Helpful Score: 1
An interesting peek into the lives of those fascinated by giant trees, The Wild Trees includes a few compelling passages but tends to lose a little steam because how many times can you really say, "yeah. We found a really tall tree and climbed it." A worthwhile read for the Australian leech-filled forest alone.
Alison P. (alison8641) reviewed The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring on + 9 more book reviews
A fun read. Tends to get a bit repetitive after a while but I love the passion that is expressed. Who knew what existed far above our heads?
The Wild Trees is the story of scientists and amateur naturalists who discover what life is like in the canopy of trees. Much of this work and the discoveries are quite contemporary which surprised me. There is still much to learn about our natural world, yes, but who knew: That the forest canopies of the earth are believed to hold roughly half of all species in nature? That the forest canopy is the earth's secret ocean and is inhabited by many living things that don't have names? I like the way Mr. Preston brought the characters in the book together... how they found each other and shared their love of nature, especially the large trees like Redwoods. And how the art of tree climbing could be so incredible. Wow - it's a whole other world out there! I really enjoyed this book but continue to realize that humans are destroying our natural world in more ways than are obviously known.
John O. (buzzby) -
Wonderful story about a little-explored world. It takes place in my old stomping grounds, so it was rather interesting. Not that I'd climb those trees.
