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The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth
In the tradition of Elizabeth Kolbert and Barry Lopez, a powerful, poetic and deeply absorbing account of the "lung" at the top of the world.
For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family.
It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.
For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family.
It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 15, 2022
About the author
Ben Rawlence
7 books193 followersBen grew up in Wiltshire in the UK before studying in London, Tanzania and the USA. He worked for several years in New York and then in politics in the UK and in Tanzania before joining Human Rights Watch where he worked from 2006-2013.
He was an Open Society Foundations Fellow 2013.
He is represented by Sophie Lambert at Conville and Walsh in London.
He was an Open Society Foundations Fellow 2013.
He is represented by Sophie Lambert at Conville and Walsh in London.
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December 14, 2023
Big changes are taking place across the vast plain stippled by spruce and striated with water that unfolds below the aircraft at 10,000 feet. The skin of the earth is melting, microbial life waking after thousands, possibly millions, of frozen years. The soil is transpiring—perspiring one could say since more moisture is being released than absorbed—and animals and plants are taking note. It is a new world, and intelligent life—the smart genes—is sniffing it out, sending out suckers, seeds and scouts, ranging north, getting ready.The Treeline is a mind-blowing piece of work that will teach you many, many things you never suspected, while feeding your sense of awe and your sense of dread. We look to the margins for evidence of large changes in the world, tell-tale signs like rising levels along water frontages, expanding desert edges, changes in growing seasons, changes in wildlife. The treeline was the edge Ben Rawlence chose.
Ben Rawlence - Image from 5 x 15
He had spent years writing human rights reports and trying to get the UN and governments to address refugee issues, but when he started writing through the eyes of the refugees themselves, in several books, many more people began to listen.
Understanding that the conflict and the displacement that was going on was driven by climate change I began to look for other examples, other parts of the world where we could see this process in action, where we could see climate breakdown as history already, and we could catch a glimpse of the future that awaits the rest of us. So I began digging around and doing research and came across this very arresting image of the trees and the forest moving north towards the pole. I discovered that the forest was on the move and the trees were turning the white arctic green. They shouldn’t be on the move. That’s not supposed to happen. And this sinister fact has huge consequences for all life on earth. - from the 5x15 pieceSo, what exactly is the treeline? Generically, it is the latitude above which there are no trees, roughly the Arctic Circle. Another measure is the rippled line around the globe south of which the average July temperature is ten degrees centigrade or higher. (The Arctic Squiggle?) Discovering that the Arctic treeline consisted of mostly six types of trees, he set about to look at each of these.
Scots pine in Scotland, birch in Scandinavia, larch in Siberia, spruce in Alaska and, to a lesser extent, poplar in Canada and rowan in Greenland. I decided to visit each tree in its native territory, to see how the different species were faring in response to warming, and what their stories might mean for the other inhabitants of the forest, including us.The Arctic treeline is actually fairly squishy, not so much a line as an area of transition, an ecotone, where tree presence diminishes rather than ceases. Rawlence begins with a look at where he lives, in Wales, at the yew, struggling to persist in a world that is no longer conducive to its needs. But that may be changing. Then, it is off to the Cairngorm Mountains in Scotland, the Scandinavian interior, Siberia (larch), Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, looking at the role the boreal plays in our environment, and at the impact of global warming on these borderlands.
More than the Amazon rainforest, the boreal is truly the lung of the world. Covering one fifth of the globe, and containing one third of all the trees on earth, the boreal is the second largest biome, or living system, after the ocean. Planetary systems—cycles of water and oxygen, atmospheric circulation, the albedo effect, ocean currents and polar winds—are shaped and directed by the position of the treeline and the functioning of the forest.One of the things that most impressed me, among the many fascinating nuggets to be found here were descriptions of the structures underlying forests.
Wherever there are mushrooms, ferns, bracken and particular kinds of woodland plants like violets there was once forest. Rings of mushrooms are usually the outline, the long-ago earthwork of a tree stump. There are between fifteen and nineteen ecto-mycorrhizal fungi (fungi growing around the roots) in a mature pine forest, and they play a role in everything from carbon and nutrient transport to lichen cover, taking sugar from the tree and providing it with minerals in exchange. Planting trees without regard for the essential symbiotic “other half” of the forest below ground may be far less effective than allowing the ground to evolve into woodland at its own pace. Oliver Rackham describes a planted oak wood in Essex that even after 750 years still does not possess the orchids, plants and mushrooms that you would expect of a natural wood.I was reminded of what it might look like to see a city like New York or London from above and believe it to be constructed entirely of the visible structures, not appreciating that there are vast underground networks, water lines, sewer lines, gas lines, electrical lines, communication cables, transit tubes, and the like that provide the lifeblood which allows the above-ground, visible city to survive. Globally, these threads of mycorrhizal fungi make up between a third and a half of the living mass of soils. Soil is in fact a huge, fragile tangle of tiny connected threads. Having done some digging in our back yard, I can very much appreciate that.
Another impressive feat is Rawlence’s strength in communicating how local populations interact with the trees among which they live. There are many surprises to be found here, in the range of specific benefits trees provide for one, which includes the fact that they transmit aerosols carrying chemicals that help maintain health in humans, that their leaves, berries, bark and other parts providing medicine for a wide range of illnesses, that they provide materials that oceans need to sustain life, that they drive planetary weather. Did you know that there are birch trees with things called trichomal hairs on the underside of their leaves, that capture particulates from the air, natural air filters that then allow the materials to be dropped to the ground, and washed away with the next rain? They also act like a fur coat for the leaves. The list goes on. You will be surprised by many of the uses that Arctic peoples have devised to make use of their local trees.
Will it be possible to continue such a positive relationship as the land becomes less supportive of human endeavors? The Sami people, for example, are finding it increasingly difficult to manage their reindeer herds. Snowmobiles are less than ideal when there is no snow. Substituting four-wheel All Terrain Vehicles may allow them to herd their critters, but using them damages the landscape even more. At what point will it be impossible to continue at all?
There are plenty of dark tidings. In this ring of melting ice global warming is taking place at a rate far in excess of what we experience in the more temperate zones. And then this unnerving bit; with more Co2 in the air, trees do not need to work so hard to get what they need, thus will produce less oxygen. Uh oh. As the forests of the northern hemisphere migrate north (race actually, at a rate of hundreds of feet a year in some places instead of inches per century) they are pursued on their southern end by increasingly fire-prone conditions. How much of our forest land will be consumed by a Langolier-like army of drought and flames before finding more welcoming climes? And then there is methane, pretty pearl-like bubbles when seen through clear Arctic ice, but how about this cheery nugget as permafrost becoming permaslush?
