Tree: A Life Story
Paperback – Illustrated, Aug. 7 2018
by David Suzuki
The story of a single tree, from the moment the seed is released from its cone until, more than five hundred years later, it lies on the forest floor as a nurse log, giving life to ferns, mosses, and hemlocks, even as its own life is ending.
In this unique biography, David Suzuki and Wayne Grady tell story that spans a millennium and includes a cast of millions but focuses on a single tree, a Douglas fir, Tree describes in poetic detail the organism's modest origins that begin with a dramatic burst of millions of microscopic grains of pollen. The authors recount the amazing characteristics of the species, how they reproduce and how they receive from and offer nourishment to generations of other plants and animals. The tree's pivotal role in making life possible for the creatures around it - including human beings - is lovingly explored. The richly detailed text and Robert Bateman's original art pay tribute to this ubiquitous organism that is too often taken for granted.
Revised edition with a foreword by Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees.
"From the tiny seed of a single Douglas-fir, David Suzuki and Wayne Grady have grown a wonderful book, learned but lovely, thorough but terse. It's as big as all life." - David Quammen, author of The Song of the Dodo and The Tangled Tree
"Read Tree. You will find wonder, magic and awe instead of the usual flight-or-fight responses when you read about our ailing natural world. David Suzuki and Wayne Grady have hit exactly the right note."- Globe and Mail
"This book is both a touching look at a single tree and an articulate testimony to nature's cyclic power." - Publishers Weekly
"This happy melding of history, natural history, and biography is further enhanced by Robert Bateman's fine illustrations to create an instructive and graceful look at the interconnectedness of life." - Booklist
"Tree: A Life Story is highly recommended. It is genuinely a celebration of the wonders of nature and how perfectly its constituents interact and depend on one another." - Science Books & Films
