The Hidden Life of Trees - Abridged by Peter Wohlleben (Hardcover)

About the Book

Unabridged text originally published in German as Das geheime Leben der r Bèumme.

Book Synopsis

A visually stunning journey into the diversity and wonders of forests.

In his international bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben opened readers' eyes to the amazing processes at work in forests every day. Now this new, breathtakingly illustrated edition brings those wonders to life like never before.

With compelling, abridged selections from the original book and stunning, large-format photographs of trees from around the world, this gorgeous volume distills the essence of Wohlleben's message to show trees in all their glory and diversity. Through rich language highlighting the interconnectedness of forest ecosystems, the book offers fascinating insights about the fungal communication highway known as the "wood wide web," the difficult life lessons learned in tree school, the hard-working natural cleanup crews that recycle dying trees, and much more. Beautiful images provide the perfect complement to Wohlleben's words, with striking close-ups of bark and seeds, panoramas of vast expanses of green, and a unique look at what is believed to be the oldest tree on the planet.

Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute

Review Quotes

For The Hidden Life of Trees (original edition): "The matter-of-fact Mr. Wohlleben has delighted readers and talk-show audiences alike with the news--long known to biologists--that trees in the forest are social beings."
--Sally McGrane, The New York Times

"This fascinating book will intrigue readers who love a walk through the woods."
--Publishers Weekly

"If you read this book, I believe that forests will become magical places for you, too."
--Tim Flannery

"In this spirited exploration, [Wohlleben] guarantees that readers will never look at these life forms in quite the same way again."
--Library Journal

"A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement that will make you joyously acknowledge your own entanglement in the ancient and ever-new web of being."
--Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast: Adventures Across the Species Divide

"Soon after we begin to recognize trees for what they are--gigantic beings thriving against incredible odds for hundreds of years--we naturally come to ask, 'How do they do it?' This charming book tells how--not as a lecture, more like a warm conversation with a favorite friend."
--Hope Jahren, author of Lab Girl

"A powerful reminder to slow down and tune into the language of nature."
--Rachel Sussman, author of The Oldest Living Things in the World

"Charming, provocative, fascinating. In the tradition of Jean-Henri Fabre and other great naturalist story-tellers, Wohlleben relates imaginative, enthralling tales of ecology."
--David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen, Pulitzer finalist

"Wohlleben's book is at once romantic and scientific, beautifully articulating his personal relationship with the trees he has dedicated his life to. His view of the forest calls on us all to reevaluate our relationships with the plant world."
--Daniel Chamovitz, PhD, author of What a Plant Knows

"With colorful and engaging descriptions of little-known phenomena in our natural world, Wohlleben helps readers appreciate the exciting processes at work in the forests around them."
--Dr. Richard Karban, University of California, Davis, author of Plant Sensing and Communication

"You will never look at a tree the same way after reading Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees, which reveals the mind-boggling properties and behavior of these terrestrial giants. Read this electrifying book, then go out and hug a tree--with admiration and gratitude."
--David Suzuki

About the Author

Peter Wohlleben is the acclaimed author of the New York Times-bestsellers The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Life of Animals, and The Secret Wisdom of Nature. His children's books include Can You Hear the Trees Talking? and Peter and the Tree Children. He spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ecological ideas into practice. Today he manages a forest academy and an environmentally friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working for the return of primeval forests. To learn more about Peter and his books, visit his website at peterwohllebenbooks.com.

Jane Billinghurst's career has been in book publishing in the UK, the US, and Canada, as an editor, publisher, writer, and translator.