Some studies have suggested that an unstable seabed could release a methane “burp” of 500–5000 gigatonnes, equivalent to decades of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to an abrupt jump in temperature that humans will be powerless to arrest.In pop science books, the author acts as a guide to the subject matter, introducing us to the places he visits, and the experts he consults. Rawlence is an engaging and informative teacher with a gift for extracting local cultural lore and area-specific histories, as well as reporting the science in accessible terms. He seems like someone you would want to hang out with. You would certainly like to sign up for any class he teaches. You will learn a lot. He is also a lyrical writer, able to offer not only straight-ahead exposition, but poetical, sometimes emotion-filled reactions to the places he visits and the experiences he has on this journey.
The brilliant sun on the pinkish cliffs and the starched blue of the sky, which has been mostly hidden all week, make the morning sing. The scent of a meadow is so heady it should be bottled. The hay has been freshly cut: huge plastic-covered bales guide the eye to a combine harvester abandoned mid-job, its windows covered in sparkling dew. Beyond, the path crosses the meadow to a wide bend that the flooding river has worked into a series of interlinked channels. The little bridges have been overwhelmed and carefully placed stepping-stones lie visible in the clear stream, half a meter underwater. Feet have cut a higher path along the edge of the valley, around drowned shrubs, riparian willow now floating midstream. The roar of the main river is all around. Gray water cradling slabs of dirty ice meanders around a cliff and then widens into a foaming skirt over even-sized white granite boulders that snag the ice and make it dance and nod until it falls apart and joins the sea-ward torrent.Rawlence a not a fan of western capitalism, and it would be difficult to argue that the short-term profit motive is not at variance with the long-term health of the planet, but places that were at least nominally socialist did a pretty good job of devastating their environments too. Maybe the problem is a human one first, and a economic-political one second. Maybe if we lived as long as some trees (not all are long-lived) we might have a more long-term view of what matters, and not keep rushing to use everything as fast as we possibly can before someone else does. Rawlence keeps his eyes on the scientific and anthropological issues at hand. How is warming impacting these trees, the landscapes in which they exist, the societies that have lived with them for centuries, and the wider world? What can we learn from the changes that have already taken place? What can we look forward to? What can we do about it?
Despite the growth of electric car usage and renewable power generation, we have arrived at this party too late, and relatively empty-handed. Attempts to mitigate global warming cannot change the fact that there is warming to come that is already baked in. We can do nothing to change that. It will continue, even were we to cease all carbon usage tomorrow. Not that we should abandon attempts to reduce emissions. But we should know that we will not see the benefits of those actions. The mitigation work we do today may impact future generations, but the planet will continue heating up for quite some time regardless. The most we can hope for in the short term is to slow the rate somewhat.
The Treeline is a must read for anyone interested in environmental issues, global warming in particular. Who doesn’t love trees? After reading this you will love them ever more. As Rawlence points out, we are at our core tree people, having evolved thumbs to get around in an arboreal world, and having lived among or near trees for all of human history. We have evolved together, and will continue to do so. But we will have to adapt to the new Anthropocene world rather than attempting to force it back into its prior form.
In the future, when the ice is gone, there may be no such thing as a treeline at all.
Review posted – February 18, 2022
Publication dates
----------hardcover - February 15, 2022
----------trade paperback - December 12, 2023
I received an ARE of The Treeline from St. Martin’s Press in return for a fair review, and a promise to plant a few saplings. Thanks, folks. And thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.
This review has been cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s Twitter page
Lizzie Harper, a Welsh illustrator, provided many images for the book. Sadly, there were none in the e-galley I read. But you can see some on her site. Here are links to Harper’s personal, FB, LinkedIn, PInterest, and Twitter pages
Interview
---InterMultiversal - An Interview with Ben Rawlence by Simon Morden
Items of Interest from the author
-----Video trailer for the book – 1:09
-----5 x 15 - Ben Rawlence on The Treeline - video
-----The Big Issue - ‘As the planet warms, the forest is on the move’ ny Rawlence
Items of Interest
-----Patagonia Films - Treeline (Full Film) | The Secret Life of Trees - video 40:16
-----Cairngorms Connect - 200-year vision to enhance habitats, species and ecological processes across a vast area within the 600 square kilometer Cairngorms National Park.
-----NY Times - February 4, 2022 - Seen From Space: Huge Methane Leaks, by Henry Fountain
-----The Nature Conservancy - February 28, 2022 - Second Nature - A 2020 study suggests letting forests regrow naturally can help boost efforts to fight climate change - by Kirsten Weir
You Might Also Want To Check Out
-----Land by Simon Winchester
-----Being a Human by Charles Foster
-----The Earth’s Wild Music by Kathleen Dean Moore
-----Road of Bones - not in form, obviously. But this one offers a fictional horror-story take on the great north rebelling against the outrages of humanity
Music
-----George Winston - Forest
-----Sondheim - Into the Woods
May 17, 2022
What we call the treeline is not really a line at all, but rather the growing limit for trees, which is only as certain as the environment that facilitates their growth. Over geologic time incremental global temperature changes have meant that the treeline has always been a moving target, albeit a slow moving one (at least into the distant past we have evidence of in ice cores). But now the planet is hyperventilating, and the treeline is moving unnaturally fast. The migration north is no longer a matter of inches per century, but rather hundreds of feet every year. The trees are noticeably on the move, and this sinister fact has enormous consequences for all life on earth.
The book's title is spot on, the blurb is an accurate overview, the sobering subject matter is expertly presented, and the writing is accomplished, informative, and absorbing. I especially liked how the author pulled it all together in the epilogue. There is a lot covered in the book, which gives rise to a different way of contemplating our overriding environmental problems — much of the information I'd wager many are not familiar with.
For example, do you know why the old Japanese proverb, “If you want to catch a fish, plant a tree” is indeed factual?
This book is a must read for all that value life as we know it. You may find it demoralizing if you don't grasp the full intent of the book, or you may find it hopeful if you do. If you are a student of history, while reading this book think about how every past human civilization that we know of collapsed, and consider the role of environmental degradation, especially deforestation, in their collapse. Then consider the similarities with the present.
I found the book on the whole hopeful, but it saddens me there are so many self-absorbed people burying their heads in the sand over the dire consequences of increasing global warming, and it maddens me that worse yet there are so many disseminating misleading information — follow the hard science: between 2003 and 2010 we lost 1000 cubic miles of ice cap, and the overall rate of loss is increasing. Homo sapiens is so far an oxymoron.
The book's title is spot on, the blurb is an accurate overview, the sobering subject matter is expertly presented, and the writing is accomplished, informative, and absorbing. I especially liked how the author pulled it all together in the epilogue. There is a lot covered in the book, which gives rise to a different way of contemplating our overriding environmental problems — much of the information I'd wager many are not familiar with.
For example, do you know why the old Japanese proverb, “If you want to catch a fish, plant a tree” is indeed factual?
This book is a must read for all that value life as we know it. You may find it demoralizing if you don't grasp the full intent of the book, or you may find it hopeful if you do. If you are a student of history, while reading this book think about how every past human civilization that we know of collapsed, and consider the role of environmental degradation, especially deforestation, in their collapse. Then consider the similarities with the present.
