The Golden Spruce

A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed

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The Golden Spruce

Written by: John Vaillant

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

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About this listen

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION • WINNER OF THE WRITERS’ TRUST NON-FICTION PRIZE

The spellbinding true story of one man’s obsession and the destruction of a glorious natural wonder.

On a winter night in 1997, a British Columbia timber scout named Grant Hadwin committed an act of shocking violence in the mythic Queen Charlotte Islands. His victim was legendary: a unique 300-year-old Sitka spruce tree, fifty metres tall and covered with luminous golden needles.

In a bizarre environmental protest, Hadwin attacked the tree with a chainsaw. Two days later, it fell, horrifying an entire community. Not only was the golden spruce a scientific marvel and a tourist attraction, it was sacred to the Haida people and beloved by local loggers. Shortly after confessing to the crime, Hadwin disappeared under suspicious circumstances and is missing to this day.

As John Vaillant deftly braids together the strands of this thrilling mystery, he brings to life the ancient beauty of the coastal wilderness, the historical collision of Europeans and the Haida, and the harrowing world of logging—the most dangerous land-based job in North America.

Biological Sciences

Environment

Nature & Ecology

Science

Conservation

Royalty

What the critics say

2005, Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award, Non-fiction Book of the Year, Nominated

2005, Governor General's Literary Award - Nonfiction, Winner

2006, Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize, Winner

2006, Kiriyama Prize for Nonfiction, Nominated

"A page-turner as dramatic as a novel.... The story is as majestic as the golden spruce, and we are fortunate to have a writer of Vaillant’s exceptional skill to tell the tale." (Vancouver Sun)

“Balanced and gracefully written. . . .Vaillant explores the subtleties of [Hadwin’s] inner conflicts. . . . Vaillant’s multi-layered book is a rich investigation of all the factors that went into Hadwin’s act of arboreal vandalism.” (Edmonton Journal)

Most relevant

Narrator sounded a little sleepy. I went at 1.05 speed. Other than that, great story!