History

The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization

The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization

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  • Create Date：2021-12-09 16:21:04
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Roland Ennos
  • ISBN：1982114746
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Summary

A “smart and surprising” （Booklist） “expansive history” （Publishers Weekly） detailing the role that wood and trees have played in our global ecosystem—including human evolution and the rise and fall of empires—in the bestselling tradition of Yuval Harari’s Sapiens and Mark Kurlansky’s Salt。

As the dominant species on Earth， humans have made astonishing progress since our ancestors came down from the trees。 But how did the descendants of small primates manage to walk upright， become top predators， and populate the world？ How were humans able to develop civilizations and produce a globalized economy？ Now， in The Age of Wood， Roland Ennos shows for the first time that the key to our success has been our relationship with wood。

“A lively history of biology， mechanics， and culture that stretches back 60 million years” （Nature） The Age of Wood reinterprets human history and shows how our ability to exploit wood’s unique properties has profoundly shaped our bodies and minds， societies， and lives。 Ennos takes us on a sweeping journey from Southeast Asia and West Africa where great apes swing among the trees， build nests， and fashion tools; to East Africa where hunter gatherers collected their food; to the structural design of wooden temples in China and Japan; and to Northern England， where archaeologists trace how coal enabled humans to build an industrial world。 Addressing the effects of industrialization—including the use of fossil fuels and other energy-intensive materials to replace timber—The Age of Wood not only shows the essential role that trees play in the history and evolution of human existence， but also argues that for the benefit of our planet we must return to more traditional ways of growing， using， and understanding trees。

A brilliant blend of recent research and existing scientific knowledge， this is an “excellent， thorough history in an age of our increasingly fraught relationships with natural resources” （Kirkus Reviews， starred review）。

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Reviews

Sara ，

I couldn't finish it。 Got to chapter 8 and quit。 The prologue is the best part。 I couldn't finish it。 Got to chapter 8 and quit。 The prologue is the best part。 。。。more

Nelson Zagalo ，

Aproximei-me deste livro por causa da capa， mas também porque sei o quão importante tem sido a madeira para a nossa história e evolução enquanto espécie。 Desse modo， quando vi o comparativo com Sapiens de Harari， pensei que seria um livro que nos iria levar ao longo da história por meio de uma perspectiva centrada na madeira。 Mas não。 Apesar do autor aparentar tentar， não é isso que acontece。 Temos um livro carregado de informação sobre madeira， a sua constituição， densidades， proveniências， etc Aproximei-me deste livro por causa da capa， mas também porque sei o quão importante tem sido a madeira para a nossa história e evolução enquanto espécie。 Desse modo， quando vi o comparativo com Sapiens de Harari， pensei que seria um livro que nos iria levar ao longo da história por meio de uma perspectiva centrada na madeira。 Mas não。 Apesar do autor aparentar tentar， não é isso que acontece。 Temos um livro carregado de informação sobre madeira， a sua constituição， densidades， proveniências， etc。 Tudo temas interessantes， mas para os quais não tenho qualquer bagagem que me permita entender o que vai sendo dito。 A meio do livro comecei a desligar， e li o resto em diagonal。Julgo que o problema é meu， e não do autor。 Eu percebo demasiado pouco de madeira para poder chegar ao que o autor vai expondo。 Desse modo， a leitura acabou a servir-me na análise de um tópico do meu trabalho， o engajamento。 O engajamento， ou envolvimento， só pode acontecer quando os artefactos， neste caso o livro， conseguem acionar em nós conhecimentos pré-existentes。 A ligação entre o que os artefactos contam， e aquilo que já conhecemos， cria uma relação de ideias capaz de produzir novos significados na mente do leitor， captando assim a atenção， o interesse， acabando a produzir engajamento。 。。。more

The Inquisitive Biologist ，

The Wood Age is an eye-opening piece of environmental history that charts how human civilization was built on trees。 See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist。com/2021。。。 The Wood Age is an eye-opening piece of environmental history that charts how human civilization was built on trees。 See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist。com/2021。。。 。。。more

