Tree and nature books of 2017

2017 has been a year with rich foraging for those with an interest in tree and nature books. In my shortlist, titles include The Lost Words, The Hidden Life of Trees, Oak and Ash and Thorn, and many more beautiful and inspiring books besides.

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The Lost Words

by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

During the build up to the publication of this book I was an avid fan of Rob’s regular tweets (@RobGMacfarlane) sharing lost words from our rural heritage and excerpts of poetry. When the book finally reached my hands it was without question not only serious candidate for my book of the year, but also a keeper in every sense. Sumptuously illustrated, rich and stimulating prose, with the power to move hearts and minds of readers young and old!

Buy from Amazon

The Hidden Life of Trees

by Peter Wohlieben

Melding art and science, the author’s knowledgeable prose and passion for nature and trees provokes us all to think again about our relationship with trees. Learn about the ‘wood wide web’ and how advances in science are revealing the invisible ‘society of trees’ right in front of our eyes.

Buy from Amazon

Oak and Ash and Thorn

by Peter Fiennes

The author eloquently rambles through woodlands across Britain to explore our modern relationship with trees and woodlands, and our folklore-steeped past. Peter Fiennes’s angry-witty-passionate manifesto for a future society which is closer to its woodland, with more of us taking an active role in its management and conservation, deserves to be shouted from the tree tops!

Buy from Amazon

A Wood of One’s Own

by Ruth Pavey

A delicate and personal journey following the author’s experiences of leaving the city behind, and creating a new woodland and haven for nature in Somerset.

Buy from Amazon

 

The Songs of Trees

by David Haskell

Following on from The Forest Unseen (Penguin, 2013), David Haskell’s latest book celebrates the great networkers of the natural world; trees. There is a network of its own in books on this theme this year, yet this is unsurprising given the emerging science which is revealing evermore wonderous facts about the unseen nature found in fungal networks, bacterial colonies, and microfauna. This is a book that transcends science with evocative writing,

Buy from Amazon

The Almanac: a seasonal guide to 2018

by Lia Leendertz

I’m not just a fan of this book because I’m a fellow Unbound author. This is a charming revival of a seasonal almanac, with ready references to the weather of the seasons, the sky at night, tips for the garden, festivities, recipes, and more. Packed with information, and a perfect gift.

Buy from Amazon, also still available as an ebook from Unbound with your name included in its covers.

Woods: a celebration

by Robert Penn

This book was a collaboration between the author and The National Trust which owns 60,000 acres of woodland across Britain. As its title suggests this is a book which provides a visual and literary celebration our woods by combining photographs from the trust’s archives with essays by the author.

Buy from Amazon

The Long, Long Life of Trees

by Fiona Stafford

The author explores the life of trees and our relationship with them through 17 common tree species. It is a beautifully-written book, with illustrations to match. The subject matter extends well beyond ecology, into folklore, art and history.

Buy from Amazon

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

by Rosamund Kidman Fox

An unmissable visual feast for any wildlife lover and an inspiration to every nature photographer.

Buy from Amazon

 

See my top books for last year here

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