The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature

by Peter Wohlleben, Jane Billinghurst (Translator)

Overview

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES

A powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground. Where the color green calms us, and the forest sharpens our senses.

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 cell phone addiction, climate change, and urban life, 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.

Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, exploring:

• the language of the forest
• the consciousness of plants
• and the eroding boundary between flora and fauna. 

A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees shares how to see, feel, smell, hear, and even taste the forest.

Peter Wohlleben, renowned for his ability to write about trees in an engaging and moving way, reveals a wondrous cosmos where humans are a part of nature, and where conservation and environmental activism is not just about saving trees—it’s about saving ourselves, too.

Praise for The Heartbeat of Trees

“As human beings, we’re desperate to feel that we’re not alone in the universe. And yet we are surrounded by an ongoing conversation that we can sense if, as Peter Wohlleben so movingly prescribes, we listen to the heartbeat of all life.” —Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods

“Astonishment after astonishment—that is the great gift of The Heartbeat of Trees. It is both a celebration of the wonders of trees, and a howl of outrage at how recklessly we profane them.” —Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Earth’s Wild Music

“As Peter Wohlleben reminds us in The Heartbeat of Trees, trees are the vocabulary of nature as forests are the brainbank of a living planet. This was the codex of the ancient world, and it must be the fine focus of our future.” —Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of To Speak for the Trees and The Global Forest

“Peter Wohlleben knows the battle that lies before us: forging a closer relationship with nature before we destroy it. In The Heartbeat of Trees he takes us deep into the global forest to show us how.”—Jim Robbins, author of The Man Who Planted Trees

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771646901
Publisher:	Greystone Books
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	1,053,096
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally-friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working for the return of primeval forests. He is the author of numerous books about the natural world including the New York Times bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Lives of Animals, and The Secret Wisdom of Nature, which together make up his bestselling The Mysteries of Nature Series. He has also written numerous books for children including Can You Hear the Trees Talking? and Peter and the Tree Children.

Jane Billinghurst’s career has been in book publishing in the UK, the US, and Canada, as an editor, publisher, writer, and translator. She is the translator of the New York Times-bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees by German forester Peter Wohlleben.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Why is the Forest Green? 3

2 Giving Your Hearing a Workout in Nature 14

3 Your Gut's Amazing Sense of Smell 18

4 Nature Doesn't Always Taste Good 22

5 Touch Helps Us Think 28

6 Training Your Sixth Sense 31

7 Fear in the Forest 36

8 We Are Better Than We Think 40

9 In Close Contact With Trees 43

10 In the Beginning Was Fire 53

11 Electric Trees 60

12 The Heartbeat of Trees 71

13 When Earthworms Travel 78

14 The Sacred Tree 91

15 The Disappearing Boundary Between Animals and Plants 97

16 The Language of the Forest 111

17 Diving Deep Into the Forest 118

18 First Aid From Nature's Medicine Cabinet 130

19 When a Tree Needs a Doctor 138

20 Everything Under Control? 149

21 Our Longing for an Intact World 152

22 Learning From Children 161

23 The Paradox of City and Country Living 165

24 Trees, Too, Are Followers of Fashion 170

25 The Long, Hard Road Back 175

26 Confronting Climate Change 183

27 Good Things Take Time 192

28 In Search of Both the Future and the Past 202

29 Problems Highlighted by Bialowieza 214

30 Hambi Is Here to Stay 223

31 Strengthening Our Bond With Nature 233

Acknowledgments 237

Notes 240

Index 249

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2021

Forester Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees) takes an eclectic look at humanity’s relationships with trees in this heartfelt survey. To prove that “the ancient tie that binds humans and nature exists to this day and is as strong as ever,” Wohlleben looks at tree worship (including the “marriage of trees” ritual in Italy), common expressions such as “shaking like a leaf,” and the various ways humans use products derived from plants for medication (willow tree bark helps with headaches, for example). He also notes traits shared between plants and humans: a South American vine can see, he argues, as it creates leaves exactly like those of its host tree, and he offers evidence that spruce trees feel pain when attacked by bark beetles. Paramount to Wohlleben is the role forests play in the health of nature and civilization—he mourns the destruction of diverse old-growth forests, and decries modern forestry’s single species “plantations,” where endless cycles of planting, thinning, and clear-cutting destroy the very meaning of forest. Along the way, moving accounts of fellow activists’ efforts to save treasured woodlands bolster his plea that humans should let forests return to their natural state. Nature-minded readers will enjoy this episodic deep dive. (June)

Publishers Weekly

An Amazon Editors' Pick: Best Nonfiction!