Mark ，

COCC

Richard Rupp ，

This book describes the role of wood throughout human history。 It is not long， about 280 pages plus bibliography。 Given the large topic and the short length the author skips around。 It is almost like a series of annecdotes arranged in chronological order。 Considerable space is also given to discussion of stone and metal construction to the extent that I began to wonder if the author had changed his subject midway through writing。 For me the biggest shortcoming is the lack of illustrations。 There This book describes the role of wood throughout human history。 It is not long， about 280 pages plus bibliography。 Given the large topic and the short length the author skips around。 It is almost like a series of annecdotes arranged in chronological order。 Considerable space is also given to discussion of stone and metal construction to the extent that I began to wonder if the author had changed his subject midway through writing。 For me the biggest shortcoming is the lack of illustrations。 There are several pages of photographs， but there are many brief descriptions that would benefit from a simple drawing。 Problems aside， I enjoyed reading the book， and it gave me some ideas to contemplate。 。。。more

Peter Davidson ，

Anybody who lives in a wooded part of the world should read this book。 Surrounded by trees here in British Columbia， I have learned so much about wood as a resource and how it created and destroyed Empires。 How so often it lay at the cusp of success in war and how its absence meant the loss of empire。 Fascinating。 I shall return to this repeatedly。

Kay Glad ，

I am a sucker for nonfiction books about the history of a raw resource， and this hit the spot。 Between this and Mark Kurlansky's Paper: Paging Through History， you're all set for the lovely history of the uses of wood and paper and their transformative effect on history。 I am a sucker for nonfiction books about the history of a raw resource， and this hit the spot。 Between this and Mark Kurlansky's Paper: Paging Through History， you're all set for the lovely history of the uses of wood and paper and their transformative effect on history。 。。。more

Bob Mcbobson ，

Reading this was like listening to a story from my uncle Milo。 There is so much irrelevant detail， the book was an absolute chore to read。 The author’s style is way too academic for my tastes。 I think this suffered from a lack of storytelling prowess that have made some other single-subject histories （looking at you， Longitude） much more compelling reads。 There was much more general anthropology in this than I was expecting as well which left me feeling the author was really working hard to hit Reading this was like listening to a story from my uncle Milo。 There is so much irrelevant detail， the book was an absolute chore to read。 The author’s style is way too academic for my tastes。 I think this suffered from a lack of storytelling prowess that have made some other single-subject histories （looking at you， Longitude） much more compelling reads。 There was much more general anthropology in this than I was expecting as well which left me feeling the author was really working hard to hit a page count。 I will say， in all honesty， most people don’t love anything as much as this guys loves wood。 。。。more

Rick Schultz ，

Dude loves wood

Ezra ，

A thoughtful history of the use of wood through the centuries。 Sometimes it got lost in unrelated details， but I really enjoyed the history。 Similar to Sapians but for trees。

