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"Originally published in Great Britain by Granta Books in 2021."--Title page verso.
About the author
Fred Pearce is a freelance author and journalist based in the UK who has reported from over sixty countries. He is an environmental consultant for the New Scientist, a contributing writer for publications including the Guardian, Washington Post, and Yale Environment 360,and the author of numerous books, including The Land Grabbers and When the Rivers Run Dry.
Summary
“Reminiscent of Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction. ...If you care about the future of the planet, you have to read this book.”—THE TIMES
“Eloquently mulls the ecological dynamics of forests as well as the social, economic, cultural, and political forces that determine their fate.”—LA REVIEW OF BOOKS
A powerful book about the decline and recovery of the world’s forests—with a provocative argument for their survival.
In A Trillion Trees, veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce takes readers on a whirlwind journey through some of the most spectacular forests around the world. Along the way, he charts the extraordinary pace of forest destruction, and explores why some are beginning to recover.
With vivid, observant reporting, Pearce transports readers to the remote cloud forests of Ecuador, the remains of a forest civilization in Nigeria, a mystifying mountain peak in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and the boreal forests of western Canada and the United States, where devastating wildfires are linked to suppressing the natural fire cycles of forests and the maintenance practices of Indigenous peoples.
Throughout the book, Pearce interviews the people who traditionally live in forests. He speaks to Indigenous peoples in western Canada and the United States who are fighting to control their traditional forested lands and manage them according to their traditional practices. He visits and speaks with Nepalese hill dwellers, Kenyan farmers, and West African sawyers who show him that forests are as much human landscapes as they are natural paradises. The lives of humans are now imprinted in forest ecology.
At the heart of Pearce’s investigation is a provocative argument: planting more trees isn’t the answer to declining forests. If given room and left to their own devices, forests and the people who live in them will fight back to restore their own domain.
Foreword
- Big Mouth Mailing: extensive print and e-galley distribution.
- International features in Science, Nature, Books, and Current Affairs outlets.
- Radio spots: such as NRP and CBC.
- Digital and print advertising. Online marketing: e-blasts and social campaigns.
- Influencer outreach.
Additional text
“Stirring and surprising … leaps from country to country, from case study to case study, in a manner reminiscent of Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction. ...If you care about the future of the planet, you have to read this book.”
—The Times (UK)
“[Pearce] eloquently mulls the ecological dynamics of forests as well as the social, economic, cultural, and political forces that determine their fate.”
—LA Review of Books
“We should all read Fred's book. He tells us in a practical and most readable way, how we can bring back the forests of the Earth and restore our planet to health. Never think that we can plant a forest ecosystem. The mega mix of species has to come together by itself. That is the best and easiest way to save ourselves and perhaps Gaia.”
—James Lovelock, author of The Vanishing Face of Gaia and Novacene
“That most commonplace thing, a tree, is now our best hope for maintaining a habitable planet. This book explains in accessible, urgent prose the many wondrous workings of trees in making rain, wind, oxygen and habitats for much of life on earth as well as a vision for how we can, and must, reforest the world. Essential reading for the twenty-first century.”
—Ben Rawlence, author of City of Thorns
“An important and eloquent contribution from one of our very best science journalists. Forests have always transfixed the human imagination, and you will be transfixed by Pearce’s stories of travels around the world to forests in over forty countries. And his conclusions may surprise you.”
—James Gustave Speth, former dean, Yale School of the Environment, and author of America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy
Praise for The New Wild
Named one of the best books of 2015 by the Economist
“[Pearce] hits the nail on the head… [He] brings the balanced perspective of a seasoned, freethinking environmental reporter, pushing points that need to be made.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Pearce shows that biodiversity actually increases more frequently than it decreases when newer wildlife marches in. Must reading for environmentalists of every stripe, and an optimistic report on the resilience of nature in a world of constantly shifting ecosystems.”
—Booklist
Praise for The Land Grabbers
“Raises complex and urgent issues.”
—Booklist, STARRED review
“Compelling and well-researched ... Dissects the modern rush to acquire land for production, investment, speculation or preservation.”
—Nature
“A thorough and enlightening exposé.”
—Conservation
“A well-researched, informative and accessible look at important economic and agricultural issues.”
—Kirkus Review
