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"A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement that will make you acknowledge your own entanglement in the ancient and ever-new web of being."--Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast Are trees social beings? In this international bestseller, forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland. After learning about the complex life of trees, a walk in the woods will never be the same again. Includes a Note From a Forest Scientist, by Dr.Suzanne Simard
List of contents
Introduction to the English Edition
Introduction
1 / Friendships
2 / The Language of Trees
3 / Social Security
4 / Love
5 / The Tree Lottery
6 / Slowly Does It
7 / Forest Etiquette
8 / Tree School
9 / United We Stand, Divided We Fall
10 / The Mysteries of Moving Water
11 / Trees Aging Gracefully
12 / Mighty Oak or Mighty Wimp?
13 / Specialists
14 / Tree or Not Tree?
15 / In the Realm of Darkness
16 / Carbon Dioxide Vacuums
17 / Woody Climate Control
18 / The Forest as Water Pump
19 / Yours or Mine?
20 / Community Housing Projects
21 / Mother Ships of Biodiversity
22 / Hibernation
23 / A Sense of Time
24 / A Question of Character
25 / The Sick Tree
26 / Let There Be Light
27 / Street Kids
28 / Burnout
29 / Destination North!
30 / Tough Customers
31 / Turbulent Times
32 / Immigrants
33 / Healthy Forest Air
34 / Why Is the Forest Green?
35 / Set Free
36 / More Than Just a Commodity
Note from a Forest Scientist by Dr. Suzanne Simard
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Report
"Warmly avuncular, storybook simple, and heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment."
-The New Yorker
"The matter-of-fact Mr. Wohlleben has delighted readers and talk-show audiences alike with the news - long known to biologists - that trees in the forest are social beings."
-Sally McGrane, The New York Times
"This fascinating book will intrigue readers who love a walk through the woods."
-Publishers Weekly
"If you read this book, I believe that forests will become magical places for you, too."
-Tim Flannery
"In this spirited exploration, [Wohlleben] guarantees that readers will never look at these life forms in quite the same way again."
-Library Journal
"A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement that will make you joyously acknowledge your own entanglement in the ancient and ever-new web of being."
-Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast: Adventures Across the Species Divide
"Soon after we begin to recognize trees for what they are-gigantic beings thriving against incredible odds for hundreds of years-we naturally come to ask, 'How do they do it?' This charming book tells how-not as a lecture, more like a warm conversation with a favorite friend."
-Hope Jahren, author of Lab Girl
"A powerful reminder to slow down and tune into the language of nature."
-Rachel Sussman, author of The Oldest Living Things in the World
"Charming, provocative, fascinating. In the tradition of Jean-Henri Fabre and other great naturalist story-tellers, Wohlleben relates imaginative, enthralling tales of ecology."
-David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen, Pulitzer finalist
"Wohlleben's book is at once romantic and scientific, beautifully articulating his personal relationship with the trees he has dedicated his life to. His view of the forest calls on us all to reevaluate our relationships with the plant world."
-Daniel Chamovitz, PhD, author of What a Plant Knows
"With colorful and engaging descriptions of little-known phenomena in our natural world, Wohlleben helps readers appreciate the exciting processes at work in the forests around them."
-Dr. Richard Karban, University of California, Davis, author of Plant Sensing and Communication
"You will never look at a tree the same way after reading Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees, which reveals the mind-boggling properties and behavior of these terrestrial giants. Read this electrifying book, then go out and hug a tree-with admiration and gratitude."
-David Suzuki
