Synopses & Reviews
The author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Forest Unseen visits with nature's most magnificent networkers — trees.
"Fluent, compelling, and intoxicatingly rich." — Times Literary Supplement
SELECTED by NPR's "Science Friday" and "Brainpickings" as one of the best science books of 2017
David Haskell has won acclaim for eloquent writing and deep engagement with the natural world. Now, he brings his powers of observation to the biological networks that surround all species, including humans. Haskell repeatedly visits a dozen trees, exploring connections with people, microbes, fungi, and other plants and animals. He takes us to trees in cities (from Manhattan to Jerusalem), forests (Amazonian, North American, and boreal) and areas on the front lines of environmental change (eroding coastlines, burned mountainsides, and war zones.) In each place he shows how human history, ecology, and well-being are intimately intertwined with the lives of trees.
Scientific, lyrical, and contemplative, Haskell reveals the biological connections that underpin all life. In a world beset by barriers, he reminds us that life's substance and beauty emerge from relationship and interdependence.
Review
“In The Songs of Trees, Haskell champions a kind of ’ecological aesthetics,’ where we find beauty in connectivity…Haskell sees trees as ’nature’s great connectors,’ living symbols of the book’s great theme - that life is about relationships…we can find salvation in this view of life as a community.” Ed Yong, theatlantic.com
Review
“Haskell’s exquisitely wrought ecological study documents the fate of 12 trees, around the globe and over time…a ravishing journey into biotic community.” Nature
Review
“Here is a book to nourish the spirit. The Songs of Trees is a powerful argument against the ways in which humankind has severed the very biological networks that give us our place in the world. Listen as David Haskell takes his stethoscope to the heart of nature - and discover the poetry and music contained within.” Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees
About the Author
David Haskell’s work integrates scientific, literary, and contemplative studies of the natural world. He is a professor of biology and environmental studies at the University of the South and a Guggenheim Fellow. His 2012 book The Forest Unseen was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, and won the 2013 Best Book Award from the National Academies, The National Outdoor Book Award, and the Reed Environmental Writing Award. Along with his scholarly research, he has published essays, op-eds, and poetry.