite memories involving trees?  I grew up next to a pine woods and loved spending my time in the woods climbing trees.  I also had a favorite old tree in my yard that I loved to sit in and read books well into my teenage years.  Sadly my tree grew into electric wires and was chopped down.  My love for trees and the outdoors became my profession as I became an environmental engineer.

Into the Forest is a beautiful coffee table book that focuses on trees, how they function, and how they are important for humanity.  As one would expect for a National Geographic book, the photography in this book is gorgeous.  I love looking at the pictures.  The foreword to the book is by Suzanne Simard, a Professor Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia.  She gives a good discussion of why forests are important for humanity.  The following chapters were in the book, and they were very informative and interesting:

Chapter 1 – Tree: To understand the forest, let us first get to know the tree

Chapter 2 – Earth:  Trees emerge from the soil underneath, intertwining with the life it cradles.

Chapter 3 – Water: Rain falls, sap rises:  Trees play a part in the grand water cycle.

Chapter 4 – Air:  Trees breath in, breathe out, enhancing the air with subtle fragrance.

Chapter 5 – Fire:  Forest fires rage and destroy; new life rises phenix-like from the ashes.

Chapter 6 – Forest:  Come into the forest:  refreshed, enriched, at peace with the world that surrounds you

I thought this book was fascinating.  I wish I would have had it when I was teaching environmental science to be able to share the beautiful photos and the interesting vignettes with my students.  Each chapter was filled with interesting essays about different aspects of trees. I loved Chapter 6 as it has some really interesting information about forests in the cities and old forests.  I would love to visit a really old forest and I think trying to get more green space in cities is a good thing.

Book Source:  A Review Copy Hachette Book Group as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3 comments:

  1. That looks like a beautiful book. We were really into trees when we were younger and did a lot of hiking. Learning to identify trees (and other plants) made it more fun.

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  2. I really enjoyed this one too! Thank you for being on this tour! Sara @ TLC Book Tours

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  3. I love books like this. For the pictures, the information, and the sheer pleasure of slowly going through it. Having read The Overstory a few years ago, I have a new and deeper affinity for trees and the forest.

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