Trees in My Forest

Wall Street Journal

He writes with a graceful lyricism...to attract many general readers of natural history.

Washington Post

The Trees In My Forest is an engaging primer on the complex biological economics of the woods themselves...It's a quiet walk in stately woods...In Heinrich's hands, the lives of trees are as noble and as dramatic as the lives of men.

New York Times Book Review

These passionate observations of a place 'where the subtle matters and the spectacular distracts' superbly mix memoir and science.

Booknews

This chronicle of life in the author's 300-acre Maine forest is equal parts love story, companion guide, and biological reference. Each of the 24 essays explores a different aspect of the forest, from the white pines in mortal combat for life-giving light to the sophisticated colonies of ants who wage wars, take slaves, and herd aphids. Some make accessible such complicated ideas as the genetic makeup of plant life, the secret life of fungi, and the notion of sex in trees. Appendix A politely raises the important issues of logging, pesticides, and tree plantations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Kirkus Reviews

This lyrical testament to the stunning complexity of the natural world also documents one man's bid to make a difference on his own little patch of land.

Heinrich (One Man's Owl, 1987, etc.) bought 300 acres of logged-over Maine woods in 1975 and set out to restore its ecological diversity. A professor of biology at the University of Vermont, he uses the farm as retreat, classroom, and research lab. Heinrich is a detective in the woods. He infers from the presence of pin cherries the location of old pastures and dates a 19th- century forest fire by examining growth rings and charcoal deposits. His scientific method is wide-ranging and inclusive, drawing on engineering, mathematics, zoology, biochemistry, forestry, and economics, encompassing both micro and macro views. For the former he scrutinizes saplings under a microscope and details the biochemical process by which trees manufacture wood. The big picture spurs musings on the vast interconnectedness of nature as he traces the mind-bogglingly complicated symbiotic relationships among plants, animals, and natural forces like wind and sunlight. Heinrich uses simple sketches to illustrate his explanations of the ingenious design, growth strategies, and reproductive methods employed by trees in their quest for survival. In his ultimate goal of creating a forest, a place of "habitat complexity" vastly different from the sterile monocultures planted by paper companies in the name of sustainable forestry, he succeeds admirably. It's a pleasant surprise, then, to learn that in the end Heinrich does well by doing good: Not only is he rewarded with a diverse plant and wildlife population, he also reaps a cash profit from responsible logging.

Heinrich tells us more about trees than we'd ever dream of wondering, yet manages to transform the esoterica into a fascinating tribute to nature's superior design.