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Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
A Story of Passion and Daring
by Richard Preston
Book Reviewed by:
The Dangerous Book For Boys
(which published last year about the
same time as Wild Trees in
hardcover) might sound dangerous but is
actually just good, clean, healthy fun.
On the other hand, Wild Trees
sounds like a walk in the woods but
offers serious danger and adventure
between its seemingly-benign covers.
Hidden away in the temperate
rain-forests of Northern California is a
world just as unexplored as the deep
oceans. But unlike the deep
oceans, you don't need hundreds of
thousands of dollars of specialist
equipment or lengthy expeditions to
visit it, but you do need passion,
perseverance and nerves of steel. Thirty
years ago, perceived wisdom was that
redwood canopies were virtual deserts
devoid of life but, thanks to the life's
work of a handful of souls, we now know
that there is an abundance of life at
the top of these ancient "supertall"
trees, some in excess of 350 feet and
3000 years old.
It all started when Steve Sillett "free
climbed" to the top of a huge redwood in
1987. On this first foray into the
canopy of a redwood he was surprised to
find huckleberry bushes growing and
fruiting at 300+ feet. Since then, he
and others have found all sorts of life,
including more than 180 species of
lichens (some previously unknown) and
various small animals such as voles and
salamanders. Salamanders are a
particularly extraordinary find because
they absorb oxygen directly through
their skin which must stay moist or they
die - they thrive in the redwood
canopies because it is estimated that an
average 2.5 acres of redwood stores
about 25-50,000 liters of water - both
in the structure of the trees themselves
and in fern mats that act as long term
water storage units!
In addition Sillett et al have found
various types of huckleberry bushes
(related to blueberries), rhododendrons,
a sprawling shrub called salal, currant
bushes, elderberry bushes and even
bonsai versions of other trees such as
laurel, Douglas-fir, tan-oak and
buckthorn. They've even found earthworms
living in canopy soil up to three
feet deep that collects at the point
where branch and trunk meet.
Preston's account of the exploration of
this extraordinary world is a true-life
adventure story that is at times
terrifying, often moving and,
occasionally, a little long winded. The
reader comes away with a fierce
appreciation for the trees themselves
and their ecological significance, and a
respect for the people who have not only
devoted their lives to understanding
more about these behemoths of the
forest, but regularly risk their lives
to climb these humbling examples of
nature at its most magnificent.
One or two reviewers find fault with
Preston for including himself in the
story, feeling that it dilutes the power
of the narrative. This reviewer didn't
find this to be the case as Preston's
tale of how he, and then his family,
started to climb tall trees serves as a
bridge in the reader's mind - from
reading about the wild exploits of a
self-chosen few, to contemplating that
climbing a tall tree could be an
achievable ambition if one was so
inclined (which this reviewer, who is
getting sweaty feet just thinking about
it, is not!)
The text of Wild Trees is
enriched by occasional line drawings
beautifully illustrating the trees in
whole and in detail. At first it was
disappointing to see illustrations
instead of photographs, until it dawns
on one that the scale and density of
these trees makes it very difficult for
a photograph to do them justice in the
way that the illustrations do. Having
said that, a photo or two of the main
players in the story would have been a
welcome addition to the book. Happily,
these can be found at the
author's website which includes
pictures of
Steve Sillett,
Marie Antoinette and
others; and selected
illustrations from Wild Trees.
This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in June 2007, and has been updated for the
February 2008 edition.
Click here to go to this issue.
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