“Wohlleben confronts [climate change] directly. He is trenchant in his critique of tree plantations and wood-pellet-power plants, which claim to help the climate but, he argues, end up destabilizing it further.”
—The New Yorker

“A simultaneously stimulating and soothing blend of nature writing and science.”
—The Guardian

“[A] detailed, easy-to-read summary of what research has shown us about “the language of the forest, the consciousness of plants, and the eroding boundary between flora and fauna.’ In this excellent and updated sequel to his The Hidden Life of Trees,[...] Wohlleben writes beautifully about the reciprocal bonds we can form with trees and all sorts of nature.”
—Psychology Today

“Drawing on scientific evidence and his many years of experience, [Peter Wohlleben] extolls the wonders of the forest. A persuasive invitation to get outside and bathe in nature, perfect for tree huggers and fans of the author’s other books.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“[An] eclectic look at humanity’s relationships with trees... Nature-minded readers will enjoy this episodic deep dive.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A return to the wonders of trees. [Wohlleben] presents the latest scientific findings illuminating how trees communicate, respond to their surroundings, and feel pain, and how their pumping of water at regular intervals creates 'heartbeats' …. and elucidates precisely why 'true forests' are 'our most powerful allies in the fight against climate change.'”
—Booklist

“[The Heartbeat of Trees] showcases the interconnectedness of humans and nature... Wohlleben takes a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating history, science, medicine, and mysticism. He balances poetic descriptions with analytical thoughts; beauty is at the heart of both. The result is a text that is full of wonder and insatiable curiosity, and that invites love for humanity and the natural world.”
—Foreword Reviews

“[Like] a walk in the woods…[Wohlleben] urges hope, not despair, about our environmental malaise. [The Heartbeat of Trees] will appeal to fans of popular science and anyone curious about natural history.”
—Library Journal

“With this new book, [Wohlleben] goes deeper into the woods ... He writes in an engaging and avuncular manner as if telling a good bedtime story, although no fairy tale, but one largely rooted in science.”
—South China Morning Post

“As Peter Wohlleben reminds us in The Heartbeat of Trees, trees are the vocabulary of nature as forests are the brainbank of a living planet. This was the codex of the ancient world, and it must be the fine focus of our future.”
— Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of To Speak for the Trees and The Global Forest

“Astonishment after astonishment—that is the great gift of The Heartbeat of Trees. It is both a celebration of the wonders of trees, and a howl of outrage at how recklessly we profane them.”
—Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Earth’s Wild Music

“Human beings are desperate to not feel alone in the universe. We are not. We are surrounded by an ongoing conversation that we can sense, if, as Peter Wohlleben so movingly prescribes, we listen to the heartbeat of all life.”
—Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods

“Peter Wohlleben knows the battle that lies before us: forging a closer relationship with nature before we destroy it. In The Heartbeat of Trees he takes us deep into the global forest to show us how.”
—Jim Robbins, author of The Man Who Planted Trees

From the Publisher

2021-04-14
The bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees returns with another heartfelt collection of essays celebrating the natural world.

In his latest, German forester and nature writer Wohlleben writes that while “there has been renewed interest in ways to immerse ourselves in nature,” many of us have ignored it. We have allowed our lives to become filled with artificial lights, sounds, and scents, all of which have adverse effects on our well-being. Drawing on scientific evidence and his many years of experience, the author extolls the wonders of the forest, including the calming effects of the colors and aromas of nature as well as the growing popularity of “forest bathing” as therapy. Wohlleben also points out the many direct health benefits of plants and trees—e.g., using willow bark to cure headaches, maple leaves to treat insect bites, and spruce resin to make chewing gum, not to mention the nutritional value that can be found in the leaves of a wide variety of plants across the world. The author discredits many of the myths that prevent people from exploring the outdoors, including fear of assault, encounters with dangerous animals, and exposure to allergens. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of conservation. Other topics include the introduction of invasive species to forests through global trade and tourism, the impact of fertilizers, and the link between the destruction of indigenous forests and climate change. In an attempt to raise awareness and protect ancient forests and their communities, Wohlleben describes the measures he has implemented in Germany, including the first burial grounds in which a person can choose the tree under which they will be laid to rest, programs offering leases for plots of forest, seminars for hunters to end fox hunting, and educational tours for children.

A persuasive invitation to get outside and bathe in nature, perfect for tree huggers and fans of the author’s other books.

Kirkus Reviews