Vegetarian Books
Bookmark the site !
Select Country
UK Vegetarians
US Vegetarians
DE Vegetarier
FR Végétariens
Books : The Secret Life of Trees: How They Live and Why They Matter
See Larger Image |
The Secret Life of Trees: How They Live and Why They Matter by: Colin Tudge |
|
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Binding: Hardcover EAN: 9780713996982 ISBN: 0713996986 Label: Allen Lane Manufacturer: Allen Lane Number Of Pages: 451 Publication Date: November 03, 2005 Publisher: Allen Lane Studio: Allen Lane Sales Rank: 238703 Related Items:
Related Items:      see moreBrowse for similar items by category:
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - interestingi in places but badly editedI've just finished reading this book, and it took me a long time. I like trees, and was looking forward to read the book to improve my knowledge about them, but the way the subject is presented really makes it a difficult and ponderous book. The book is divided in three parts, the second being a long review of all the tree families. This is the longest and heaviest going section of the book. You are bombarded for about 150 pages with a constant barrage of facts, latin names and anedoctes about an enormous range of trees, most of which you probably never heard about. The erudition and passion of the author is never in doubt, but the presentation is numbing. The final part of the book is the most interesting, it deals with the ... Read More: Rating:  - All you ever wanted to know about trees but never thought to askErudite yet accessible, Colin Tudge has written a marvellous small volume about the "big plants with sticks up the middle" with which we are all so familiar and yet which we in danger -- real danger, as Tudge explains in the last section of his book -- of overlooking. Not only does Tudge describe what we know of the evolution of trees, their uses, their abilities and their important place in the ecology of the planet, as he does so he illuminates diverse topics such as the difficulties of scientific classification and the impact of DNA studies upon the field, the intricate interrelations between trees and other organisms, the often harmful consequences of commercial monocultures and exploitation, large-scale geographical systems and ... Read More: Rating:  - Warning: another intelligent design book...The idea to write a book about trees is great, and the book cover is great too. However, not only the author is often vague in his arguments, but he keeps going on about his belief in God, and (it becomes clear after a few pages) intelligent design. Indeed page 54 he uses the well known intelligent design wrong argument, claiming that creationism (as in Genesis) and atheism are both extreme positions ("Neither of these extreme positions is valid"), and that the truth lies in the middle etc... This "argument" is of course wrong, and for 2 reasons : 1. The author chooses what he wants to appear as a moderate position (intelligent design), and then two other positions so that his position is in the middle. He then claims ... Read More: Rating:  - You really have to be a tree anorak, and even then....I have no doubt Colin Tudge is committed to trees and knows them intimately. His book does have astonishing facts and anecdotes about the inner workings of trees around the world and I truly enjoyed those bits. But first, the book bludgeons you with endless chapters on Latin taxonomy. Only in the last third does he see fit to write about the trees themselves in any accessible way. I'm utterly perplexed by the reviews... Good science writing should not be pedantic. Both he and his editor should ask themselves how they could waste so many trees and come up with something so dense and dull! Rating: - Pure Delight I have said before that I am a fan of Colin Tudge's writing and my enthusiasm is increased by this lovely book. It is always a pleasure to read a book by someone who loves what they are writing about, and Tudge's admiration for trees comes through so clearly in this work. He manages to cover pretty much everything, ranging effortlessly across the botany of trees, covering (surprisingly thorughly) all the major families, noting their particular features, the curious nature of some reproductive techniques (and some really are curious!) and touching on the economic and historical importance of some species. Finally he looks at the ecological role of trees and how they fit into the jigsaw of life in a wider sense. Read More: |
|