I found the book on the whole hopeful, but it saddens me there are so many self-absorbed people burying their heads in the sand over the dire consequences of increasing global warming, and it maddens me that worse yet there are so many disseminating misleading information — follow the hard science: between 2003 and 2010 we lost 1000 cubic miles of ice cap, and the overall rate of loss is increasing. Homo sapiens is so far an oxymoron.
February 21, 2022
Absolutely beautiful! Slightly heartbreaking as well. I know there are other tree lovers out there...this is a book you have to read. It is fully engaging, informative, and just one of a kind. The way it is laid out is perfect. I really enjoyed this one.
February 17, 2022
"Trees are on the move. They shouldn't be. And this sinister fact has enormous consequences for all life on earth." The treeline that Ben Rawlence traveled around the world to observe from 2018 t0 2021 is not really a line at all but a transition zone between what scientists call 'the forest-tundra ecotone.' The trees of the boreal forest, covering one-fifth of the globe, are truly the lungs of the world and those trees are losing their ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide.
Rawlence describes the landscape and inhabitants in each of the areas he visits but it's the trees themselves that take center stage here: In Scotland, Scots pine; in Scandinavia, birch; in Siberia, larch; in Alaska, spruce; in Canada, poplar; and in Greenland, rowan.
The information presented here is very knowledgeable and readable, if very frightening. Rawlence has no answers at this point and it seems to be his view that the consequences for our actions are inevitable. Our children and grandchildren will pay the price for our treating the earth like a commodity.
Plant a tree this spring; reconnect with nature; create less trash. Small things--will they help the environment? I don't know, but it could warm your heart and soul in the process. And it might be your last chance.
I received an arc of this nonfiction book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity...and thank you to St Martin's for publishing important books like this. I'm a firm believer in the old adage: The more you know, the better you will do.
Rawlence describes the landscape and inhabitants in each of the areas he visits but it's the trees themselves that take center stage here: In Scotland, Scots pine; in Scandinavia, birch; in Siberia, larch; in Alaska, spruce; in Canada, poplar; and in Greenland, rowan.
The information presented here is very knowledgeable and readable, if very frightening. Rawlence has no answers at this point and it seems to be his view that the consequences for our actions are inevitable. Our children and grandchildren will pay the price for our treating the earth like a commodity.
Plant a tree this spring; reconnect with nature; create less trash. Small things--will they help the environment? I don't know, but it could warm your heart and soul in the process. And it might be your last chance.
I received an arc of this nonfiction book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity...and thank you to St Martin's for publishing important books like this. I'm a firm believer in the old adage: The more you know, the better you will do.
October 16, 2022
Look, we knew this book wasn't going to be good news going into it. My biggest gripes/reason for two stars are twofold.
1) I am also an academic scientist. And I believe strongly that writing intended for broader public MUST be accessible. This book was infuriatingly inaccessible to those without niche background in plant ecology. Worse, Rawlence has a maddening habit of explaining concepts that the general public has a chance of being familiar with, but refusing to define words, concepts, and jargon that is part of the niche domain. So -3 stars for that.
2) I am glad to see Indigenous peoples being recognized for their intelligent and sustainable stewardship of land. However, the way the author describes this is so condescending and patronizing, like they are magic gnomes or fairies; the attitude has no place in a science-based book. Indigenous people learned land-caring practices through trial and error passed on through traditions. The utility (or lack of utility) in each practice is empirically verifiable. Treating them like wise sages who drank some psychedelic tea and then pulled these practices out of their ass is dehumanizing.
1) I am also an academic scientist. And I believe strongly that writing intended for broader public MUST be accessible. This book was infuriatingly inaccessible to those without niche background in plant ecology. Worse, Rawlence has a maddening habit of explaining concepts that the general public has a chance of being familiar with, but refusing to define words, concepts, and jargon that is part of the niche domain. So -3 stars for that.
2) I am glad to see Indigenous peoples being recognized for their intelligent and sustainable stewardship of land. However, the way the author describes this is so condescending and patronizing, like they are magic gnomes or fairies; the attitude has no place in a science-based book. Indigenous people learned land-caring practices through trial and error passed on through traditions. The utility (or lack of utility) in each practice is empirically verifiable. Treating them like wise sages who drank some psychedelic tea and then pulled these practices out of their ass is dehumanizing.
February 14, 2022
Rating 4.5
I don’t think I have ever read a book like The Treeline before. It was so fascinating and honestly, a book everyone should read. I don’t read nonfiction very often even though I really should and want to. I would say this book is perfect for anyone who has never read nonfiction but is looking to start. The way this book is written is almost told like a story. The sections are broken down into different trees based on location and a map is provided. This made it extremely easy to keep track of what was going on. The author has such an interesting way of writing. Yes, you will learn a lot of new information but it never felt overwhelming and I never felt bored. With most nonfiction, I always create a schedule to pace myself. I would recommend you do the same so that you don’t burn yourself out. I loved looking/reading the glossary at the end and I appreciated the pictures of each tree. The reader can definitely tell that the author put so much research and thought into this book. If you're a fan of nonfiction I definitely recommend you check this one out.
Do you enjoy being out in nature?
Thank you so much @stmartinspress for a #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I don’t think I have ever read a book like The Treeline before. It was so fascinating and honestly, a book everyone should read. I don’t read nonfiction very often even though I really should and want to. I would say this book is perfect for anyone who has never read nonfiction but is looking to start. The way this book is written is almost told like a story. The sections are broken down into different trees based on location and a map is provided. This made it extremely easy to keep track of what was going on. The author has such an interesting way of writing. Yes, you will learn a lot of new information but it never felt overwhelming and I never felt bored. With most nonfiction, I always create a schedule to pace myself. I would recommend you do the same so that you don’t burn yourself out. I loved looking/reading the glossary at the end and I appreciated the pictures of each tree. The reader can definitely tell that the author put so much research and thought into this book. If you're a fan of nonfiction I definitely recommend you check this one out.
Do you enjoy being out in nature?
Thank you so much @stmartinspress for a #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
November 14, 2021
What a brilliant idea for a book! Author Ben Rawlence introduces Treeline in a clear and precise paragraph; please excuse the long quote, but I couldn’t put it better than he does:
“The terrain, both scientific and geographic, though, is vast, and the scope of what the boreal represents so huge, it seems impossible to encompass within the scope of a single book. It was only when I discovered that a tiny handful of tree species make up the treeline that I began to see that an attempt at description might be possible. An elite club, the six featured here are the familiar markers of the northern territories: three conifers and three broadleaves evolved to survive the cold. Moreover, remarkably, each of these tree species has made a section of the treeline its own, outcompeting other species and anchoring unique ecosystems: Scots pine in Scotland, birch in Scandinavia, larch in Siberia, spruce in Alaska and, to a lesser extent, poplar in Canada and rowan in Greenland. I decided to visit each tree in its native territory, to see how the different species were faring in response to warming, and what their stories might mean for the other inhabitants of the forest, including us.” (7)
Treeline is organized into different sections; each one dedicated to each tree listed above in their territory. The introduction to each section includes drawings of the tree itself as well as details of its flowers or seeds and the like. I really loved this about the book. It was such a beautiful yet informative way to introduce each tree.
