Description: A few years ago, award-winning scientist Richard Fortey purchased four acres of woodland in the Chiltern Hills of Oxfordshire, England. The Wood for the Trees is the joyful, lyrical portrait of what he found there. With one chapter for each month, we move through the seasons: tree felling in January, moth hunting in June, finding golden mushrooms in September. Fortey, along with the occasional expert friend, investigates the forest top to bottom, discovering a new species and explaining the myriad connections that tie us to nature and nature to itself. His textured, evocative prose and gentle humor illuminate the epic story of a small forest. But he doesn't stop at mere observation. The Wood for the Trees uses the forest as a springboard back through time, full of rich and unexpected tales of the people, plants, and animals that once called the land home. With Fortey's help, we come to see a universe in miniature
Brief description: Richard Fortey retired from his position as senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum in 2006. He is the author of several books, including Fossils: A Key to the Past, The Hidden Landscape which won The Natural World Book of the Year, Life: An Unauthorised Biography, Trilobite!, and The Earth: An Intimate History. He has been elected to be president of the Geological Society of London for its bicentennial year of 2007, and is a fellow of the Royal Society.
Review Quotes:
"Narrator Michael Page's precise, stately, and almost courtly British accent perfectly suits Fortey's observations....Page encapsulates the author's slightly professorial but enthusiastic tone--liberally sprinkled with sly humor...It's all absolutely charming...Listen and be inspired to go outside and explore. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."
-- "AudioFile"