The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things --- Stories from Science and Observation

By Peter Wohlleben

Book Overview

"As you read these pages you will understand why I so admire Peter Wohlleben] and am so in love with his work."--JANE GOODALL

Nature is full of surprises: deciduous trees affect the rotation of the Earth, cranes sabotage the production of Iberian ham, and coniferous forests can make it rain. But what are the processes that drive these incredible phenomena? And why do they matter?

In The Secret Wisdom of Nature, master storyteller and international sensation Peter Wohlleben takes readers on a thought-provoking exploration of the vast natural systems that make life on Earth possible. In this tour of an almost unfathomable world, Wohlleben describes the fascinating interplay between animals and plants and answers such questions as: How do they influence each other? Do lifeforms communicate across species boundaries? And what happens when this finely tuned system gets out of sync? By introducing us to the latest scientific discoveries and recounting his own insights from decades of observing nature, one of the world's most famous foresters shows us how to recapture our sense of awe so we can see the world around us with completely new eyes.

Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1771643889
• ISBN13: 9781771643887
• Release Date: March 2019
• Publisher: Greystone Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.2" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

A decent read

In this series of essays the author presents an image of nature as an intricately connected system of life that flexes and moves in reaction to the shifts in balance between its various participants. This image is countered with a vision of humanity as a bumbling force that constantly upsets the balance, then over-corrects in attempting to address their errors and shifts too far again. Initially this seems to be a gentle drawing of attention to the multifaceted systems at work around us and a call to respect for these systems, tinged with a critique of the self-serving interests of some motivating their claimed ecologically minded acts. Toward the end of the book though there is a sharp critique of even the most ancient of human activity and a claim that even the prehistoric use of fire has upset the delicate balance of nature in ways we don’t fully understand. The author leaves the reader with encouragement though, to form relationships with the natural world and to foster respect for the balance instead of trying to force a human understanding of what is natural in the environment around them. In my personal opinion it was okay, a blessedly quick and easy read for the end of the term in my creation ethics class; but not in anyway challenging or provoking the way the other books read for the class were. I would also encourage readers in North America to consider Braiding Sweetgrass if they are looking for a book on ecology, spirituality, and the interconnectedness of creation; this book is clearly written from a European perspective.

A Must Read

So much information it feels like a treasure chest of knowledge, and written in a simple and easy to comprehend way