Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by mycouscous
The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring by Richard Preston
3.0
I'm rating this book a generous three stars based on a combination of the okay quality of the book and my abounding enthusiasm for its topic. I'm heading out to Northern California myself at the end of the week to see and hike in the Redwoods for the first time. I was excited before I read this, and I'm even more excited after reading it -- all in all not a bad sign for Preston's book.
The Wild Trees details the search for extraordinary redwoods in the largely unexplored deep pockets of old growth trees. In addition to seeking out the tallest, the largest, and the grandest, the people of this book also study something just as spectacular: the complex ecosystems that exist in the canopy. Robust with awesome (in the true sense of the word) scientific detail, this book also stumbles when it attempts to tackle the more mundane human relationships at its core, often getting wrapped up in melodrama in favor of the larger picture. Preston's writing is also stilted and choppy, leaving much to be desired in terms of the quality of his narrative. However, his passion for these trees plainly comes through the text, even as he writes himself into the story line.
An interesting nonfiction book that I found for myself at the ideal time; I'm totally stoked to head out into Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest this time next week.
The Wild Trees details the search for extraordinary redwoods in the largely unexplored deep pockets of old growth trees. In addition to seeking out the tallest, the largest, and the grandest, the people of this book also study something just as spectacular: the complex ecosystems that exist in the canopy. Robust with awesome (in the true sense of the word) scientific detail, this book also stumbles when it attempts to tackle the more mundane human relationships at its core, often getting wrapped up in melodrama in favor of the larger picture. Preston's writing is also stilted and choppy, leaving much to be desired in terms of the quality of his narrative. However, his passion for these trees plainly comes through the text, even as he writes himself into the story line.
An interesting nonfiction book that I found for myself at the ideal time; I'm totally stoked to head out into Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest this time next week.