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The Hidden Life of Trees
- What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
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The Hidden Life of Trees
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The Heartbeat of Trees
- Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature
- Written by: Peter Wohlleben
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story5 out of 5 stars 21
In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of climate change, many of us fear we’ve lost our connection to nature - but Peter Wohlleben is convinced that age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. We just have to know where to look.
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5 out of 5 stars
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you need to read this
- By Anonymous User on 2023-04-13
Written by: Peter Wohlleben
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Gathering Moss
- A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
- Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 202
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 177
Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites listeners to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful voice
- By Tanya on 2020-10-06
Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Braiding Sweetgrass
- Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
- Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,202
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,028
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,027
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous wise, informative, inspiring, beautifully written book!
- By Carolinebp on 2019-10-01
Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- Written by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 365
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 300
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Story5 out of 5 stars 300
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very cool
- By Zac on 2020-12-13
Written by: Merlin Sheldrake
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An Immense World
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- Written by: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Ed Yong
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story5 out of 5 stars 49
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world. In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best intro comparitive neuroscience book
- By Lloyd on 2023-04-22
Written by: Ed Yong
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Finding the Mother Tree
- Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
- Written by: Suzanne Simard
- Narrated by: Suzanne Simard
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 217
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 180
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 180
Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. In this, her first book, now available in audio, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths—that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't put it down...
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-11-28
Written by: Suzanne Simard
-
The Heartbeat of Trees
- Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature
- Written by: Peter Wohlleben
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21
In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of climate change, many of us fear we’ve lost our connection to nature - but Peter Wohlleben is convinced that age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. We just have to know where to look.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
you need to read this
- By Anonymous User on 2023-04-13
Written by: Peter Wohlleben
-
Gathering Moss
- A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses
- Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 202
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 178
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 177
Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites listeners to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful voice
- By Tanya on 2020-10-06
Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
-
Braiding Sweetgrass
- Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
- Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,202
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,028
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,027
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous wise, informative, inspiring, beautifully written book!
- By Carolinebp on 2019-10-01
Written by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- Written by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 365
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 300
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 300
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very cool
- By Zac on 2020-12-13
Written by: Merlin Sheldrake
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An Immense World
- How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
- Written by: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Ed Yong
- Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 49
The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world. In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Best intro comparitive neuroscience book
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Written by: Ed Yong
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- Narrated by: Suzanne Simard
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 217
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 180
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 180
Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. In this, her first book, now available in audio, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths—that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't put it down...
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-11-28
Written by: Suzanne Simard
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Tree
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- Narrated by: David Skulski
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story5 out of 5 stars 4
The story of a single tree, from the moment the seed is released from its cone until, more than 500 years later, it lies on the forest floor as a nurse log, giving life to ferns, mosses, and hemlocks, even as its own life is ending.
Written by: David Suzuki
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The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
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- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Cannot possibly retain the info... waste of $$
- By Nick on 2019-05-02
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Life on Earth
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To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the book’s first publication, David Attenborough has revisited Life on Earth, completely updating and adding to the original text, taking account of modern scientific discoveries from around the globe....
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5 out of 5 stars
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A breath of Fresh Air for all of time
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The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi
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Overall3 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
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Story2 out of 5 stars 1
In this illuminating account, esteemed career mycologist Keith Seifert reveals the important role that microscopic fungi, including yeasts, molds, and slimes, play in our lives, all while remaining invisible to the naked eye. Divided into sections, each one exploring a different environment where fungi thrive, The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi introduces listeners to the fascinating world of mycology. Seifert urges us to better understand our relationship with fungi—and to plan our future with them in mind—while revealing their world in all its beautiful complexity.
Written by: Keith Seifert, and others
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What an Owl Knows
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For millennia, owls have captivated and intrigued us. Our fascination with these mysterious birds was first documented more than thirty thousand years ago in the Chauvet Cave paintings in southern France. With their forward gaze and quiet flight, owls are often a symbol of wisdom, knowledge, and foresight. But what does an owl really know? And what do we really know about owls? Jennifer Ackerman illuminates the rich biology and natural history of these birds and reveals remarkable new scientific discoveries about their brains and behavior.
