The Hidden Life of Trees

‘Marvellous’ John Banville, Irish Times

‘The Hidden Life of Trees is a wonderful, provocative book that draws together half a century of much-neglected and misunderstood plant science and frames it within field observations by an acute and empathetic forester.’ New Statesman

‘Shafts of light and mossy greens fill The Hidden Life of Trees. The reader does not leave the forest, and this aura intensifies the awareness of intricate natural life that the book has to offer. So much is happening in this one place. The colours, airs and sounds are all connected. They give us contact with the invisible world we now know to be there.’ Guardian

‘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

‘Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees breaks entirely new ground … [Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.’ Thomas Pakenham, New York Review of Books

‘A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.’ Washington Post

‘A magical book about fixtures that we walk by every day and take for granted … The Hidden Life of Trees may be the most important environmental book of the year.’ San Francisco Chronicle

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, where he works for the return of primeval forests. He is the author of numerous books about trees.