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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Really enjoyed this book. I alternated listening on audio and reading with the Kindle. Frankly I felt that due to the somewhat technical nature of a lot of the content, it was easier listening than reading this book. (Technical terms can sort of slide by you when you are listening, whereas they kind of make my eye stumble through text.)
I'd say it's one part technical, one part florid descriptive language, one part emotional memoir. Good for listening while doing a hard task (I listened while painting three rooms).
I'd say it's one part technical, one part florid descriptive language, one part emotional memoir. Good for listening while doing a hard task (I listened while painting three rooms).
An absolute must read for everyone. The last chapter left me with goosebumps.
5 stars for Suzanne Simard for her dedication towards proving, as best someone can, an important notion that there is a greater purpose of symbiosis and cooperation in nature than the alternative view that all living organisms are out to dominate their environment. Is it possible both process are equally active and this is the true basis of evolution, to test both ‘branches’ on a path, where the resultant is unknown to the being?
For me this book tried to be a personal account, somewhat autobiographical, whilst also being a dedicated book on a scientific subject. I think it needed to be more decisive on which branch it wanted to be on.
For me this book tried to be a personal account, somewhat autobiographical, whilst also being a dedicated book on a scientific subject. I think it needed to be more decisive on which branch it wanted to be on.
It's interesting reading this book now and thinking about how much progress has and has not been made. We are still destroying our forests and natural spaces and yet ecologists and advocates like Dr. Simard have been raising awareness for years about unsustainable practices. Learned a lot about forest ecology reading this.
I learnt a lot from this book, including complex content about the science of forest systems, all narrated in a very approachable way. I was fascinated to read about conducting forest experiments. And I loved, and felt heartened by, the way that the author recognised that many of her scientific findings about the interconnected mess of all the organisms of the forest resonates with ancient wisdom from around the world. I feel like it shouldn’t even be a surprise that everything, including organisms we can’t see, relies on everything else: it seems almost obvious yet humans in the “western” worldview somehow lost sight of this important knowledge, to our peril. I’m grateful to the author for her research and her mission, and I just hope that this and the endeavours it contributes to can overcome and move the world to a more reasonable position
This was an interesting one. Part memoir, part popular science, and Simard wove the two aspects tightly together. Unfortunately, I feel like this sometimes undermined her credibility as a scientist. And while I definitely believe ecosystems are interconnected and share resources, I don't think she had enough evidence to support claims of sentience. Still, a fascinating field with lots of room for further study. Maybe I'll change my mind!
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
3.5 stars. A good memoir by one of the leading voices in discovering the interconnectedness of trees and forests. This book is a bit slow and ponderous, but it’s a good tale, well told.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Balancing scientific nature writing and memoir is hard - and it didn't quite work here. That said, Suzanne Simard's life is so interesting, and I loved the passages where she was in nature (escaping bears) and exploring this "neural net" the trees have created.
The glimpse into how she developed her body of research, and how she navigated the resistance (mostly from men) to her findings was very interesting.
The glimpse into how she developed her body of research, and how she navigated the resistance (mostly from men) to her findings was very interesting.