Crystal ，

The Age of WoodNon-Fiction about humankind's history with wood and trees， 4 StarsThis could also be titled "The Engineer's Guide to Social Sciences" as there are a lot of mechanical and technical specs about wood that are presented within the story of human evolution and then the evolution of human society from roaming to farming to factories。This is not a typical 'microhistory' like Paper: Paging Through History， Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World， or Uncommon Grounds: The Hist The Age of WoodNon-Fiction about humankind's history with wood and trees， 4 StarsThis could also be titled "The Engineer's Guide to Social Sciences" as there are a lot of mechanical and technical specs about wood that are presented within the story of human evolution and then the evolution of human society from roaming to farming to factories。This is not a typical 'microhistory' like Paper: Paging Through History， Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World， or Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World but more of a look at how wood and trees have influenced human development or how developing humans have increasingly used wood。 What is most fascinating is that even as we develop tech that seems to reduce our use of or reliance on trees the usage actually increases。 For instance， burning coal allows us to live in larger cities that aren't dependent on nearby forests for wood to burn--but that just allows for more houses to be build and bigger buildings to be constructed to house the large populations and more wood to be needed for the other infrastructure like transportation。 Some of the discussions and a sort-of summary: Using sticks and branches as tools leads to manipulating them to be more useful and do more work。 Cooking food is essential to our intelligence and strength。 Sleep patterns of early humans were likely changed by wood。 The separation of society kept the different trades from sharing between each other their undertanding of wood。 The Enlightenment allowed philosophers， scientists and workers to begin a sort of hybrid collaboration to further mankind's understanding of wood。 Industrialization brought about ways to move massive amounts of wood。 Colonization reduced the world population right at the dawn of industrialization possibly off-setting some of the warming effects on the climate of burning fossil fuels。 Trees are prolific and will overtake cleared land if allowed。 As we attempt to return to wood-based 'natural' products we are using increasingly energy-heavy processes do develop them。 Urbanites should embrace wood and trees because all evidence points to great health benefits from being in contact with nature。I read this with the Non-Fiction Book Club and we had a good discussion here"Surprisingly， we were preadapted to our life on the ground by the evolution of our relatives' bodies and brains to live in the canopy: in a world made of wood。""。。。a stick twice as thick is sixteen times as rigid and eight times as strong。"There's a great description of what happens in a fire （page 34）:"The processes involved when dry wood burns are quite complex。。。cellwall material is chemically stable， even at temperatures above 212F。。。[at 300F] hemicellulolse molecules between the cellulose fibers cyrstallize， making them stiffer。。。at around 400F does heat start to break the wood down。。。pyroloysis， releases energey which for the first time starts to generate heat and drive the burning。。。400F-600F， these small molecules evaporate， and some gases escape。。。along with some carbon。。。and are released as smoke。 Finally when the breakdown of the cell wall has been completed， only carbon is left; the wood has been transformed into charcoal。。。and only burns when the temperature reaches 900F。。。no flame is produced and there is no smoke， which is why the embers of a fire just glow red hot。""The longer lived a tree and the warmer the climate in which it grows， the more defense chemicals it needs and hence the darker the wood。" 。。。more

Porter Broyles ，

This book probably deserves 4 stars， but I'm giving it 3。When I started this book， I was expecting something more along the lines of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World or any of a number of book by MarkK Kurlansky。Kurlansky provides fun anecdotal stories about common items and the role those items play in world history。 They are often fun or even irreverent。 There is a touch of humor or irony within the book。Ennos book is neither irrevereant or ironic。The book presents the role This book probably deserves 4 stars， but I'm giving it 3。When I started this book， I was expecting something more along the lines of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World or any of a number of book by MarkK Kurlansky。Kurlansky provides fun anecdotal stories about common items and the role those items play in world history。 They are often fun or even irreverent。 There is a touch of humor or irony within the book。Ennos book is neither irrevereant or ironic。The book presents the role that wood played in global history。 Often times， the ideas presented were based upon his （or his doctoral students） studies on the subject of wood。Ennos is an academic and a scientist。 Kurlansky is a historian and a story teller。This does not make one appraoch better or worse than the other， but it does affect how you appraoch the books。When I first started reading this book （expecting something ala Kurlanky） I was disappointed。 By the time I finished the book， I was able to really appreciate Ennos approach。In all honesty， the book deserves more than 3 start。 If I had approached it knowing what it was， I probably would have enjoyed it more。 Instead， I have to give it 3 stars。Definitely worth reading。 。。。more

Patrick ，

3。5 stars。 Lots of interesting ideas and thought provoking arguments， but lacking evidence， no more than than that。 A heartfelt call to action at the end， but the problem is sadly much bigger than his rather sweet vision。