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I love Owls
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In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, home appliances, motor vehicles, air travel, air conditioning, and television transformed households and workplaces. With medical advances, life expectancy between 1870 and 1970 grew from 45 to 72 years. The Rise and Fall of American Growth provides an in-depth account of this momentous era.
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"There is the mammal way and there is the bird way." But the bird way is much more than a unique pattern of brain wiring, and lately, scientists have taken a new look at bird behaviors they have, for years, dismissed as anomalies or mysteries - what they are finding is upending the traditional view of how birds conduct their lives, how they communicate, forage, court, breed, survive. They are also revealing the remarkable intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own.
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In 1637, one Dutchman paid as much for a single tulip bulb as the going price of a town house in Amsterdam. Three and a half centuries later, Amsterdam is once again the mecca for people who care passionately about one particular plant—though this time the obsessions revolves around the intoxicating effects of marijuana rather than the visual beauty of the tulip. How could flowers, of all things, become such objects of desire that they can drive men to financial ruin?
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Throughly enjoyed it!
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Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police that haunted Soviet society. Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
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Publisher's Summary
How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings? Research is now suggesting trees are capable of much more than we have ever known.
In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben puts groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a language everyone can relate to.
In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders, of which we are blissfully unaware.
Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group.
Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown lives of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him. As he says, a happy forest is a healthy forest, and he believes that ecofriendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth.
After a walk through the woods with Wohlleben, you'll never look at trees the same way again.
What the critics say
"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." (The New York Times)
What listeners say about The Hidden Life of Trees
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- eve
- 2018-02-12
Totally delightful!
This is unlike any book I'd think to read. It is like a delicate lullaby to listen to. It is gently educational in a story-telling way and fully engaging at all times. There is a reason it became a bestseller. Now I am much more aware of my surroundings and of the power of nature. So glad I read it (and I ended up listening to it twice).
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Xopowo
- 2020-04-17
A model of how science does not have to be dry
This book could have been so boring, but instead it's a model for how natural science can be interesting and compelling. The content is fascinating and made even better by the voice of Mike Grady. I'll see what else he reads just to hear him tell a story.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Pam
- 2017-12-27
worth a listen.
Intriguing. I found a deeper understanding from the book. The narration was almost soothing. I would recommend this listen.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pancakes88
- 2019-06-17
So good!
Such an interesting book, listened to a lot of it in awe. Great narrator as well, perfect voice that allowed me to get lost in the story.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- munnyman5
- 2020-04-01
i love trees more now
I didn't think it was possible to love the forest and this planet more than I did, but I now legitimately ache for the day we can understand the language of trees and mycelium, insofar as it can be understood by mammals.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leanne Fournier
- 2020-02-26
Magical book
This is another one of those books I've listened to and then must buy in print form so I can turn the pages on the story once more. Fascinating story that could awaken even those who have never thought about the life of trees.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 2020-06-07
Absolute nonsense
I'm 25% in and I'm not finishing this terrible non-scientific piece of garbage. I wanted an understanding of the science behind communication among trees/plants (which occurs via chemical signaling pathways in any other non-animal living thing and also among animals for some non-verbal communication) and what I got was extreme personification of trees: they are "calling out to each other", their "stomachs are rumbling", they "choose" things. This book is a joke and a good example why people have a terrible understanding of how science actually works. Thr language is written for children. It's basically children's fantasy lit.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 2019-12-05
oh
imagine not eating plants based on the same ethical arguments for not eating meat. it's pretty wild.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ThorFinn
- 2021-04-26
An incredibly interesting book
As a Horticulture Technician I understand why people might find aspects of this book problematic. the author uses very poetic language and overly personifies trees and other plants. other people have issue that the author states several times that this aspect of plant science is in its infancy. which kinda undermines decades of plant sciences.
having said that, I believe that were it counts the science is very sound. the emerging science of plant 'intelligence' (for lack of a better word) is incredibly fascinating and this book is an incredible introduction to plant communication and symbiosis.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Judy
- 2020-03-11
excellent
will listen to this many times over, has changed my perception of trees and the way they benefit the ecosystem.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Darwin8u
- 2019-04-18
Tree Hugger
“An organism that is too greedy and takes too much without giving anything in return destroys what it needs for life.”
― Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of Trees
Peter Wohlleben has written a beautiful book on trees. He captures the imagination and translates his vision well. Like many science books for the masses he takes a good deal of information and distills it well for the amateur forester and part-time tree-hugger. The only reason I give this book four stars and not five is because his biggest strength is also, perhaps, his biggest (or most important) weakness.
I worry about the anthropomorphizing of animals, fungus, or plant. It is a strength because it creates empathy. It works. I read that a tree might feel pain, communicates, nutures its young, takes care of the sick, works together, counts, etc., and I am (hopefully, if I have any empathy in me) feel a bit more hesitant to abuse or misuse trees. BUT, my concern with this type of treatment is two fold: 1) trees aren't human. By focusing on the parts of trees (or forests) that appear to have human traits, we are putting ourselves at the center. We are creating (or strengthening the notion rather) that WE are the freaking center of the living universe. Those trees they are important because they LOOK/ACT like us. It is a slippery slope. Do the benefits outweigh the costs in the short or long term? I don't know. I just know there is a danger here. 2) perhaps, by giving these behaviors (communication, counting, etc) words that have a very significant meaning for man, we are actually NOT communicating what they are doing that is unique. Maybe communication or counting or nurturing ISN'T what they are doing and these human behavior metaphors are not allowing these amazing trees to be viewed as amazing AND alien enough. This isn't the same, but it for me is similar to comparing fungi to plants. Yes, their might be similaritiwes, but these are two completely separate kingdoms. Sometimes, we can mix them together (in a salad perhaps), but some metaphors don't do justice to just how funky and beautiful and DIFFERENT these kingdoms really are. Perhaps, by making trees seem more human we are doing a long-term disservice by NOT making them seem alien enough.
And, perhap, I'm just wrong. I'm willing to accept that too.
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91 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Janning
- 2016-12-26
As I suspected all along...
Trees are beings. We may not understand them very well yet, but that speaks to our historically human-centric approach to the world. The central chapters of the book were, for me, elementary in their approach to plants and their interaction with soil, water, and insects, because I have an advanced degree in plant sciences, but it would be understandable by anyone even without any science background. However Wohllehben's overall message of the need and the reasons to preserve forests as valuable environments is eloquent.
The best parts of the book, for me, are the early and the final chapters where the author makes an excellent case for his premise that trees do communicate among themselves and that we have so much yet to learn about the natural world. He also explains in beautiful prose why he loves trees and forests. I share his passion and hope that this book with introduce it to a wider audience. We would all be the wiser for it.
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65 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel Cloudt
- 2017-01-25
Surprisingly captivating
I'd like to think I'm not a boring person (say all boring people, i'm sure). I say that to reassure myself after I found this book, about the life of trees, to be impossible to stop listening to.
Not only was the voice narrator a treat, but the subject felt as though I stumbled onto an unknown world. Trees, as it turns out, have fairytale like secrets we are only recently discovering.
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51 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kaysi12
- 2016-10-01
Transformative book
This book has changed how I will see forests and trees forever. I have always felt restored by walks in the woods but now I have a glimpse into the complexities of forest that produce those feelings of serenity and of being transported to a different level of perception and being. Some books describe the science of nature; others the poetry of nature; but this book captures both in a wonderful illumination of forests.
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46 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stuart
- 2016-10-03
Revealing the Wonders of the Forest
A beautiful account of the authors observations and findings on the very social lives of trees. The findings are intuitive and make sense when you step into a forest. You can feel the truth of it in how comforting a healthy, undisturbed forest feels to be in. Yet it is fascinating to learn the intricacies and details of how trees live, love, and learn together. The forest certainly is more than the sum of its parts. Beautifully and fittingly narrated as well I might add.
