This is a beautiful book. If you like history and want to see the story of the American nation told through a completely different lens – well this is the book to buy. Essentially from before the colonists had set out on the Mayflower, right through to the current environmental movement – what Eric does is take you through each phase of American history as it related to trees. There’s the terror of the woods experienced by early settlers, through the hayday of logging and great commercial enterprises and the story of the orange plantations of the West. There’s the American Chestnut and borer’s and blight, battles to recognize the forests as precious natural resource and the CCC under Roosevelt as a response to the Great Depression.
I could not imagine a better history of the US forests and trees, as well as the characters that drove the story. Perhaps by the time you have finished it, you will recognize the true significance of everything from Johnny Appleseed to Prometheus.