Oleksandr Zholud ，

This is a non-fic about the role of wood and trees for our evolution， pre-history， history， present and future。 It is well-written with a lot of info with sources in academic research。 I read it as a Buddy Read for August 2021 at Non Fiction Book Club group。This book is dense with information， ideas and theories。 It looks at the usage of wood from our hominid ancestor （the famous Australopithecus Lucy dated 3。2 mn years ago， who died falling from a tree） to present-day creation of strong transpa This is a non-fic about the role of wood and trees for our evolution， pre-history， history， present and future。 It is well-written with a lot of info with sources in academic research。 I read it as a Buddy Read for August 2021 at Non Fiction Book Club group。This book is dense with information， ideas and theories。 It looks at the usage of wood from our hominid ancestor （the famous Australopithecus Lucy dated 3。2 mn years ago， who died falling from a tree） to present-day creation of strong transparent wood glass。 As I noted at the beginning it can be split into evolution， pre-history， history， present and future。 Now some nitpicks from each part。evolutionSelf-awareness may be a result of size （and weight） with the great apes heavier than monkeys， so they have much greater difficulty moving around the canopy of trees， and in particular moving between trees， than a small one， so they have to account for own mass as they move。 Our bipedalism maybe developed from walking on branches， not ground: a study of Sumatran orangutans showed that they move quite differently when they travel along branches of different diameter。 In contrast， on branches less than 4 centimeters （1。6 inches） in diameter， they either clamber， holding their body horizontal and gripping several branches， or walk upright on their hind legs while holding on to branches above them with their hands， distributing their weight between several branches， making their locomotion much safer。As Africa became more arid， diet of hominids moved from fruits to roots and to dig-up roots wooden sticks were used – early tool。Our soft fingertips instead of claws like squirrels use， allow to spread area of contact， giving better grippre-historyWe talk about age of stone/bronze/iron， but the main material was wood。 Alas， it mostly hasn’t survived being bio-degradable。 Stone axes are to drop wood， to make wooden structures， to get fire from wood。 The stone is brittle。 It makes the material weak in tension， since small surface cracks can readily run through the whole stone; rods of stone， just like sticks of blackboard chalk， are easily snapped。 Stone knives therefore need to be short and thick to prevent their blades from being loaded in tension， and even if a stone spear could be fashioned， it would be far too delicate to use; it would fall apart at its first throw。 In contrast， wood has evolved in trees to be strong in both compression and tension， and extremely tough along the grain， which is why tree trunks and branches are so good at resisting bending。Both bronze melting and pottery need high temperatures， higher than wood can provide。 So wood coal or charcoal was made。 Cooking was a crucial step in the evolution of modern humans， it affects both mechanical properties， and on their chemistry of food。 In meat， the most important structural material is collagen， a long-chain protein， whose ropelike molecules are joined together into sheets that provide a framework for the muscle cells they surround。 Heating meat breaks up the collagen molecules and therefore weakens the sheets。 Cooking also softens plant material; heat breaks down the pectin that sticks the cell walls together and weakens the hemicelluloses that hold the cellulose fibers in the cell walls。historyMost stone buildings had hidden wooden supports within walls。Chinese buildings have traditionally been regarded by Western engineers as fairly primitive structures， since they do not incorporate the trusses that Western architects use to support the roofs of their buildings。 All the beams in a Chinese building are at right angles to each other， the pillars at the front and back of the building simply support a large horizontal beam。 This supports a shorter beam above， and in turn this supports a still shorter beam。 The heavy roof is supported via brackets at the ends of each of the beams。 This design means that the beams are all loaded in bending and have to be thick and heavy to withstand the weight of the roof。 Research shows that the flexible design of the buildings and the shock-absorbing dougong joints protect them from earthquake damage。 Tests on models have shown that these buildings can withstand shocks that reach over 10 on the Richter scale， more powerful than any earthquake yet recorded。 Paradoxically， therefore， apparently ephemeral and primitive wooden buildings can survive where stone ones are destroyed。 Unlike in Europe， where the railways were built with iron and stone， Americans built their railroads for the most part with timber。 They mounted the rails on wooden sleepers， while they built wooden railway carriages whose timber frames were joined together using iron rods and bolts。 They even experimented with wooden rails。 Logging trains were often run along pole roads—essentially just logs laid parallel on the ground—staying on the track by using wheels with cup-shaped rims like huge pulleys。 The temporary tracks cost only $75–$250 per mile， though they soon rotted away。 And early mainlines were often built with strap rails， thin strips of wrought iron pinned to a wooden rail。 The result was an exceptionally cheap railway—American railroads typically cost $20，000–$30，000 per mile， less than a sixth of the $180，000 a typical European railway cost。 It was this， more than any other factor that enabled the Americans to build their long-distance railroads so early， from the mid-1830s onward。presentNow we moved away from wood to iron and cement in buildings and to plastic in small tools。 There are changes to wood that make it tough as steel。 The new skyscrapers and apartment buildings constructed from glulam and CFL are up to five times lighter than ones made of conventional reinforced concrete。 This means they use less energy to build and need shallower foundations， so that the amount of embodied energy they contain can be as low as 20 percent that in a normal building。However， there are problems with this high-tech approach。 For a start， none of these wood products are carbon neutral。 Energy is needed to harvest， transport， and machine the wood， for instance。 And the most energy-intensive step in all modern wood production is kiln drying。futureOur estrangement from the practical worlds of forestry and carpentry and our resulting mechanical incompetence have impoverished our lives in several ways and made us more insecure and unhappy， as generally occurs whenever one of our relationships breaks down。Those of us who live in cities are already benefiting from the many urban forestry initiatives that have sprung up around the world， and which are regreening these most artificial environments。Urban foresters could also use portable sawmills to process the timber from larger street trees， providing the basis for further woodworking projects。 Similar sorts of urban forestry initiatives have already been tried in Bangladesh， where city dwellers are paid to look after young teak trees that are planted in their neighborhood， with a final payment being made to them when the mature trees are harvested after around twenty years。 。。。more

