W. W. Norton & Company
The publication of Remarkable Trees of the World took American audiences by storm. Thomas Pakenham embarks on a five-year odyssey to most of the temperate and tropical regions of the world to photograph sixty trees of remarkable personality and presence: Dwarfs, Giants, Monuments, and Aliens; the lovingly tended midgets of Japan; the enormous strangler from India; and the 4,700-year "Old Methusalehs." American readers will be fascinated by Pakenham's first examination of North American trees, including the towering Redwoods of Sequoia and Yosemite, the gaunt Joshua Trees of Death Valley and the Bristlecone pines discovered in California's White Mountains.
Many of these trees were already famous--champions by girth, height, volume or age--while others had never previously been caught by the camera. Pakenham's five-year odyssey, sweating it out with a 30 pound Linhof camera and tripod, took him to most of the temperate and many of the tropical regions of the world. Although North American trees dominate this book, Pakenham also trekked to remote regions in Mexico, all over Europe, parts of Asia including Japan, northern and southern Africa, Madagascar, Australia and New Zealand.
Remarkable Trees of the World is a lavish work that will be treasured for generations by all those who marvel at nature.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Following Meetings with Remarkable Trees (Random, 1998), which features trees in Britain and Ireland, this book sets out to discover more such natural wonders elsewhere. In Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, he finds 60 commanding giants and dwarfs, Methuselahs, shrines, and "dream" trees of many kinds. Whether he is meeting baobabs, sequoias, or banyans, he finds magnificence, beauty, and, sometimes, sadness. He has a genius for communicating his sense of each tree as an individual being, engendering wonder, awe, and respect for it in readers. His thoughtful but brisk narratives bring his travels to life and readers feel that they are participants in an adventure as he experiences trees, their ecological and historical contexts, and the challenges of creating photographs of such difficult and special subjects. And Pakenham's color photographs are truly remarkable as he conveys the tactile aspect of bark, the sense of size or majesty, or the rare moment when the light is just right to capture the spirit of the tree. Chapters are further enhanced with historical illustrations (often, earlier views of the same trees) and snippets of poetry ranging from Alfred, Lord Tennyson to Ogden Nash. Pakenham ends with a chapter on "Trees in Peril." This beautiful and unique book is sure to be appreciated by nature lovers. And though it is a highly personal work and not a scientific text, it demonstrates keen and accurate observation; it could also serve as an excellent supplement to studies in science, history, and geography.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Pakenham took a break from writing such acclaimed historical works as The Scramble for Africa (1991) to indulge his fascination with the trees of Britain and Ireland, a passion that resulted in the best-selling Meeting with Remarkable Trees (1997). Buoyed by his success, Pakenham ventured further afield and sought out trees possessed of a "strong personality" in New Zealand, California, Madagascar, Botswana, Sri Lanka, Japan, Bavaria, Italy, and beyond, visiting and photographing one breathtaking living wonder after another. Charming and amusing in recounting his adventures, Pakenham nonetheless pays significant tribute to the extraordinary trees he portrays, relating their lore and protesting the many threats against their continued existence, as well as that of their less conspicuous brethren. By spotlighting trees notable for their godlike immensity (giant sequoias, redwoods, baobabs), tough compactness (dwarfs both natural and artificial), longevity (trees that are 4,600 years old), sacredness (trees as shrines), and trees of unusual configurations, locations, and histories, Pakenham inspires readers to cherish and protect the life-sustaining glory of all trees. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Informative and inspiring."
― American Gardener
"Spectacular...the specimens photographed here are surpassingly bizarre and varied....[An] astonishing collection."
― Janet Maslin, New York Times
About the Author
Thomas Pakenham's Meetings with Remarkable Trees received international acclaim. His other books include Remarkable Trees of the World, The Boer War and The Scramble for Africa, which won the Alan Paton Award. He lives in London.