Rawlence is not a scientist, but he is a researcher, a gatherer of knowledge and information. And he speaks with scientists who are studying the boreal forests. He also speaks with Indigenous people who live on the land of boreal forests. With these visits that he shares, he reveals the huge representations of the forest he mentions in the quote above.
Rawlence is a wonderful guide, partly because he is practically learning as we learn. He does not underestimate the reader. He writes in a voice that is patient and earnest. I loved that he observed and noted the names of flora and fauna and how they interact with and influence one another. As you read, you realize how important knowledge of such things is.
My mind did wander quite a bit as I read. This is more likely due to my mood than the book itself, but as my ratings are on the subjective side of things, I can’t give it the full five stars. I do highly recommend it, though, and foresee it doing well upon its release. Actually, I can’t wait for other people to read it because it’s the kind of book I want to talk about or, rather, hear someone else’s thoughts. There is so much information here, I know I didn’t absorb it all.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.
“The terrain, both scientific and geographic, though, is vast, and the scope of what the boreal represents so huge, it seems impossible to encompass within the scope of a single book. It was only when I discovered that a tiny handful of tree species make up the treeline that I began to see that an attempt at description might be possible. An elite club, the six featured here are the familiar markers of the northern territories: three conifers and three broadleaves evolved to survive the cold. Moreover, remarkably, each of these tree species has made a section of the treeline its own, outcompeting other species and anchoring unique ecosystems: Scots pine in Scotland, birch in Scandinavia, larch in Siberia, spruce in Alaska and, to a lesser extent, poplar in Canada and rowan in Greenland. I decided to visit each tree in its native territory, to see how the different species were faring in response to warming, and what their stories might mean for the other inhabitants of the forest, including us.” (7)
Treeline is organized into different sections; each one dedicated to each tree listed above in their territory. The introduction to each section includes drawings of the tree itself as well as details of its flowers or seeds and the like. I really loved this about the book. It was such a beautiful yet informative way to introduce each tree.
Rawlence is not a scientist, but he is a researcher, a gatherer of knowledge and information. And he speaks with scientists who are studying the boreal forests. He also speaks with Indigenous people who live on the land of boreal forests. With these visits that he shares, he reveals the huge representations of the forest he mentions in the quote above.
Rawlence is a wonderful guide, partly because he is practically learning as we learn. He does not underestimate the reader. He writes in a voice that is patient and earnest. I loved that he observed and noted the names of flora and fauna and how they interact with and influence one another. As you read, you realize how important knowledge of such things is.
My mind did wander quite a bit as I read. This is more likely due to my mood than the book itself, but as my ratings are on the subjective side of things, I can’t give it the full five stars. I do highly recommend it, though, and foresee it doing well upon its release. Actually, I can’t wait for other people to read it because it’s the kind of book I want to talk about or, rather, hear someone else’s thoughts. There is so much information here, I know I didn’t absorb it all.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.
October 22, 2021
I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press. It’s clear that I’m not the target audience for this book as it is heavily scientific and it was a challenging read for me. I requested this ARC because it sounded so interesting, but there was so much information packed into this book that I felt overwhelmed. I was determined to see it through but it wasn’t easy!
The parts I liked best about this book were the slices of life from the people living in the remote areas that Rawlence visited. Learning about their different ways of life, their struggles, and the way that they’ve adapted to climate change is what was most interesting to me. I also enjoyed the bits about the wildlife - reindeer & beavers & belugas, oh my!
This book and I were not meant to be so don’t let my review stop you from reading it and learning about this important topic!
The parts I liked best about this book were the slices of life from the people living in the remote areas that Rawlence visited. Learning about their different ways of life, their struggles, and the way that they’ve adapted to climate change is what was most interesting to me. I also enjoyed the bits about the wildlife - reindeer & beavers & belugas, oh my!
This book and I were not meant to be so don’t let my review stop you from reading it and learning about this important topic!
September 13, 2021
As an artist focused on the natural world, I loved how Rawlence shared the science through a beautiful journey and tribute to what should be our most treasured allies—trees. Specifically, he focuses on the harsh climates in the north and the types that survive up there. Through his journey, he shares insight into what this means for us now and in the future, but he also shares his wonder and great respect for these species. Rawlence is unflinching in his journalistic approach, pressing the urgency alongside thoughtful information to inspire a reader’s interest, but more importantly to inspire action. There’s a rich artistry in his writing and in his passion, and I look forward to sharing this with others.
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an advance copy for review.
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an advance copy for review.
March 22, 2022
This book should be required reading for all high-school students and college freshman.
Among a book of memorable statements, this one struck me the hardest:
"The last generation to know a stable climate with seasonal cycles and familiar species - and all the human culture and traditions that rest on that foundation - has already been born."
Among a book of memorable statements, this one struck me the hardest:
"The last generation to know a stable climate with seasonal cycles and familiar species - and all the human culture and traditions that rest on that foundation - has already been born."
July 11, 2022
Ik hou enorm van non-fictie en ik hou van de natuur. Ik heb al meer boeken gelezen over de schoonheid van de natuur. Dus toen Uitgeverij ten Have met dit boek verscheen, wist ik gelijk dat ik het wilde lezen. De cover is enorm uitnodigend door prachtige foto van dennen bomen met een zon die hier doorheen straalt. De typografie sluit mooi aan bij het beeld en vormen samen een krachtig geheel, deze foto loopt ook door over de rug van het boek. De achterzijde daarbij wat saai met de effen bruine kleur, maar hierdoor is de beschrijvende tekst wel erg goed leesbaar.
We volgen Ben Rawlence tijdens meeslepende ontdekkingstochten langs verschillende boomgrenzen. Waarbij duidelijk wordt wat de impact en de effecten van de klimaatverandering teweeg brengen. Het is een pijnlijk zichtbare ontdekking. Ben Rawlence reist langs de cruciale grenslijn van Noorwegen naar Siberië, van Alaska tot Groenland. Tijdens zijn tocht deelt hij je zijn kennis over 6 verschillende boomsoorten en hun werking op de lucht waarvan wij afhankelijk zijn. Hij schets een verontrustend toekomstbeeld.
Niet alleen de buitenzijde van het boek is prachtig, maar ook aan het binnenwerk is de nodige aandacht besteed. Ieder hoofdstuk begint met een prachtige lijn illustratie van een boom die in dat hoofdstuk centraal staat. Daarna volgen er zes verschillende hoofdstukken en reizen van Ben Rawlence en zijn ontdekkingen en bevindingen. Zijn verhalen zijn een bijzondere mix van de reis die hij aflegt en de meest bizarre en heftige omstandigheden die hij tijdens zijn reizen beleefd, de mensen die hij tijdens deze reis tegenkomt en interviewt én zijn bevindingen en kennis over de natuur en met name de bomen. Ben Rawlence heeft een hele beschrijvende schrijfstijl. Hierdoor treedt hij soms erg in detail over wat hij weet, ziet en mee maakt. Aan de andere kant maken deze soms hele kleine details het verhaal wel erg bijzonder.