Evelina | AvalinahsBooks ，

I listened to this on audio （Bookbeat service）， but there's no audio option here。 Anyway， I thought it would be interesting but it was actually so boring that it ended up being my "if I can't sleep audiobook"， and it put me to sleep within like 10-15 minutes without fail even on the worst insomnia nights like no other book。 Can't give it 2 stars though， because it helped me sleep effectively 😂😅 I listened to this on audio （Bookbeat service）， but there's no audio option here。 Anyway， I thought it would be interesting but it was actually so boring that it ended up being my "if I can't sleep audiobook"， and it put me to sleep within like 10-15 minutes without fail even on the worst insomnia nights like no other book。 Can't give it 2 stars though， because it helped me sleep effectively 😂😅 。。。more

Chris ，

This might as well be titled “The History of Humanity” as wood and trees have enabled us to be who we are。 Wood is the Rodney Dangerfield of commodities。 It gets no respect。 Age of Wood is the Age of Man。 We are a lignocentric people。The author traces our movement from the trees to hunter gatherers and farmers while using wood for tools， shelter， heat， and weapons。 Even when iron and bronze came into fashion they stimulated demand for wood and were used to make wood even more useful。 During the This might as well be titled “The History of Humanity” as wood and trees have enabled us to be who we are。 Wood is the Rodney Dangerfield of commodities。 It gets no respect。 Age of Wood is the Age of Man。 We are a lignocentric people。The author traces our movement from the trees to hunter gatherers and farmers while using wood for tools， shelter， heat， and weapons。 Even when iron and bronze came into fashion they stimulated demand for wood and were used to make wood even more useful。 During the Iron Age wood dominated people’s lives。 Iron enabled us to do more with wood。 Wooden barrels were the equivalent of today’s tin cans， plastic bottles， and shipping containers。There’s an interesting discussion of wood imposing conservative values。 Ancient knowledge was revered at the expense of growth and confidence in the present。 Guilds stifled innovation and dissemination of information。 Mistakes were repeated。 Lots of deforestation myths。 There was no shortage of wood either。 Wood distribution was the problem。 Roads were limited。 Rivers used to float wood。 Why most of towns that grew were on rivers。 Industry located in rural areas- that’s where the wood and minerals were。 Coal changed things and the steam engine allowed industry to relocate away from rivers and rural areas。Tree farming is a problem。 Not natural。 Monoculture。 We’ve lost our attachment to the forest。 Finland is the nation with the strongest forest culture。 Trees have been with us since prehistory。 When they are gone， we will be too。 。。。more

