A TRILLION TREES

Environmental journalist Pearce returns with an exploration of what trees and forests do, how humans have used them, and what must be done to maintain them.

This book, writes Pearce—an environmental consultant for the New Statesman and author of The Land Grabbers and The New Wild, among other ecology-focused books—“is about the magic and mystery of trees and forests, about their defenders and plunderers, and why they matter for the planet and for all of us.” Across 20 chapters, the author, who has reported from more than 60 countries for the Guardian, Washington Post, and other publications, demonstrates the significance of forests and reports on their historical and current health, how nature has been slowly rewilding forests throughout the world, the devastating effects of wildfires, and the concrete steps we must take to ensure forests’ vitality. Pearce takes us across the world, from “the cloud forests of the Ecuadorian Andes” to “the radioactive (but otherwise healthy) forests around Chernobyl in Ukraine; to the swamp forests of Indonesia and the community forests of the Himalayas; to the acid-rain-ravaged forests of central Europe and the pine forests in the American Deep South being cut to keep the lights on in Britain.” The author showcases countless natural wonderlands, all the while educating readers on the effects of our lifestyles on their health, and he investigates many long-held beliefs that may require deeper study—e.g., the idea that we can solve our climate crisis simply by planting trees. Though Pearce tempers his optimism with hard science, his enthusiasm is infectious, whether he’s reporting on acid rain in central Europe, surveying rampant devastation throughout the Amazon, celebrating the “multicolored magnificence of New England in the autumn,” or exploring “the remains of a largely unknown ancient forest civ­ilization in Nigeria.”

An exhilarating and informative look at the world’s forests and how we can help them thrive.