Wat mij persoonlijk het meeste aansprak, was vooral zijn kennis over de natuur en met name de bomen. Maar ook de samenhang met de dieren, planten, mossen, schimmels etc. Ik vind het echt geweldig om hierover te lezen en erachter te komen, hoe alles in de natuur elkaar nodig heeft en samenwerkt. Ik heb zoveel leuke en interessante dingen hierover bijgeleerd, dat deze kennis je daarna zeker met andere ogen naar de natuur laat kijken. Ook de verhalen van de mensen die hij tijdens zijn tochten tegenkomt en de manier waarop hun levenswijze wordt beïnvloed door de natuur veranderingen is aangrijpend.
Het is een bijzonder, mooi en intens boek. Ben Rawlence weet op fascinerende wijze zijn reis, bevinden en constateringen te verwoorden. Ondanks dat de werkelijkheid een pijnlijke constatering is waarbij snel en drastisch op moet worden ingegrepen, zijn de reizen en zijn kennis bijzonder en laten je op hele andere wijze naar de natuur en ons leven kijken.
Ik weet zeker dat dit boek voor veel mensen een prachtige eye-opener zal zijn om met andere ogen naar de natuur en het pijnlijke toekomstbeeld te kijken. Het is absoluut echt het lezen waard.
We volgen Ben Rawlence tijdens meeslepende ontdekkingstochten langs verschillende boomgrenzen. Waarbij duidelijk wordt wat de impact en de effecten van de klimaatverandering teweeg brengen. Het is een pijnlijk zichtbare ontdekking. Ben Rawlence reist langs de cruciale grenslijn van Noorwegen naar Siberië, van Alaska tot Groenland. Tijdens zijn tocht deelt hij je zijn kennis over 6 verschillende boomsoorten en hun werking op de lucht waarvan wij afhankelijk zijn. Hij schets een verontrustend toekomstbeeld.
Niet alleen de buitenzijde van het boek is prachtig, maar ook aan het binnenwerk is de nodige aandacht besteed. Ieder hoofdstuk begint met een prachtige lijn illustratie van een boom die in dat hoofdstuk centraal staat. Daarna volgen er zes verschillende hoofdstukken en reizen van Ben Rawlence en zijn ontdekkingen en bevindingen. Zijn verhalen zijn een bijzondere mix van de reis die hij aflegt en de meest bizarre en heftige omstandigheden die hij tijdens zijn reizen beleefd, de mensen die hij tijdens deze reis tegenkomt en interviewt én zijn bevindingen en kennis over de natuur en met name de bomen. Ben Rawlence heeft een hele beschrijvende schrijfstijl. Hierdoor treedt hij soms erg in detail over wat hij weet, ziet en mee maakt. Aan de andere kant maken deze soms hele kleine details het verhaal wel erg bijzonder.
Wat mij persoonlijk het meeste aansprak, was vooral zijn kennis over de natuur en met name de bomen. Maar ook de samenhang met de dieren, planten, mossen, schimmels etc. Ik vind het echt geweldig om hierover te lezen en erachter te komen, hoe alles in de natuur elkaar nodig heeft en samenwerkt. Ik heb zoveel leuke en interessante dingen hierover bijgeleerd, dat deze kennis je daarna zeker met andere ogen naar de natuur laat kijken. Ook de verhalen van de mensen die hij tijdens zijn tochten tegenkomt en de manier waarop hun levenswijze wordt beïnvloed door de natuur veranderingen is aangrijpend.
Het is een bijzonder, mooi en intens boek. Ben Rawlence weet op fascinerende wijze zijn reis, bevinden en constateringen te verwoorden. Ondanks dat de werkelijkheid een pijnlijke constatering is waarbij snel en drastisch op moet worden ingegrepen, zijn de reizen en zijn kennis bijzonder en laten je op hele andere wijze naar de natuur en ons leven kijken.
Ik weet zeker dat dit boek voor veel mensen een prachtige eye-opener zal zijn om met andere ogen naar de natuur en het pijnlijke toekomstbeeld te kijken. Het is absoluut echt het lezen waard.
February 13, 2022
Lyrical Anthropological Examination That Needs Better Scientific Documentation. When Rawlence is describing the people and peoples he is traveling to and among, he has such a lyrical quality to his prose here that it really is quite beautiful - these are the best parts of this book. However, Rawlence is also quite the pessimist about human action and survival, going on at one point to proclaim that Earth would be better off without humanity. While this is not an unheard of proposition, fantastical claims like that require substantial documentation - and documentation is what this text sorely lacks, clocking in at barely 10% of the overall text (25-30% being more "normal", and I've read books making far less fantastical claims clocking in north of 40% documentation). Ultimately, your opinion of the book is likely going to depend on whether you agree with Rawlence's politics and philosophies, though, again, the writing when he is *not* speaking to these really is quite beautiful. Still, even in what he does present and even with the lack of documentation, this is a book that needs to be read by most anyone speaking to any level of climate science, as he does bring up some truly valid points here and there. Recommended.
January 20, 2023
I liked the idea of this book and the mixture of anthropology, science, and travelogue did make it readable and fun. However, this book strikes me as a good example of why many people dislike conversations about climate change and global warming.
The author wants to make people feel guilty while being vulnerable himself to criticisms of hypocrisy. The author asks, “How did it ever come to pass that we would forget the names of thee living things that manufactured oxygen, purified the air and water?” (266). Elsewhere he describes the sound of a melting glacier in Greenland as “the sound of guilt” (254). How are readers to respond to these excerpts? Perhaps they will respond by reflecting in sorrow and afflicting their souls in a modern, environmentalist version of Yom Kippur (see Leviticus 16:29). Some readers might just blame the unenlightened or the greedy who fail to vote the right way or make the needed sacrifices. Other readers might lash out: why does this guy who travels all around the Arctic circle in planes and cars get to tell us what to do? He never addresses the issue and offers no justification.
Some of the commentary about indigenous peoples feels unnuanced and lacking in evidence. For example, the author writes that “a First Nations person is never lost in nature,” which feels like rank stereotyping that is unlikely to be true (189). Of two Saami women who work in town, he writes, “They may be good at their jobs, take pride in their work even, but their soul is not in the town. It is out there, in the hills, running free with the reindeer” (67). The author paternalistically insinuates that those with the “winged blood of the nomad” (i.e., members of certain indigenous groups) would be better off eschewing certain jobs or lifestyles so that they can live traditionally (51).
Environmentalism (or to be more specific, limiting Climate Change) has a major PR/marketing problem, and this book is a great example why.