Trisha ，

An interesting introduction to the history of trees， forests， and world of wood humans have inherited and the variety and sorts of useage we have put it to。 Wood has played a major role in the shaping of civilization and will continue to do so despite the modern alternatives that have been developed。 In return it is important to respect its varied contributions to our physical lives and manage its growth accordingly for the future。

Anne ，

It's always fun， intriguing， and especially enlightening to learn history through a certain window 。。。 in this case wood （and trees）。 Additionally this read offered a few revelations and myth busters。 I listened at 1。10 speed and loved it！ It's always fun， intriguing， and especially enlightening to learn history through a certain window 。。。 in this case wood （and trees）。 Additionally this read offered a few revelations and myth busters。 I listened at 1。10 speed and loved it！ 。。。more

Ed Dorsey ，

Boring。 Cover was misleading。 I thought it might be a history of use of wood， especially building ships， ala Mark Kurlansky。 The first four chapters were more about anthropology than wood。 Full of mind-numbing detail and a lot of scientific information which I just didn't understand。 The author ，however did debunk some historical deforestation theories。 I was going to stop reading， even hesitated to shelve as currently reading， but I chose to plod through。 Read more like a text book。 Boring。 Cover was misleading。 I thought it might be a history of use of wood， especially building ships， ala Mark Kurlansky。 The first four chapters were more about anthropology than wood。 Full of mind-numbing detail and a lot of scientific information which I just didn't understand。 The author ，however did debunk some historical deforestation theories。 I was going to stop reading， even hesitated to shelve as currently reading， but I chose to plod through。 Read more like a text book。 。。。more

Maureen Weiner ，

The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization by Roland Ennos is a great book。 I enjoyed learning how much trees shaped our ancestors' evolution and how much wood shapes our everyday lives。Trees and wood are the reason we have fingers and toes with fingernails and toenails instead of claws。 As our ancestors evolved from small primates into the great apes， we had to evolve self-awareness so we did not fall from our tree homes。 Our ancestors learned to walk upright The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization by Roland Ennos is a great book。 I enjoyed learning how much trees shaped our ancestors' evolution and how much wood shapes our everyday lives。Trees and wood are the reason we have fingers and toes with fingernails and toenails instead of claws。 As our ancestors evolved from small primates into the great apes， we had to evolve self-awareness so we did not fall from our tree homes。 Our ancestors learned to walk upright in the trees， long before we moved to the ground。 The building of tree nests enabled our ancestors to sleep safely and soundly in the trees， and this allowed them to achieve REM sleep， which enabled their brains to encode memories， leading to higher intelligence。Once our ancestors were living full-time on the ground， their knowledge of nest building allowed them to build shelters that protected them from the elements as their lost their body hair。 Wood allowed them to control fire， which kept them warm and protected them from predators。 Fire also allowed our ancestors to begin cooking their food which allowed them to chew and absorb nutrients faster and more easily， which freed them for other tasks。Human civilization is often defined by the stone age， the bronze age， the iron age， and the steel age， but in fact， wood was far more useful and ubiquitous than any other material。 The author notes that it may be wood ubiquity that renders stone， bronze， iron， and steel more noticeable。I was glad to learn that deforestation is not as big a crisis as some ecologist make it out to be， but I am disconcerted to learn that many efforts to solve deforestation are actually making the situation worse for trees and forests。 The author notes that in an effort to repopulate forests as quickly as possible， people or companies will often plant species that grow quickly， even if they are invasive to the native lands or bring disease that infect and kill native trees or that are contraindicated for the soil type。If you are interested in human evolution， human civilization， or the global environment， you will enjoy this book。 。。。more

