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The Hidden Life of Trees

What They Feel, How They Communicate : Discoveries From a Secret World
Feb 10, 2017zipread rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
If you didn't like anthropomorphism with Bambi, Jumbo and Lassie, for sure you're not going to enjoy what author Wohlleben does to he favourite beech, his proud oak and his favourite forest stand. You can just hear him affectionately whisper their names: Gudrun, Odin and Fritz. But perhaps it is time that we acknowledge tress as living, even sentient creatures capable of even intelligently taking note of and responding to their environment. They are capable of feeding other trees; they can warn one another of impending insect attacks; their rootlets allow them to communicate with one another. There is much in this book that is thought provoking, much that is interesting, much that is useful. This book sometimes suffers in translation from its original German. Sometimes its difficult to tell what kind of readership the author is trying to reach: juvenile or mature; one who knows nothing of trees or one who has committed considerable time to their study. The book would benefit from the liberal inclusion of illustrations, particularly for the benefit of North American urbanites, many of whom may have become out of touch with the forest environment. Peter Wohlleben, a practising forester practising a somewhat unusual type of forestry management has produced a very readable book that is very much worthy of your attention.