The author wants to make people feel guilty while being vulnerable himself to criticisms of hypocrisy. The author asks, “How did it ever come to pass that we would forget the names of thee living things that manufactured oxygen, purified the air and water?” (266). Elsewhere he describes the sound of a melting glacier in Greenland as “the sound of guilt” (254). How are readers to respond to these excerpts? Perhaps they will respond by reflecting in sorrow and afflicting their souls in a modern, environmentalist version of Yom Kippur (see Leviticus 16:29). Some readers might just blame the unenlightened or the greedy who fail to vote the right way or make the needed sacrifices. Other readers might lash out: why does this guy who travels all around the Arctic circle in planes and cars get to tell us what to do? He never addresses the issue and offers no justification.
Some of the commentary about indigenous peoples feels unnuanced and lacking in evidence. For example, the author writes that “a First Nations person is never lost in nature,” which feels like rank stereotyping that is unlikely to be true (189). Of two Saami women who work in town, he writes, “They may be good at their jobs, take pride in their work even, but their soul is not in the town. It is out there, in the hills, running free with the reindeer” (67). The author paternalistically insinuates that those with the “winged blood of the nomad” (i.e., members of certain indigenous groups) would be better off eschewing certain jobs or lifestyles so that they can live traditionally (51).
Environmentalism (or to be more specific, limiting Climate Change) has a major PR/marketing problem, and this book is a great example why.
March 27, 2023
The Sami, the Dolgan, the Koe you kohn, the Sah mee, the Ann uh shuh tahb aye, the Huh gahn uh san and the Katanga have been the first peoples watching the northern tree line move ever northward.
The thawing of the permafrost where the frozen hibernation underneath was for thousands box years hidden, is drastically changing our earth, and temperate rain forests are going to Wales.
Trees going northward: Scots Pine, Balsam Poplars to Hudson Bay, Black Alder (alnus), Birch with white bark, Coronas (Hazel), CA Juniper, Cupressus forbesii, West Sycamore, CA Buckeye, Single-leaf Pinyon (pinus), Honey Mesquite, Attenuate, CA Foothill Pine, Southern CA Trees: PINE: Coulter Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Monterey Pine; WILLOW: Desert Willow, ASH: Velvet ash, OAK: coast live oak, MAPLE: Box Elder, Maple, Big Leaf Maple, WALNUT: CA Black Walnut,
Tree lines are now moving north 12 or more miles each year. Only the first peoples who live in the north have had to deal with this reality. But our time is coming. According to the book, it is already too late to stop the move north.
Our short reign has coincided with the summit of the greatest bio-diversity on earth.
Black Mountain College--see Ben Rawlence
All senses participate. When we eat the bear, we become the bear.
All evolution is co-evolution
Strategic ecology; assisted migration goal
Trees we select--the Anthropocene is beginning
What is the right thing to do?
Hope does not equal STASIS. Hope is what YOU can do.
Prepare children for change--not with fear, but with stewardship.
The thawing of the permafrost where the frozen hibernation underneath was for thousands box years hidden, is drastically changing our earth, and temperate rain forests are going to Wales.
Trees going northward: Scots Pine, Balsam Poplars to Hudson Bay, Black Alder (alnus), Birch with white bark, Coronas (Hazel), CA Juniper, Cupressus forbesii, West Sycamore, CA Buckeye, Single-leaf Pinyon (pinus), Honey Mesquite, Attenuate, CA Foothill Pine, Southern CA Trees: PINE: Coulter Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Monterey Pine; WILLOW: Desert Willow, ASH: Velvet ash, OAK: coast live oak, MAPLE: Box Elder, Maple, Big Leaf Maple, WALNUT: CA Black Walnut,
Tree lines are now moving north 12 or more miles each year. Only the first peoples who live in the north have had to deal with this reality. But our time is coming. According to the book, it is already too late to stop the move north.
Our short reign has coincided with the summit of the greatest bio-diversity on earth.
Black Mountain College--see Ben Rawlence
All senses participate. When we eat the bear, we become the bear.
All evolution is co-evolution
Strategic ecology; assisted migration goal
Trees we select--the Anthropocene is beginning
What is the right thing to do?
Hope does not equal STASIS. Hope is what YOU can do.
Prepare children for change--not with fear, but with stewardship.
March 31, 2022
An interesting example of modern British nature writing. The author combines a travelog, a popular science book, and a personal essay into a coherent and engaging story.
The northern forests receive far less attention than their southern equivalents so it's refreshing to learn more about them. Yes, they are not as colorful and diverse as tropical jungles but can be no less fascinating. You will learn that from this book, and much more – there are a lot of surprising scientific facts here (not only about the boreal tree species). It also brings an interesting new perspective on the issue of the climate crisis and nature conservation, with many examples of possible strategies and actions but also some grim conclusions. I loved most the part devoted to the Siberia -it is shocking how limited is our knowledge of the permafrost and possible consequences of its thawing.
Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
The northern forests receive far less attention than their southern equivalents so it's refreshing to learn more about them. Yes, they are not as colorful and diverse as tropical jungles but can be no less fascinating. You will learn that from this book, and much more – there are a lot of surprising scientific facts here (not only about the boreal tree species). It also brings an interesting new perspective on the issue of the climate crisis and nature conservation, with many examples of possible strategies and actions but also some grim conclusions. I loved most the part devoted to the Siberia -it is shocking how limited is our knowledge of the permafrost and possible consequences of its thawing.
Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
February 8, 2022
This was an outstanding read.
A very interesting book. Actually quite unlike other environmental books.
I really enjoyed this book.
Scary and sad, while at the same time, really informative and fascinating.
As for Ben, I would keep an eye on his career. I forsee big things!
I would recommend it!
4.6/5
A very interesting book. Actually quite unlike other environmental books.
I really enjoyed this book.
Scary and sad, while at the same time, really informative and fascinating.
As for Ben, I would keep an eye on his career. I forsee big things!
I would recommend it!
4.6/5
November 7, 2021
This book is essential for anyone interested in dendrology. It is extremely well written and obvious that the author has a true appreciation of our changing environment.
July 6, 2023
Probably the best epilogue I’ve ever read, but had to subtract 1 star for how depressing it was.
“Our present emergency is forcing us to remember what, until recently, we have always known: that there is a web of communication, meaning and significance beyond us, a world of life forms constantly chattering, shouting and flirting and hunting each other, indifferent to human affairs. And there is solace in such a vision. The way out of the depression and grief and guilt of the carbon cul-de-sac we have driven down is to contemplate the world without us. To know that the earth, that life, will continue its evolutionary journey in all its mystery and wonder. To widen our idea of time, and of ourselves. If we see ourselves as part of a larger whole, then it is the complete picture that is beautiful, worthy of meaning and respect, worth perhaps dying for, safe in the knowledge that life is not the opposite of death but a circle, as the forest teaches us, a continuum.”
“Our present emergency is forcing us to remember what, until recently, we have always known: that there is a web of communication, meaning and significance beyond us, a world of life forms constantly chattering, shouting and flirting and hunting each other, indifferent to human affairs. And there is solace in such a vision. The way out of the depression and grief and guilt of the carbon cul-de-sac we have driven down is to contemplate the world without us. To know that the earth, that life, will continue its evolutionary journey in all its mystery and wonder. To widen our idea of time, and of ourselves. If we see ourselves as part of a larger whole, then it is the complete picture that is beautiful, worthy of meaning and respect, worth perhaps dying for, safe in the knowledge that life is not the opposite of death but a circle, as the forest teaches us, a continuum.”