Chris Brown ，

Makes a lot of sense and well written。

Amy ，

Enjoyed the history and the author's perspective。 Enjoyed the history and the author's perspective。 。。。more

Amy ，

NF279 pagesTrees are amazing。 So is the historyof how we use its wood。

David Potter ，

NaturallyI love wood so the emphasis on making it a greater part of modern life sits well with me。 Some of the book becomes very technical and dull and the attempt to explain the story using evolutionary speculation is fanciful。

Dylan ，

3。3Should have been titled "Wood in Prehistory。" The author's interest is clearly in the minutiae of early wooden tools and home building， which takes up more than half of the book。 If this had been a far larger book that may have been alright， if sometimes a slog。 However， Mr。 Ennos then blows through the last millennium with basically no discussion of the cultural or economic role of wood and forestry。 I had hoped to learn more about the aforestation movement， the feared timber famine in the U 3。3Should have been titled "Wood in Prehistory。" The author's interest is clearly in the minutiae of early wooden tools and home building， which takes up more than half of the book。 If this had been a far larger book that may have been alright， if sometimes a slog。 However， Mr。 Ennos then blows through the last millennium with basically no discussion of the cultural or economic role of wood and forestry。 I had hoped to learn more about the aforestation movement， the feared timber famine in the US， the massive Canadian industry， Asian logging practices etc。 The whole concept of lumber plantations gets a couple pages in the penultimate chapter。 There is a chapter on why deforestation has been overhyped that ends up being pretty unpersuasive because he totally ignores agriculture， both the cause of tree clearing but also the whole reason top soil loss matters。There's some interesting information in here but the book sets itself out to be a comprehensive history of human's interactions with wood and， as that， it was a let down。 。。。more

Woolstar ，

Along with Salt: A World History and Coal: A Human History， The Wood Age gives us some insights into how our civilization was shaped by this plant。 Though some ideas are hung on thin or non-existent pegs， we lower ourselves down from the trees， and use the bits we can to build shelter， fire， and ultimately early civilization。Being a recent work， we get updates into the return of wood as a modern construction material， including new high-rises being built with modern engineered wood panels and be Along with Salt: A World History and Coal: A Human History， The Wood Age gives us some insights into how our civilization was shaped by this plant。 Though some ideas are hung on thin or non-existent pegs， we lower ourselves down from the trees， and use the bits we can to build shelter， fire， and ultimately early civilization。Being a recent work， we get updates into the return of wood as a modern construction material， including new high-rises being built with modern engineered wood panels and beams。 Also， using scientific records， we get a better idea of our impact on forests over the millennia， and the refuting of some old legends about deforestation and "pristine forests"。Unfortunately the author thinks we're lesser beings for our modern conveniences， and the use of materials like steel， concrete， plastic， and stone。 （Though he does point out one reason that US cities don't have the same "old town" parts， is that with our access to plentiful timber， we used it almost exclusively for buildings， and that timber buildings tend to rot and decay after decades， leaving little evidence of their existence。 ） He bemoans his students lack of bushcraft skills， working in the amazon， while admitting that they are very accomplished with electronics and other skills。Our modern civilization is built on specialization。 And while I can bake a loaf of bread， wire an electrical socket， or cut down a tree; my livelihood does not depend on any of those skills， nor am I faced with needing to be competent at a hundred other skills my forefathers depended on day to day。 Do I need to milk a cow to appreciate my morning breakfast？ My family raised a cow once， it wasn't that exciting。In the end， I would have liked a little more care for the humans in the story， but RE made the trees the main character。 。。。more

