The Genius of Trees - Harriet Rix

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The Genius of Trees tells the mind-expanding global story of the inventive and astonishing ways trees learned to shape our natural world.Over hundreds of millions of years, from prehistoric forests to the trees around us today, we see trees using fire as a reproductive tool, harnessing large mammals to spread their seeds (but poisoning smaller, less useful mammals), and splitting rock to create fertile ground in barren landscapes.Because trees, we discover, manipulate fundamental elements, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and even humankind to achieve their ends. From the laurel cloud-forests of the Canary Islands to the magnificent sex-shifting oaks of Iraq, from the giant sequoias of California to the carbon-spinning junipers of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border – trees sculpt their environments.At once transporting and expert, The Genius of Trees gives us hope for the future. It enables us to see trees, for the first time, not as victims but as agents of change in a grand ecological narrative – and as leading actors in the great drama of life on earth. Review Sublime … Through the scenes we glimpse an Indiana Jones figure who is both an eminent, travelling scientist and a born writer … Dazzling … Non-fiction rarely sees a debut like The Genius of Trees. It is a true masterpiece -- Horatio Clare ― Daily Telegraph, 5 starsA mind-blowing and erudite account of how trees created the world around us ... Harriet Rix presents trees as an awesome force of nature -- GuardianVery few book reviewers are so captivated that they read the book carefully from end to end - not once, but twice. That is my boast about this extraordinary first work from Harriet Rix ... Rix has given us a completely new vision of how trees came to dominate our continents ― Country LifeExtensively researched [and] elegantly written ... A satisfying read. Trees emerge as entities which are just as dynamic as animals - including, dare one say, humans ― Literary ReviewA wondrous spreading canopy of a book that gives us trees as we’ve never seen them before: as dynamic forces, founders of our world, and agents of their own destiny - as well as ours. This is science writing at its best - beautifully explained, brilliantly written and perception-changing -- Isabella Tree, author of WildingAn exceptional book. Up to date scientifically, beautifully clear for all of us, it changes our entire view of trees while carrying us to other worlds and times. Enchantingly written, it has personal touches which unite science, travel and fine literature and lead us by the hand through woods we never understood before -- Robin Lane Fox, historian and gardening correspondent for the Financial TimesAmbitious and stunningly expansive ... Few come better qualified or more passionate than Rix, a biochemist and tree science consultant, who makes this subject utterly compellingly ― Daily MirrorA compelling journey of a book, full of wonder and revelation. Highly recommended -- Sue Stuart-Smith, author of the Sunday Times bestselling The Well Gardened MindIf I was dazzled by nature and in awe of trees before I read this book, I now know how much we are indebted to them for the way they have shepherded life on earth for millions of years -- Kirsty Wark, television presenter and journalistFascinating and evocative, an intimate ride into the magical world of trees. This book contains everything you ever wanted to know - and so much you never knew you wanted to know - about these incredible organisms -- Chris Fitch, author of Wild CitiesAn ambitious and stunningly expansive investigation into the role trees play in shaping our natural world … Few come better qualified than Rix ... The Genius of Trees feels like a particularly timely reminder of the importance of protecting natural resources ― Northern EchoThe idea of trees manipulating animals may be eye-opening, but in The Genius of Trees swiftly makes complete sense … In an elegantly structured, shibboleth-shaking book, Rix explains how trees have shaped the elements and then played dynamic roles in influencing the evolution of species in all kingdoms of life … An impressive, globetrotting book -- Patrick Barkham ― The OldieAn ambitious and stunningly expansive investigation into the role trees play in shaping our natural world. Few come better qualified than Rix, a biochemist and long-time tree science consultant, whose passion for the project shines through in this immersive paean to the grandest of all plants ― Yorkshire PostYou will forever love trees after you read this wonderful book. Not only is the text brilliant, but the author is genius. Harriet Rix's stories range from why sloths are shaped by trees to be greenish in colour, to the chemical secrets of chocolate trees, to how one fragile moth pollinates the Joshua trees. You will want to read this book again and again -- Meg Lowman, aka Canopy Meg, author of The ArbornautA magisterial tour de force. Rix packs in se