The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
dancarey_404's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a variety of books in one: American history; industrial forestry guide; naturalist's field guide; and nature appreciation. I finished the entire book in order to savor the lattermost kind. Peattie's prose is obviously the product of an earlier time; earlier even than the early 1950s in which he originally published this work. I knew within a few chapters that this book would be something I would likely turn to in future years to replenish an appreciation for the trees themselves and for Peattie's prosecraft.
All that said, I will suggest that most readers may, after a certain point, do well to focus on the trees in their region or those regions they are likely to visit. Because this is a long book.
All that said, I will suggest that most readers may, after a certain point, do well to focus on the trees in their region or those regions they are likely to visit. Because this is a long book.
mancolepig's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t know how to recommend this book because I don’t quite know how to describe it. Peattie’s masterpiece is at once an encyclopedia and field guide, yet also an exhaustive history and poetic tribute to the noble trees that span across the United States and Canada. As I read it, it stirred up the feeling of awe that my first sighting of a giant redwood evoked and a certain sentimentality in reflecting upon the black ash and pin oak trees that grew just outside my childhood home. Each entry carefully describes the physical and natural properties of a species, discusses our uses for the wood, and recounts the shortsighted and destructive lumbering practices of our ancestors. But Peattie’s book is far from depressing. It is simply honest when facing our past, hopeful when facing our future, and spiritual when seeing trees for what they are: Natural wonders of ancient origin.
As a result, the book is rather long, so I don’t suggest you to read it cover to cover as I did. I would instead treat it as an anthology of stories, and pick the stories that you find most familiar while allowing yourself to fall into a few curious and new ones along the way. If you have any strong memories of a tree in your life, read the way Peattie describes that tree and be amazed that he can capture its essence so perfectly and effortlessly, as if he was there when you made those memories and recorded them for you.
The people who would like this kind of book already know who they are. If you're one of those people, then you'll read a volume chocked full of stories and factoids told in a soothing voice that’s reverent of nature. If you learn nothing else reading it, you’ll learn that trees are awesome. And I mean awesome as in they inspire awe and should probably be the subjects of love poems and religions. Oh and you’ll also learn that some trees are just about worthless for lumber or industry. But any tree, and I mean ANY tree can be and probably already has been shaped into a fence post. Even the most useless species can be both beautiful and utilitarian, and I don’t know, there’s just something that I find uplifting about that.
As a result, the book is rather long, so I don’t suggest you to read it cover to cover as I did. I would instead treat it as an anthology of stories, and pick the stories that you find most familiar while allowing yourself to fall into a few curious and new ones along the way. If you have any strong memories of a tree in your life, read the way Peattie describes that tree and be amazed that he can capture its essence so perfectly and effortlessly, as if he was there when you made those memories and recorded them for you.
The people who would like this kind of book already know who they are. If you're one of those people, then you'll read a volume chocked full of stories and factoids told in a soothing voice that’s reverent of nature. If you learn nothing else reading it, you’ll learn that trees are awesome. And I mean awesome as in they inspire awe and should probably be the subjects of love poems and religions. Oh and you’ll also learn that some trees are just about worthless for lumber or industry. But any tree, and I mean ANY tree can be and probably already has been shaped into a fence post. Even the most useless species can be both beautiful and utilitarian, and I don’t know, there’s just something that I find uplifting about that.
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