Alee ，

Interesting read！

Jean Bonilla ，

Roland Ennos’ book about wood both surprised and intrigued me。 On the one hand it was a straightforward discussion of the role that wood has played in the development of the culture of human kind， our lifestyle， and our history。 The book also， unfortunately， was marked by overly technical explanations of some aspects of the use of wood and its structure。 Whole passages were almost unintelligible because they were so scientific。 Now， I am someone who embraces science and loves to work with scienc Roland Ennos’ book about wood both surprised and intrigued me。 On the one hand it was a straightforward discussion of the role that wood has played in the development of the culture of human kind， our lifestyle， and our history。 The book also， unfortunately， was marked by overly technical explanations of some aspects of the use of wood and its structure。 Whole passages were almost unintelligible because they were so scientific。 Now， I am someone who embraces science and loves to work with science。 I don’t shy away from scientific explanations。 But some of this was ridiculously complex。 It’s clear that Ennos has years of work in this field and has a hard time leaving some of that behind when he’s talking to the lay person。One of the most interesting sections of the book was its discussion at the beginning of the transition of the human race from an arboreal lifestyle to a terrestrial one。 Apparently as we were evolving， we actually descended from the trees， but we didn’t make a clean break with living in the trees。 For example， Lucy， the famous Ethiopian fossil， （found not by the Leakys， incidentally， but by Donald Johnson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 1974） appears to have been a part-time tree-dweller。 Later discoveries have suggested that， far from being fully terrestrial， Lucy and her relatives were semi-arboreal。 For a start the environment of East Africa was not then as arid as it has since become; and in Lucy’s day the area would’ve been covered with savannah woodland。 There is also compelling anatomical evidence from the upper bodies of fossils like Lucy that she was semi-arboreal。 She had strong chimp-like arms and curved fingers that would have been ideal for a life involving a lot of tree climbing。 Those who dwelt in the trees would weave baskets for sleeping - like a nest， sometimes a new one each night。 It would hang from the tree branches like a cocoon。 Even when most of the day was spent on land， at night they would again take to the trees。 It was only after we began to use wood in a different way to build secure dwellings that we stayed more consistently on the ground。Ennos talks about a wide range of uses for wood。 He runs the gamut from climbing and living in trees to making charcoal to making ships to making steel。 I found some of his notes on structure particularly interesting。 For example， there are stress limits to plain wood construction。 Rather than being supported by an efficient truss， a wooden ridgepole was held up from beneath by short props that rested on a lintel， a beam that was supported at either end by internal walls or lines of pillars within the building。 This arrangement “loaded the lintels in bending，” meaning they had to be heavy and clumsy， and limited the maximum distance they could safely span between pillars。 Consequently， the Greek temples look impressive from the outside， inside they were dark and claustrophobic， with lines of pillars bounding a narrow central space。 Even in the Parthenon， the widest gap between supports was only around 36 feet。 Indeed， 33 to 36 feet seems to have been the maximum span that simple wooden lintels could safely bridge in early stone buildings。 The book of Kings， for instance， tells us that Solomon’s temple was 60 cubits long by 20 cubits wide， around 90‘ x 30‘， its roof being held up by cedar beams purchased from Hiram， King of Tyre， presumably the largest structural elements that were available。 In describing the stress limitations of high-quality woods， Ennos puts in a plug for plywood。 Its layers of sheets allow the grain to cross at right angles， one ‘up and down，’ the next ‘right to left。’ It strengthens the final product。 As someone who loathes plywood， always opting for “real” wood whenever possible， I admit， I was taken aback！ I expected the author to have a more rigorous analysis of the impact of man on the environment。 He has ended the book with criticisms， of course， but they are not as pointed as I expected them to be。 Clearly， he is in love with forests and wood products and all of the things that you might think， as they spring from his research and his activities with wood。 He just seems overly optimistic about our ability to correct our relationship with the natural world。 I am not so sanguine！ 。。。more

Ian Lea ，

Interesting enough but not fascinating。

Jim ，

Very readable/listenable treatment of the role of wood in the development of human civilization。 Fascinating。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0