April 26, 2022
Wonderfully researched, beautifully written, well-paced, and educational. At times poetic and very often devastating. It was difficult to process many of the realizations in this book without feeling a deep anxiety about our future and a spiraling sense of despair over the fact that we can no longer avoid major climatic shifts and mass extinctions, only temper them. Or that existing models have consistently underestimated the speed and scale of change. However, as the author writes in the epilogue, despair is the first step towards repair.
"Acknowledging the damage of the past is empowering... hope lies in shared endeavor. In transformation. In meaningful work for the common good. We are on the brink of a new epoch in the life of the planet."
"There is consolation that we've always lived in the ruins of what went before. We must prepare our children for uncertainty, but not as victims. We and they are stewards, still charged with an ancient responsibility... to create the future with every step, in full recognition of the fact that every move you make, however large or small matters."
"Acknowledging the damage of the past is empowering... hope lies in shared endeavor. In transformation. In meaningful work for the common good. We are on the brink of a new epoch in the life of the planet."
"There is consolation that we've always lived in the ruins of what went before. We must prepare our children for uncertainty, but not as victims. We and they are stewards, still charged with an ancient responsibility... to create the future with every step, in full recognition of the fact that every move you make, however large or small matters."
March 17, 2023
bro I love trees :(
November 30, 2023
I enjoyed the information and the tree facts. Well written, but slow reading.
January 19, 2023
Enlightening and depressing (as any work that covers climate change is for me), but with a dash of hope. I enjoyed the focussed scope of this book (forests at the northern edges of our planet), and I especially appreciated that Rawlence almost exclusively spoke with indigenous people (some of whom were also experts in the Western educational sense; others were experts through indigenous wisdom and through their traditional ties to the land).
March 17, 2023
Ben Rawlence travels from the north of Scotland, through Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska , Canada and Greenland observing the changes in biodiversity and the impacts on the indigenous peoples who live at the treeline. He paints a picture of ways of life that are being destroyed by climate change.
July 5, 2022
In contrast to my expectation, this book is more spiritualistic, even mystic, than scientific. Many "science facts" in the book are dubious anecdotes at best, if not simply wrong. For example, let's look at a paragraph describing photosynthesis:
The electron donor for the reaction is water instead of CO2 (maybe, just maybe, for a passionate-but-not-scientifically-accurate activist, everything should be related to CO2) and that's where O2 plants "exhale" from, so there is no "carbon splitting". The energy range of photons mainly used by photosynthesis is also not fancy-sounding gamma ray (if so, we will be in trouble), but visible light (mostly in red and blue and the left-out green is the color we see for the chlorophyll-containing leaves). There is also nothing to do with laser. For a volume devoted to the tree, for which photosynthesis is of fundamental importance, it's just incredible how many basic mistakes there are in such a short paragraph.
A side note. There is actually a quite simple and effective way to tell the quality of "science" in a book even if you don't have knowledge in related fields: read several paragraphs including some scientific statements and check if there were immediate citation/footnote pointing to the supporting studies. This book definitely fails the test.
So, can we just read this book mainly as a spiritual exploration without scientists' picky examination? Unfortunately I think there are some other big issues regarding to ideologies that create many unpleasant bias.
[to be continued if next time I found time and passion to spend for a book I don't appreciate much...]
Sunlight activates their chloroplastic structures, and they use the photons from the sun’s gamma rays to split the carbon from the oxygen in carbon dioxide. It is a mysterious process; we still don’t quite know how photosynthesis works, but the photons must be concentrated or magnified like a laser, so that they can split a tightly bonded molecule.
The electron donor for the reaction is water instead of CO2 (maybe, just maybe, for a passionate-but-not-scientifically-accurate activist, everything should be related to CO2) and that's where O2 plants "exhale" from, so there is no "carbon splitting". The energy range of photons mainly used by photosynthesis is also not fancy-sounding gamma ray (if so, we will be in trouble), but visible light (mostly in red and blue and the left-out green is the color we see for the chlorophyll-containing leaves). There is also nothing to do with laser. For a volume devoted to the tree, for which photosynthesis is of fundamental importance, it's just incredible how many basic mistakes there are in such a short paragraph.
A side note. There is actually a quite simple and effective way to tell the quality of "science" in a book even if you don't have knowledge in related fields: read several paragraphs including some scientific statements and check if there were immediate citation/footnote pointing to the supporting studies. This book definitely fails the test.
So, can we just read this book mainly as a spiritual exploration without scientists' picky examination? Unfortunately I think there are some other big issues regarding to ideologies that create many unpleasant bias.
[to be continued if next time I found time and passion to spend for a book I don't appreciate much...]
January 3, 2022
You might think a book about trees, particularly the most northerly trees in the world, couldn't be moving but you'd be wrong. Treeline is full of science but also heart and culture. You'll come away with a profound understanding of how interconnected nature is, how trees and the ecosystems they are part of are complex and astonishing and so, so critical for humans. You'll also worry for what is being lost, for what has already been lost. I hope it inspires you to take action. Every bit of carbon pollution we can avoid helps minimize the scale of change that is coming for the forests, and for us. This book made me more passionate than ever about doing all we can to protect the brilliant diversity of nature still with us.
I have so many favourite quotes from this book but I'll leave you with this one: "If we want to be part of the assemblage of species that co-evolves to survive the coming upheaval then we need to revive that essential entanglement with other living things."
(Thanks to the publisher for the free review copy via NetGalley.)
I have so many favourite quotes from this book but I'll leave you with this one: "If we want to be part of the assemblage of species that co-evolves to survive the coming upheaval then we need to revive that essential entanglement with other living things."
(Thanks to the publisher for the free review copy via NetGalley.)
July 1, 2022
My personal book of the year last year was Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl, and I expect this book to be a contender for that prestigious award this year. In Owls Slaght included far more than the conservation of rare bird, a study into the environment and its population, and the affect the process may have on all.
Here, Rawlence again does far more than discuss the place of the treeline, delving into the lives of those who depend upon it, and how those lives have changed, and will change, as the line shifts.
Rawlence chooses six trees in particular to write about, or six areas in the Arctic, one of them, in Scandinavia I will visit myself in a few weeks. This is of course, in relation to climate change, he greatest threat to all life on our planet. They are, the Scots pine in Scotland (and in his native Wales), the birch in Norway, the Dahurian larch on the Russian taiga; the spruce in Alaska, the poplar in Canada, and the mountain ash in Greenland.
It is a timely message of urgency that needs as wide a readership as possible. But it stands out in the ever-increasing genre of such books because Rawlence manages to stay within that small section of the continuum line that lies between scientific experts and novices. It isn't over-complicated, yet it is challenging and will provide much new information to most of its readers.
