I live on two rural acres surrounded by woodlot. Often, I walk to the back of my property, stand among the old trees, and look up. What is it about trees? They never fail to make me feel good.
I always knew trees were living things. Trees are alive. Yep.
They are made of cells, like us. Plant and animal cells (and fungi and bacteria, too) produce the living condition using DNA and proteins in like chemical processes. There’s only one kind of life on this planet.
After reading this book, I have a deeper appreciation of what that means.
Author Peter Wohlleben’s goal is clear. He wants his readership to gain an understanding of trees, because “only people who understand trees are capable of protecting them.”
”When you know that trees experience pain and have memories, and that tree parents live together with their children, then you can no longer just chop them down and disrupt their lives with large machines.”
Once upon a time, before we paved paradise, our union with nature was ardent and harmonious. Especially in ancient Celtic and Native American traditions, we see not only a physical but also a spiritual relationship with trees. The ancient Celtic language of Ogham was in fact based on trees.*
Our intimate rapport with nature was lost. The modern mindset came to view plants, and other animals, as objects inferior to us, commodities at our disposal, and subject to our will.
Bad move.
If we put ourselves back where we belong, as one living thing among millions in the web of life, there just might be some hope for the natural world we are killing. We need a paradigm shift. Respect all life. Share the planet, or lose it.
There is a lot of great science in this book, touching upon ecology, as well as the anatomy and physiology of trees. Written for the lay person, it’s easily understandable. The research supporting trees as social beings is especially fascinating.
A forest is a superorganism with interconnections. Trees communicate with one another in different ways, such as with scent and sound. Yes, sound! Trees “talk” and “listen”. Roots crackle at 220 hertz, which we can’t hear, but Mama tree sends out signals and baby’s roots grow towards it, then Mama feeds her baby.
Trees also scream when they are thirsty, or in pain.
Whether it’s a wolf tearing apart a deer or a deer eating a seedling, in both cases there is pain and death.
Trees also communicate through the wood wide web, a vast fungal network that connects underground root systems. Roots act as the “brain” of the tree, overseeing all tree activity, using chemical messages and electrical impulses (like we do). Trees can, and do, learn.
Wohlleben’s love of trees is apparent. He calls for a “break down of the moral barriers between plants and animals.” His contention that trees be allowed to “live in a way that is appropriate to their species” is ecologically and ethically sound. It’s the only worldview that will save the world.
In his words, it’s okay to use wood, as long as we spare the trees unnecessary suffering.
հ…
“should be allowed to fulfill their social needs, to grow in a true forest environment on undisturbed ground, and to pass their knowledge onto the next generation. And at least some of them should be allowed to grow old with dignity and finally die a natural death.”
Thank you for reading my review, I’m going out now, for a walk in the woods!
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Top reviews from Canada
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- Reviewed in Canada on November 29, 2016Verified Purchase
- Reviewed in Canada on January 6, 2023Verified Purchase
- Reviewed in Canada on August 6, 2020Verified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
- Kindle CustomerReviewed in Brazil on July 2, 2024
It's was a grateful reading. I hope to work with trees one day, and it was inspiring read this book.
Verified Purchase - RiverReviewed in Italy on April 17, 2025
Great book for the interested
Verified Purchase - Richard Reese (author of Understanding Sustainability)Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2016
Perfect Excellent Unforgettable
Verified Purchase - SiciReviewed in Sweden on February 25, 2023
Trees and their complexity in a new way
Verified Purchase - RemedylaneReviewed in Spain on September 11, 2022
Woah!
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