How to Read a Tree: Clues and Patterns from Bark to Leaves (Natural Navigation)

A gem of a book. A scientific book written as an interesting novel. I will never look at trees the same way again !.

I could write a book about this book. After the first five pages I knew my forest hiking was already permanently changed. After five more I began ordering copies for some fellow tree-loving friends. Later still I felt my brain could not hold any more information and figured Gooley must be running out. No, I was only halfway through. How could I have been walking by so many trees for years and not seen all this, read so many books about trees and not known all this? Well, Gooley has dedicated his life to seeing all these stories in the leaves, bark, trunk shape, root patterns, branching, etc., etc. and he's just really, really good at it. But, he makes it all so clear and it's as easy to read as a novel (I'd planned to read a few pages a day. So factual). My advice is to stop reading reviews and just order it. Better get a couple.

I like this book, don't get me wrong. But ... I was hoping for a bit more instruction on how to read a tree rather than a general guide to the concept that trees reflect their environment. Having said that, it's a great discussion of the interconnectedness of all the aspects of an environment such as light/shade, water, soil composition, and how trees have evolved to match where they appear. I haven't finished the book and it's possible that reading the whole thing will eventually get me where I hoped to be as far as knowing exactly what to look for and how to interpret it. Meanwhile, I understand much more about trees, and also how climate change may impact them faster than they can adapt (not something the author hammers on but something I recognize).

I originally read this book via library loan. I liked it so much, I decided to purchase my own copy. Thanks!

I have not finished reading this but I bought it because it reminded me of when my father and I would walk the forest and he would teach me how to identify a tree from numerous readings. However, this book isn’t for tree identification but to see how and why trees grow where and how they grow and how to interpret them. Fun to know but would be helpful in a survival situation. I really enjoy his explanations and world experiences and he took all the photos himself.

I absolutely loved this book! I've read several of his other books before and this one might be my favorite. Gooley is the master of providing a way to examine patterns and this pattern recognition is so much more beneficial than trying to memorize specific traits of a single species. This book includes personal stories of his experiences as well as some good pictures and drawings that help to illuminate the concepts that are discussed in the book. I have a science background and have taken several ecology classes and I still learned a great deal from this book but it is written in a style that will pique the interest of someone who is looking to expand their horizons in exploration or someone like me who has been on numerous hikes who now sees the same paths in a different light. Can't recommend this enough as it will help to change your perspective for the good!

If you like love stories, you might like this book. Tristan Gooley has a love affair with trees that exceeds anything you’ll ever read in a romance novel. But 373 pages of details and minutia about tree shapes might be a bit much for most people. However, if you're truly gaga about trees, this is your book.

Author is very knowledgeable about trees and demonstrates it by filling this book with more than you can ever remember about them. I think that the authors writing style compliments the content and intent of the book perfectly, rarely do I enjoy reading a book as much as I have enjoyed this one. If you are interested in nature, survival, scouting, or maybe you just want to be the woods know-it-all it you would benefit you to purchase and commit to memory the contents of this book.

Very well written, easy to read and full of tree information that you probably never even thought about before. Will make you look at trees from a different perspective. There is a lot of information in the book, too much to take in in one go, but read a chapter, read a few pages or just read a page and then find some woodland to see for yourself the ‘hidden in plain view’ character of trees.

Purchased for a friend. They enjoyed the book.

Maybe it is a case of I wasn't paying attention at School. I will look at trees differently each day now. Very well written to capture the small details. Even as you get older every day is a school day.

Wundere mich wer ein Buch so versendet….

Interesting facts about tree! Presented in a timely manner.