The author was a co-founder of Black Mountains College in the Brecon Beacons National Park, whose mission statement includes 'to create a future where nature and humans thrive'. He is also a former researcher for Human Rights Watch. The book is longlisted for the Wainwright Conservation Prize, and deserves, in my opinion at least, to gain much further recognition.
Here, Rawlence again does far more than discuss the place of the treeline, delving into the lives of those who depend upon it, and how those lives have changed, and will change, as the line shifts.
Rawlence chooses six trees in particular to write about, or six areas in the Arctic, one of them, in Scandinavia I will visit myself in a few weeks. This is of course, in relation to climate change, he greatest threat to all life on our planet. They are, the Scots pine in Scotland (and in his native Wales), the birch in Norway, the Dahurian larch on the Russian taiga; the spruce in Alaska, the poplar in Canada, and the mountain ash in Greenland.
It is a timely message of urgency that needs as wide a readership as possible. But it stands out in the ever-increasing genre of such books because Rawlence manages to stay within that small section of the continuum line that lies between scientific experts and novices. It isn't over-complicated, yet it is challenging and will provide much new information to most of its readers.
The author was a co-founder of Black Mountains College in the Brecon Beacons National Park, whose mission statement includes 'to create a future where nature and humans thrive'. He is also a former researcher for Human Rights Watch. The book is longlisted for the Wainwright Conservation Prize, and deserves, in my opinion at least, to gain much further recognition.
June 23, 2023
“This is how the world ends: in a myriad of tiny tragedies. Each extinction of species, language, custom is noted not with a howl of protest but with a quiet tear.”
The tree line - the northern boundary of the boreal forest has been shifting north over the last 50 years. The boreal forest is often referred to as the “lungs” of our planet and in The Treeline, Rawlence explores this shifting northern boundary as he travels to Norway, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Nature is amazing - a point Rawlence makes over and over again as you see how all the components of the ecosystem interact with each other. (Seriously - the section on larches and on the way trees communicate with each other is riveting). Nature is also changing - and the description of the impact of a warming planet on both the flora and the fauna as well as on the people who call these areas home is heartbreaking. The science in this book is compelling and intriguing. The nature writing is beautiful and lyrical. Highly recommend this powerful read.
The tree line - the northern boundary of the boreal forest has been shifting north over the last 50 years. The boreal forest is often referred to as the “lungs” of our planet and in The Treeline, Rawlence explores this shifting northern boundary as he travels to Norway, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Nature is amazing - a point Rawlence makes over and over again as you see how all the components of the ecosystem interact with each other. (Seriously - the section on larches and on the way trees communicate with each other is riveting). Nature is also changing - and the description of the impact of a warming planet on both the flora and the fauna as well as on the people who call these areas home is heartbreaking. The science in this book is compelling and intriguing. The nature writing is beautiful and lyrical. Highly recommend this powerful read.
December 28, 2022
Un libro spaventosamente reale.
Ben Rawlence si imbarca in un viaggio che dura anni, compresi quelli della scrittura del reportage. Segue la linea dell'ultima foresta sulla terra per osservare il modo in cui questa sta cambiando a causa del riscaldamento globale.
Parte in Scozia, arriva in Russia, Siberia, passa in Canada: ogni paese ha alberi differenti. I terreni sono diversi, alcuni alberi riescono a insediarsi meglio e portano con sé ecosistemi diversi – quasi tutti in cambiamento, le temperature che aumentano sciolgono il permafrost, i ghiacciai e costringono la linea degli alberi a spostarsi a Nord sempre più velocemente.
Treeline offre uno spaccato delle popolazioni che vivono a stretto contatto con questa realtà, ci sono storie, antiche leggende. Tribù che cercano di rimanere ancorate al passato. Tradizioni.
Un libro scritto benissimo, che spiega teorie scientifiche recenti e contiene un gran numero di studi sulla foreste.
Toccante e sincero. Cinque stelle
Ben Rawlence si imbarca in un viaggio che dura anni, compresi quelli della scrittura del reportage. Segue la linea dell'ultima foresta sulla terra per osservare il modo in cui questa sta cambiando a causa del riscaldamento globale.
Parte in Scozia, arriva in Russia, Siberia, passa in Canada: ogni paese ha alberi differenti. I terreni sono diversi, alcuni alberi riescono a insediarsi meglio e portano con sé ecosistemi diversi – quasi tutti in cambiamento, le temperature che aumentano sciolgono il permafrost, i ghiacciai e costringono la linea degli alberi a spostarsi a Nord sempre più velocemente.
Treeline offre uno spaccato delle popolazioni che vivono a stretto contatto con questa realtà, ci sono storie, antiche leggende. Tribù che cercano di rimanere ancorate al passato. Tradizioni.
Un libro scritto benissimo, che spiega teorie scientifiche recenti e contiene un gran numero di studi sulla foreste.
Toccante e sincero. Cinque stelle
November 10, 2022
What a great find -- stumbled across this at the public library.
Rawlence travels across the top of the world through the boreal forest, through Scotland, Norway, Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland, and in each location looks closely at one tree species that typifies life in those areas. In the context of climate change, some of these trees are doing well, others not so much. Rawlence meets with scientists and locals at each of these locations, learning how a warmer world is affecting ecologies and cultures.
As you can imagine, the outlook is bleak. But throughout, the importance of the boreal forest to the health of life on our planet, and these forests flexibility, are on display. Sometimes, Rawlence gets carried away using colors to describe what he's seeing, but that's a small annoyance. His ability to connect with environments and the people who live in them is apparent.
Two quote that, for me, sum up this book. First, (p. 247) "This is how the world ends. In a myriad of tiny tragedies. Each extinction of species, language, custom noted not with a howl of protest but with a quiet tear." But also, later, (p. 261) "There is much to fear in what we know and much to hope for in what we do not."
A wonderful book for those that care about forests and want to know mroe about what they do for our planet --and what could possibly be lost.
Rawlence travels across the top of the world through the boreal forest, through Scotland, Norway, Russia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland, and in each location looks closely at one tree species that typifies life in those areas. In the context of climate change, some of these trees are doing well, others not so much. Rawlence meets with scientists and locals at each of these locations, learning how a warmer world is affecting ecologies and cultures.
As you can imagine, the outlook is bleak. But throughout, the importance of the boreal forest to the health of life on our planet, and these forests flexibility, are on display. Sometimes, Rawlence gets carried away using colors to describe what he's seeing, but that's a small annoyance. His ability to connect with environments and the people who live in them is apparent.
Two quote that, for me, sum up this book. First, (p. 247) "This is how the world ends. In a myriad of tiny tragedies. Each extinction of species, language, custom noted not with a howl of protest but with a quiet tear." But also, later, (p. 261) "There is much to fear in what we know and much to hope for in what we do not."
A wonderful book for those that care about forests and want to know mroe about what they do for our planet --and what could possibly be lost.
December 26, 2023
Best read of 2023.
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