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43 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- BEAR
- 2017-01-23
I feel bad for trees that grow alone now.
Would you listen to The Hidden Life of Trees again? Why?
This book was very dense with knowledge and done with a lovely narration. The author is very beech tree heavy, but the particular forests spoken about were European. The specific trees written about were not the essential point however. The book delved into the nature of trees as a whole with their resiliency, teamwork, and struggles against nature.
The most fascinating point of this book was how trees help each other. How much we could learn if we modeled our societies off of trees! I never thought of an isolated tree to be struggling and how ancient forests become this everlasting unstoppable force.
Definitely worth a second listen as the amount of information is very dense and difficult to digest, but this is more of an attribute then a detriment. I would have appreciated more historical information on trees or a slightly more engaging narrative, but overall this book was 5 stars.
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42 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Wolff
- 2017-03-29
A mostly good book.
I appreciated the authors attempt at staying with in scientific research. My only real qualm is that in trying to explain what is occurring he anthropomorphised the processes to a point that will lead to misunderstanding.
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37 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- brian
- 2017-01-05
Eye Opening
One of the most enjoyable and listenable non-fiction (other than The Great Lectures) books I've come come across on Audible. I learned a lot about a subject that has been revolutionized recently.
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33 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Alan Wadham
- 2017-02-03
Best for bed time, not road trip
Story allows trees a much more anthropomorphic existence than I thought was necessary to tell the story. Dreary, sometimes monotonous reading. Not recommended for a road trip.
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25 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Chencheno111
- 2017-09-15
Simplistic view from a simplistic forest
Would you try another book from Peter Wohlleben and/or Mike Grady?
Probably not
What could Peter Wohlleben have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Bringing more evidence of tree ecology from other sources that are not from his Bavarian place. As a tropical biologist, I found the references too simplistic in reference to this forest with such low diversity of tree species.
What does Mike Grady bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The narration sounds a bit paternalistic, very similar to a professor I once had, which I did not particularly liked
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Hidden Life of Trees?
The style of narrative as if trees made evolutionary decisions, or have personalities. I found that condescending and wrong
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22 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LouLou
- 2018-06-07
Ca changé ma vie! A recommander
This book is a real gem and it has completely changed the way I view trees, and plants in general. I now regularly visit my local wood and get so much more out of each visit. My gardening practices have changed, and I appreciate much more the very important role trees play in the survival of us, and the planet. The narration is excellent and added to my enjoyment of this book, so much so I listened to it back to back three times. I've since sought out other books narrated by Mike Grady and have not been disappointed.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mikus
- 2023-03-01
Charming and inspiring
Very cute book, I still don't know how much of it is true, how much just imagination of the author, but it's definitely a wonderful world of trees worth exploring.
Also a wake up call to actually protect those valuable ecosystem
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dorothée
- 2021-01-20
J'ai adoré !!
La lecture est, comme toujours sûrs les livres proposés par Audible, excellente. J'ai adoré l'histoire, si j'ose dire, car ce livre se lit et s'écoute comme une histoire d'aventures.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Pierre Gauthier
- 2018-11-25
Half Convincing!
In this short work translated from German, a forester, Peter Wohlenben, presents the conclusions he draws from decades of taking care of a specific forest and of reading on the topic.
His thesis is that forests are communities and that trees are social beings that communicate with each another through their roots and by discharging chemicals in the air. He also claims among many other things that younger trees are actively supported by older ones as they slowly mature.
Though it is totally plausible that a forest is more than a collection of individuals, the vocabulary used by Peter Wohlenben is excessive, “mother trees” being described for instance as nurturing their young ones. Chances are that we are witnessing more of a symbiotic relationship rather than anything remotely conscious.
The data provided is oftentimes surprising for a North American reader, a forest reaching maturity over centuries, and not decades as we are accustomed.
Overall, this book should be praised for its originality but considered with caution.
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