How to Read a Tree: Clues and Patterns from Bark to Leaves

by Tristan Gooley

Overview

“Reams of appealing facts make one itch to get outside and right up close to trees’ rough surfaces and shady cover.”—The Atlantic

New York Times–bestselling author Tristan Gooley opens our eyes to the secret language of trees—and the natural wonders they reveal all around us

Trees are keen to tell us so much. They’ll tell us about the land, the water, the people, the animals, the weather, and time. And they will tell us about their lives, the good bits and bad. Trees tell a story, but only to those who know how to read it.

In How to Read a Tree, Gooley uncovers the clues hiding in plain sight: in a tree’s branches and leaves; its bark, buds, and flowers; even its stump. Leaves with a pale, central streak mean that water is nearby. Young, low-growing branches show that a tree is struggling. And reddish or purple bark signals new growth.

Like snowflakes, no two trees are exactly the same. Every difference reveals the epic story this tree has lived—if we stop to look closely.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615199433
Publisher:	The Experiment
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Series:	Natural Navigation
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	46,390
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 5.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

TRISTAN GOOLEY is the New York Times–bestselling author of How to Read Water, How to Read Nature, The Natural Navigator, The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, The Secret World of Weather, and The Nature Instinct. He has led expeditions on five continents, climbed mountains in three, and is the only living person to have both flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. His more than two decades of pioneering outdoor experience include research among tribal peoples in some of the remotest regions on Earth.

Table of Contents

Contents
Finding Meaning—An Introduction
1. The Magic Isn’t in the Name
2. A Tree is a Map
3. The Shapes We See
4. The Missing Branches
5. Bell Bottoms and Fairy Houses
6. Cake Slices and Stump Compasses
7. Roots of Death and Desire
8. Shapeshifting Leaves
9. Bark Signs
10. The Hidden Seasons
11. A Tree is a Map II
12. How to See a Tree—An Epilogue
Appendix—Conifer
Identification
Sources
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"You will never look at a tree in the same way again after reading this mesmerizing book. Gooley drops learning as lightly as a blossom falls in spring."

John Lewis-Stempel

"Trees can reveal fascinating secrets. . . . This book will add a new dimension to your next countryside stroll."

Wanderlust

"Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller
2023 Foreword INDIES Finalist

"This book will make wise naturalists out of us yet."

The Globe and Mail

"It was a lightbulb moment! I thought I knew my local woods—I walk there almost every day. But it’s a thrill to see it through fresh eyes, to develop a much deeper understanding."

Peter Gibbs

"How to Read a Tree builds on the joy that we take in trees—with some handy facts to go alongside that joy."

BBC Radio 4

"We would be lucky to be lost in a forest with [Tristan Gooley]. Not just to find our way out—something he could surely help with—but to find our way in: to see what the trees are telling us about the Earth we all find ourselves a part of."

The Atlantic

"Wherever you are—city or wilderness—if you want to understand the secrets of trees you pass, this is the book to read. . . . Tristan has the rare gift of explaining the most complex ideas with humour and deep insight."

Peter Thomas

"How to Read a Tree is so packed with information . . . it will undoubtedly leave you with a deeper appreciation of trees. . . . Your country walks will never be quite the same again."

Daily Mail

"Tristan Gooley has done trees the greatest service. In this gentle, enchanting book he leads us into their language—how to spot their natural tendencies and individual foibles, and to recognize their responses to stress and ingenious strategies to survive. And with these insights he arouses an even deeper affection and concern for trees—our friends and allies, with whose fate our own is inextricably bound."

Isabella Tree

"An important book and a pleasure to read."

Raynor Winn

"Gooley interprets clues like a private investigator of the wilds. . . . For those inclined to solve mysteries written into the landscape, this author’s lead is one they’ll want to follow."

The Wall Street Journal

Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller

“This book will make wise naturalists out of us yet.”—The Globe and Mail

“An important book and a pleasure to read.”—Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path

“We would be lucky to be lost in a forest with [Tristan Gooley]. Not just to find our way out—something he could surely help with—but to find our way in: to see what the trees are telling us about the Earth we all find ourselves a part of.”—The Atlantic

“Gooley interprets clues like a private investigator of the wilds. . . . For those inclined to solve mysteries written into the landscape, this author’s lead is one they’ll want to follow.”—The Wall Street Journal

“How To Read A Tree is so packed with information . . . it will undoubtedly leave you with a deeper appreciation of trees. . . . Your country walks will never be quite the same again.”—Daily Mail

“You will never look at a tree in the same way again after reading this mesmerizing book. Gooley drops learning as lightly as a blossom falls in spring.”—John Lewis-Stempel, author of The Wood
 
“Tristan Gooley has done trees the greatest service. In this gentle, enchanting book he leads us into their language—how to spot their natural tendencies and individual foibles, and to recognize their responses to stress and ingenious strategies to survive. And with these insights he arouses an even deeper affection and concern for trees—our friends and allies, with whose fate our own is inextricably bound.”—Isabella Tree, author of Wilding

“Wherever you are—city or wilderness—if you want to understand the secrets of trees you pass, this is the book to read...Tristan has the rare gift of explaining the most complex ideas with humour and deep insight.”—Peter Thomas, author of Trees

“It was a lightbulb moment! I thought I knew my local woods—I walk there almost every day. But it’s a thrill to see it through fresh eyes, to develop a much deeper understanding.”—Peter Gibbs, Chair BBC Gardeners’ Question Time

“How to Read a Tree builds on the joy that we take in trees—with some handy facts to go alongside that joy.”—BBC Radio 4

“Trees can reveal fascinating secrets . . . This book will add a new dimension to your next countryside stroll.”—Wanderlust

“This book will make wise naturalists out of us yet.”—The Globe and Mail

From the Publisher