A passionate and informative celebration of trees and of man's ingenuity in exploiting their resources: the perfect gift for anyone who cares about the natural world.
A passionate and informative celebration of trees and of man’s ingenuity in exploiting their resources: the perfect gift for anyone who cares about the natural world
Trees are marvels of nature, still-standing giants of extraordinary longevity. In a beautifully written sequence of essays, anecdotes, and profiles of species from yew to scots pine, Max Adams explores both the amazing biology of trees and humanity’s relationship with wood and forest across the centuries. Embellished with images from John Evelyn’s classic Sylva (1664), this beautifully designed gift book offers both a natural and a cultural history of trees, and will delight anyone who cares about the natural world and our interaction with it.
Arvustused
Fascinating... Tells us much about the astounding natural engineering of trees' * Independent * Adam's enthusiasm is beguiling... his appreciation of the utility of trees is a pointer to a better world' * The Times * His book is about the remarkable ways in which evolution has enabled trees to survive and flourish... A rich miscellany' * TLS *
Muu info
A passionate and informative celebration of trees and of man's ingenuity in exploiting their resources: the perfect gift for anyone who cares about the natural world.
| Prologue: The wisdom of trees |
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1 | (6) |
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Chapter 1 Thinking about trees |
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7 | (22) |
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Enlightenment---Autumn---Brown and sticky---Trees of liberty---Foresight |
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25 | (4) |
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Chapter 2 Ingenious trees |
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29 | (20) |
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What trees do---Trees with latitude---Solar panels---Family tree |
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44 | (5) |
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49 | (28) |
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Sex before insects---Spring---Making babies---Pioneers---Massive oak---The human hand |
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72 | (5) |
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77 | (18) |
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This means war---Conventional weapons---Plan B---Battle of the trees---The wood of life |
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90 | (5) |
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Chapter 5 Trees in company |
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95 | (24) |
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A palette of forests---Life in the woods---Saint Columba's coppice---The rarest tree---Woodwards and Pallisters |
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Tree tale: the Scots Pine |
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114 | (5) |
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119 | (20) |
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Useful lessons---Getting the point---Terraforming Ascension Island---The luthier |
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134 | (5) |
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139 | (13) |
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Axe, adze and wedge---Summer---The first carpenters---Stonehenge decoded?---The Nobel Prize---winning woodworker |
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152 | (5) |
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157 | (22) |
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Hormones---Machines---Hydraulics---Bodgers---How high can a tree be?---Standing up straight |
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174 | (5) |
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Chapter 9 The Charcoal Age |
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179 | (20) |
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Material gain---Making charcoal---The sword in the stone---Seahenge---Riddley Walker---Colemen and colliers |
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195 | (4) |
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199 | (22) |
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Size matters---The first house---Houses for the dead---Firewood---At home with Saint Columba |
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216 | (5) |
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221 | (22) |
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How old is it?---Trees of Middle-earth --- Chesapeake---End of the age---How to spot an ancient wood |
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238 | (5) |
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243 | (22) |
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Heroes---A few words on paper---How to buy a woodland---Forest gardens---Ashington---Winter |
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259 | (6) |
| Epilogue: Woodlanders |
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265 | (6) |
| Glossary |
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271 | (4) |
| Acknowledgements |
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275 | (1) |
| Index |
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276 | |
Max Adams is the author of Admiral Collingwood, The Prometheans, the bestselling The King in the North and In the Land of Giants. He has lived and worked in the North-East of England since 1993.
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