A review by rainpunk
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben
5.0
Edit: it's been nearly a year and I still can't get this book out of my head, so I'm bumping it up to a five star. I want to read it again. End edit.
Another conservationist book that will shape your worldview a bit. The forester author personifies trees in a way that is both charming and thought-provoking.
It is truly fascinating learning about the web of fungi connecting forests underground in a great network of information exchange and storage, and of resource exchange. The "wood-wide web" as it is sometimes called is definitely the topic that will stick with me most, and I will think of it every time I find myself in a forest.
While at first many of the frameworks he uses to describe trees (social, holding memories, caring, familial, even emotional) feel like a cartoon-ish view of unconscious mechanical behaviors, the further into the book I got, the more it made me question my assumptions about the importance of consciousness in living things at all.
At this point in my life I am not vegan nor vegetarian, but I certainly feel the moral pull to lessen my negative impact on the world. But a month ago I would mourn a logged forest because of the displaced animals. Today, though, I would find myself equally mourning the trees, fungi, and other plants. It's a hopeful book, however. Humanity is making many efforts to right its relationship with forests.
I used to think this scene was a little over the top. Now, not so much.
Another conservationist book that will shape your worldview a bit. The forester author personifies trees in a way that is both charming and thought-provoking.
It is truly fascinating learning about the web of fungi connecting forests underground in a great network of information exchange and storage, and of resource exchange. The "wood-wide web" as it is sometimes called is definitely the topic that will stick with me most, and I will think of it every time I find myself in a forest.
While at first many of the frameworks he uses to describe trees (social, holding memories, caring, familial, even emotional) feel like a cartoon-ish view of unconscious mechanical behaviors, the further into the book I got, the more it made me question my assumptions about the importance of consciousness in living things at all.
At this point in my life I am not vegan nor vegetarian, but I certainly feel the moral pull to lessen my negative impact on the world. But a month ago I would mourn a logged forest because of the displaced animals. Today, though, I would find myself equally mourning the trees, fungi, and other plants. It's a hopeful book, however. Humanity is making many efforts to right its relationship with forests.
I used to think this scene was a little over the top. Now, not so much.