The Hidden Life of Trees

I guess I've grown cynical and dubious in my older age. I really wanted to enjoy Peter Wohlleben's tale of trees that communicate, feel, think, adapt, and more... but he tends to use really flowery language without providing any kind of scientific citations, and for lofty claims such as these, I feel a need for more citations.

I read this years ago and I literally haven't looked at trees the same way since. Every time I'm in the forest all I can think about is this book. It inspired me to broaden my reading horizons and try out other books like Entangled Life which I also thoroughly enjoyed.

Did not finish.

This is a very interesting read and there's so much to learn about trees which you don't generally get to know. However, there are no clear images that illustrate the trees that are mentioned in the book. So, while I was walking in the woods not too long ago, I knew there was a ton to tell about the trees along the road. However, I had no idea what.

Will need to revisit when I have an overview of the trees and insects mentioned.

I mean I was not exited to read this

Wohlleben does an amazing job of making me genuinely care about the microscopic happening in the dirt of forest floors. One of my favorite books is Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire, so I felt likely to enjoy this when a friend gifted it to me. The author’s revelations about the communication capabilities of trees is at once amazing and revelatory and also, “Oh yeah, that’s makes a lot of sense.” Of course thru communicate. How could they not? But the author also fully presents their obvious limitations. For all their abilities, they remain helpless against our own intrusions. I highly recommend this and can’t wait to discuss it with the friend who gave it to me. If only they would go ahead and finish it too.

A lot of fascinating info in this book, and I recommend it - but it gets kind of tedious to read by the end, as a lot of information is repeated from one chapter to the next. I think there is a lack of organizational structure so it feels almost stream of consciousness in certain parts - not what I generally want from a science or ecology book. I didn't mind the anthropomorphising of trees as some reviewers do - it's poetic and shows Wohlleben's care and tenderness for them - but I wish that anthropomorphism had been accompanied by more in depth scientific explanations of what is actually happening. Sometimes they were there, but other times we were left only with a metaphor and no actual explanation of the mechanism behind what was happening.

I definitely learned things I didn't know before though! And I love that. But in terms of popular science/environment/ecology books I have read, this was good but not my favourite.

I nerded out on this book. Like, I couldn't stop reading. It was one giant tree filled science-gasm. And I was all in. If you know me, you know I enjoy the outdoors just about as much as I enjoy reading. To me, nature is a great teacher because she can humble you, educate you, and leave you breathless with her beauty. But, as it pertains to the book's specific content, you're probably asking yourself, “A book about trees. C'mon Chris, really? “ “Is it that interesting?” To that, I would say absolutely, and this is why. 

You will learn how trees communicate, how they collect and store water, how they ward off pests, and most important of all, how they help the planet and its surroundings. The book does a great job explaining each concept, and I thought the chapters flew by. 

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd say give it a shot. You will never look at a tree the same way again.

A fascinating account of what lies in our forests, how trees cooperate, how they endure in relationship to the plants and fungi in their midst. The author has received some criticism of this account but then again, there are always naysayers. With our forests depleting around the globe, this book gives a good argument as to why we need to protect these natural giants.

“A tree can only be as strong as the forest that surrounds it.”
~
A delightfully surprising read full of intriguing tree facts. Who knew there was so much more to learn about trees, our everyday companions in nature with so many hidden traits and talents. I come across trees everyday and think nothing of them, but after finding out they “talk” to each other and support each other in more than one way I was captured. Peter Wohlleben has created a fun and factual read for those looking to explore the depth of trees and gather an abundance of unusual tree facts.

The author clearly loves trees and the forest.

I enjoyed learning more about trees from the narrative.

Some of the metaphor is too forced or fake. While I could feel the distance, I think I also understood the reasons the author kept anthropomorphizing trees - to help us understand and feel connected.

My forests -even old growth- are mostly coniferous, and the climate is much different, but I still found the description of forests engaging.

Short and not quite as in depth as I might have liked, but contained some fascinating insights about the trees with which we share our world. As a side note, I'm glad I read it before Richard Powers' enthralling The Overstory, as that novel seems to draw some themes and information from this book.

This was a fascinating book. Trees are amazing. This short book was written in short chapters so it was the perfect science book to dip into here and there for a chapter or two. I learned many interesting things. A smattering:
> Trees need their sleep. Four percent of oak deaths in one American city happened because the trees were subjected to light every night.
> Every day in summer trees release about 29 tons of oxygen per square mile of forest (which is the daily requirement for about 10,000 people). Every walk in the forest is like taking a shower in oxygen. But only during the day.
> Cutting off a tree limb starves a section of the trees roots.
> Compacting the earth around a tree trunk makes it harder for the roots to grow, making the tree less stable. This is a big reason why trees in the city struggle to survive and stay healthy.

Wohlleben takes the fascinating nature of trees and spins them into a modern fantasy, bursting with fact, theory, and mystery. A great read for tidbits on forestry and why we need to protect them - beyond our selfish exigencies.

I will be honest and tell you I didn't fully engage through portions of this audiobook. It was well written, and informative. But it was a teaching book about trees, and honestly, I would have liked to have some visuals to go along with the information. A field guide would be nice also.
It was interesting, and I would recommend to certain people.
I may read again in the future.

4.75 Such an unexpected reading experience. I discovered so much and will for sure re-read this book in the future. The only reason why it's not a full 5 stars is that I wished for some more explanations in certain parts of the book.

This book is so flipping charming! It is suffused throughout with the obvious admiration and affection Wohlleben feels for the trees (and all other living creatures) in the German woodland he manages. My husband is an arborist, and I still learned a great deal from the book, from what we don't know (e.g., we don't actually have any idea how large trees manage to move the huge quantities of water they do every day) to the remarkable stuff we do (e.g., trees can communicate to each other via scent). Wohlleben's “agenda” is clear, but it's such a good one that it's hard to fault him for it: he thinks we should all be more in awe of trees than we are, and more willing to find ways to serve trees and the ecosystems they create, versus expecting them to serve us. My one complaint is translation-related; it felt a little uneven. At times, passages were beautifully and fluidly written; at others, word choices distracted me from the content. A small quibble.

I've always loved trees, ever since I was a child. I grew up in a forest. I married in a forest. I chose my house because of the enormous trees on the property.

But I've never known much about trees until I read this book.

Peter Wohlleben drawn up on research and his years of personal experience with trees and forests to tell the truths about trees. He tells a story of trees as social beings, trees that care for their children, that care for each other. He shares the secret powers of trees, the ways trees are able to warn other trees of danger, how trees can send predators scurrying off by deploying scents. He tells of ways trees can communicate with each other, ways that are almost unnoticed by man.

An altogether fascinating read.

Completely fascinating. Also, I'm pretty sure I will never be able to have a live Christmas tree again.

Enjoyed reading this book because of the new information and tree research explained, but it lacked a cohesive structure to follow. More like a collection of magazine articles instead of a narrative line of exploration and explanation. I would have appreciated more of the author's presence in the work, showing how he does his research and anecdotes of what it is like to manage a forest, etc. I'm glad I read the book but felt less than satisfied when I was finished.