The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth
Feb 2022 · Sold by St. Martin's Press
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About this ebook
Winner of the 2023 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism
"Original and readable." ―Financial Times' Best Environmental Books of 2022
"Superb, inspiring." ―Winner, National Academies of Science Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications
“Illuminating.” —Silver Medalist, National Outdoor Book Awards
Longlisted for the American Library Association's 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
Finalist, 2023 Banff Mountain Book Competition
Finalist, 2023 Dayton Literary Peace Prize
In the tradition of Elizabeth Kolbert and Barry Lopez, a powerful, poetic and deeply absorbing account of the “lung” at the top of the world.
For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, Canada to Sweden to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family.
It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.
"Original and readable." ―Financial Times' Best Environmental Books of 2022
"Superb, inspiring." ―Winner, National Academies of Science Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications
“Illuminating.” —Silver Medalist, National Outdoor Book Awards
Longlisted for the American Library Association's 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction
Finalist, 2023 Banff Mountain Book Competition
Finalist, 2023 Dayton Literary Peace Prize
In the tradition of Elizabeth Kolbert and Barry Lopez, a powerful, poetic and deeply absorbing account of the “lung” at the top of the world.
For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, Canada to Sweden to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family.
It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.
Winner of the 2023 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism
"Original and readable." ―Financial Times' Best Environmental Books of 2022
"Superb, inspiring." ―Winner, National Academies of Science Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications
“Illuminating.” —Silver Med...
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Ratings and reviews
3 reviews
Paul Demetre
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November 25, 2024
Treeline by Ben Rawlence was a major disappointment. As someone who is interested in the environment and botany in particular, I was expecting a scientifically based look at the changing boreal forest. This book was his tour around the world visiting Indigenous people and promoting his beliefs about their ancient wisdom, whether they agreed with him or not, along with scientific outliers. Along with scientifically inaccurate statements (i.e. referring to spruce budworms as pathogens, which they are not) which cause doubt about everything he states, a pages-long rant about how badly First Nations people in Canada have been and currently are being treated, and another rant about how capitalism and colonialism have destroyed the environment, this is only a book for someone who wants to use their feelings rather than solid facts to look at this highly concerning issue.
About the author
Ben Rawlence is a former researcher for Human Rights Watch in the horn of Africa. He is the author of City of Thorns and Radio Congo and has written for a wide range of publications, including The Guardian, the London Review of Books, and Prospect. He is the founder and director of Black Mountains College and lives with his family in Wales.
Ben Rawlence is a former researcher for Human Rights Watch in the horn of Africa. He is the author of City of Thorns and Radio Congo and has written for a wide range of publications, including The Guardian, the London Review of Books, and Prospect. He is the founder and director of Black Mountain...
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