Remarkable Trees of the World

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I went back to visit some of the wisest friends I know, the 4500+ year old Bristlecone Pine trees in California. I had met them a few years earlier, they had comforted me after a death in my immediate family by giving me some perspective. A short while later, I quit my job to travel the world for a couple of years. On that go round, I also visited a grove of tall trees in Redwood National Park - which had some former world record holders. I thought I had seen it all. The oldest, tallest, and in 1997, I had visited General Sherman - the largest (In volume). All of these are noted in the book with glorious photos. Boy, was I wrong. I recently discovered another tree of distinction, also while in California. A moreton bay fig tree with a crown of 100+ feet, 75 feet tall. Magnificent. I've started to look at registers of trees, and then I found this book. I've begun to realize there are so many more trees of distinction, and not just the ones he mentions. The author has helped open up my eyes to seeing the world in another different way. His prose, descriptions, and inclusion of historical photos makes for an enjoyable read. I like to repeat - "The true voyage of discovery, is not in going to new places, but in seeing with new eyes." - Proust. The author has succeeded in having that effect on me. He finds glorious trees in Botswana, Madagascar, Morocco, South Africa / Japan, Sri Lanka, Turkey / France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden / Canada, USA, Mexico / Australia, and New Zealand. I've had the fortune of visiting 10 of these countries in my life, but other than what I noted earlier, didn't particularly make an effort to seek other trees out. I will now. My list of reasons to travel and re-visit some places is growing. Thank you Mr.Pakenham. I'm back in the Northwest US now - home of many trees, as I drive or bicycle I pay much closer attention to the friendly giants all around. I'm sure I'll lie down under one of them soon and have that daydream.

In Remarkable Trees Of The World, Thomas Pakenham informatively combines stunning, full-color photography with intriguing tales of famous and ancient trees worldwide. Each individual anecdote tells a simple yet amazing story of great, arboreal giants that live for so long as to be seemingly be immortal - save to the hungry depredations of humanity, that is. Attention engaging and "reader friendly", Remarkable Trees Of The World is an especially recommended visual experience for nature lovers -- and an especially suitable selection for school and community library Memorial Fund acquisition lists.

In "Remarkable Trees of the World" Thomas Pakenham has taken his personal love of trees and turned it into a remarkable book. By turns photo album, travelogue and field guide, this book transcends any one of these classifications and becomes something truly "remarkable" as a result.First off, the photography is absolutely spectacular, and all the more impressive because the author took the pictures himself. Anyone who has wiled away the hours beneath the branches of a particularly noble arboreal friend, can't help but be enchanted by these shots. Reproduced with beautiful clarity and color, Pakenham succeeds in capturing the essence of each of his subjects.Secondly, Pakenham's descriptions of how he came across these trees are engaging in their own right. The "World" in the title isn't just for show; he literally travels to the ends of the earth to capture his remarkable subjects. His musings about what trees reflect of the surrounding culture and geography are fascinating and engaging. While anyone who buys this book is clearly doing so for the photography, that doesn't mean that the writing is at all sub-par.Finally, while this isn't a botanical study by any means, Pakenham does discuss some interesting aspects of tree-ring dating, conservation, and evolution. While no particular topic is considered in any great detail, he offers plenty of jumping off points for anyone interested in pursuing the subject matter in more detail."Remarkable Trees of the World" is a must have for any nature lover. Pakenham does a superb job of surveying a broad variety of trees, and there were several I'd never even heard of. Moreover, he offers great suggestions about which of these trees will survive where; I'm already looking forward to a more varied planting than I had planned on in my backyard this spring!Enjoy!

I heard Thomas speak at Swarthmore College this past Spring(2002)at the woody conference. I was tempted to leave early on this beautiful Friday afternoon, but my conscience prevailed for after all my job had sent me to this conference to learn some things. Was I glad I stayed to hear Thomas, what a delightful speaker and presenter. He had the audience spell-bound and of course we all wanted the book, which he did not have for sale at the event. Why, I cannot imagine, because I am positive he would have sold out. This book is so wonderful it is almost impossible to describe, except he takes one to another level of appreciation for trees. I already loved trees and was almost arrested one time for trying to stop a huge stately live oak from being murdered to make way for, of all things, a Burger King. As if we needed one more hamburger stand. Anyway, Thomas showed me there are so many unusual trees around the world that I *must* see, but until I can travel, I can open that book and plan my adventures.

When I bought Pakenham's precursor to this book ("Meetings With Remarkable Trees"), I was astonished then. Now I've run out of superlatives, hence the plus sign suffixing the title of my review. As enjoyable as his poetic writing style is, that's just a bonus. The highly detailed photos in this book are, well, astonishing+. He uses a heavy, large-format camera, lugging it all around the world to photograph some of the most amazing trees on the planet. And as fine as the print quality was in "Meeting With Remarkable Trees", the print quality of this book surpasses the former. I am constantly amazed at the print quality of the best books being printed today, and this is right up there at the top of the heap. You'll swear you're looking at fine, lithographic prints. I am a fanatic tree lover to begin with, and this book is just glorious, and satisfies my wildest dreams for such a book. It gives me a sense of ecstasy over being alive.