The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World
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- Create Date：2023-03-10 06:53:25
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Peter Wohlleben
- ISBN：0670089346
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Summary
In 'The Hidden Life of Trees'， Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life， death and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific mechanisms behind these wonders， of which we are blissfully unaware。 Much like human families， tree parents live together with their children， communicate with them and support them as they grow， sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group。 As a result of such interactions， trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old。 In contrast， solitary trees， like street kids， have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group。
Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries， Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities， he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him。 As he says， a happy forest is a healthy forest and he believes that eco-friendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth。
Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries， Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities， he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him。 As he says， a happy forest is a healthy forest and he believes that eco-friendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth。
Reviews
Kendra Richards Ohmann
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If you're at all interested in nature， trees， or forest life， you will find this book interesting。 It does not read like a textbook， and it's not full of jargon。 It's accessible and it opens your eyes to the idea that trees are just as much living creatures as humans or mammals--and has similar experiences and needs。 It's fascinating and also endearing。 If you're at all interested in nature， trees， or forest life， you will find this book interesting。 It does not read like a textbook， and it's not full of jargon。 It's accessible and it opens your eyes to the idea that trees are just as much living creatures as humans or mammals--and has similar experiences and needs。 It's fascinating and also endearing。 。。。more
Lisa
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If you like trees， science， and poetry you'll enjoy this book。 If you like trees， science， and poetry you'll enjoy this book。 。。。more
Nicola Alter
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I think I’ll never look at a forest or a tree quite the same way again after reading this！ A beautiful book that really illuminates the lives of trees and forests。 I was particularly fascinated to get a sense of the incredibly long timescales on which their lives work， the misconceptions that have long plagued the forestry industry， and the importance of understanding their needs so we can better preserve and manage what forests remain。 As someone who doesn’t read a lot of non-fiction， I did som I think I’ll never look at a forest or a tree quite the same way again after reading this！ A beautiful book that really illuminates the lives of trees and forests。 I was particularly fascinated to get a sense of the incredibly long timescales on which their lives work， the misconceptions that have long plagued the forestry industry， and the importance of understanding their needs so we can better preserve and manage what forests remain。 As someone who doesn’t read a lot of non-fiction， I did sometimes struggle to keep focus and absorb all the details， but the topic was intriguing enough and the book short and well written enough that I still enjoyed and finished it。 。。。more
Frankie
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Well worth reading even though the author centers the book on Europe。 Lots of information on the life of trees。
Hannah Rolland
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Overall enjoyed it and learned a lot but did feel as though there was anthropomorphism & acquainting response with emotions
shayda :）
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I have a lot to say about this book-- maybe it was my high expectations， but I was a bit disappointed by this one。I'll start with the good stuff。 I learned a good amount of interesting information！ That's about it。 Even within that interesting information， I was repeatedly swayed towards boredom/wanting it to be over more than the excitement of learning new tree facts。I know that it's translated from German， so for a lot of the book I kept reminding myself that maybe that's why it didn't flow we I have a lot to say about this book-- maybe it was my high expectations， but I was a bit disappointed by this one。I'll start with the good stuff。 I learned a good amount of interesting information！ That's about it。 Even within that interesting information， I was repeatedly swayed towards boredom/wanting it to be over more than the excitement of learning new tree facts。I know that it's translated from German， so for a lot of the book I kept reminding myself that maybe that's why it didn't flow well in English。 Sometimes translations don't hit the mark！ However， the more I got into the book the more frustrated I became。 It's more than a translation error， because the organization of the chapters was weak。 I really wasn’t a fan。 It jumped around topic to topic and didn't really seem to have any connection between chapters except that， obviously， it's all related to trees。Overall， kinda glad it's over and to be moving on。 As much as I love trees。 。。。more
Austin Price
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A really nice read bringing to the surface what happens below the surface。 This book describes how trees are an incredibly social， caring， feeling， intelligent species giving a lot of insight into what may be one of the most overlooked parts in the well being and health of our planet。
Joey
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Too much anthropomorphizing。 I love trees more than most humans but trees are not humans。
Aleksandar
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A great book， if a little unstructured。 Plenty of new things to be learned here， regardless of your existing experience in observation and interaction with trees。
Keisha Adams
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Book about trees multigenerational lifecycle and the interconnections between trees of the same and different species。 Broken up by topic into shortish chapters。Bit hard to follow at times， as the writing style uses lots of metaphor and similes to make it more story like rather than a straightforward nonfiction book。 Interesting facts。 Most of the book was very environmentally conscious， but kinda did a 180 in the last chapter with how trees can be used and managed as a commodity。 Changed the to Book about trees multigenerational lifecycle and the interconnections between trees of the same and different species。 Broken up by topic into shortish chapters。Bit hard to follow at times， as the writing style uses lots of metaphor and similes to make it more story like rather than a straightforward nonfiction book。 Interesting facts。 Most of the book was very environmentally conscious， but kinda did a 180 in the last chapter with how trees can be used and managed as a commodity。 Changed the tone a little。 。。。more
William Lockwood
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This fascinating book does an amazing job of shedding light on the Mycorrhizial relationship between fungi and woody perennial plants （trees， duh）。 The narrative， which is present but not center stage， has a great flow to keep which captivates ones attention。 I can not recommend this read enough for anyone who loves nature， biology， or just loves learning how the world works！
Kristina
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Amazing facts about forests and trees that is a slow but absolutely fascinating read
Claudiegh
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Astounded by the number of tree facts swirling around my head now。 Trees are capable of much more than the average person would ever suspect。 I'm especially impressed by their community structures and the way they firm symbiotic relationships。 I do agree the anthromorphization is a bit much。 Astounded by the number of tree facts swirling around my head now。 Trees are capable of much more than the average person would ever suspect。 I'm especially impressed by their community structures and the way they firm symbiotic relationships。 I do agree the anthromorphization is a bit much。 。。。more
Ann
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If you love trees and forests， you'll love this book and learn some amazing science。 Peter Wohlleben is an expert with 20 years experience in the German forestry commission。 He now runs an eco-friendly woodland and writes for the general public in a style that's fun to read。 He depicts the forest as an efficient， interdependent social community and the workings and natural cycles of trees in human terms。 By the time you finish， you will envision trees having thoughts and emotions and the will to If you love trees and forests， you'll love this book and learn some amazing science。 Peter Wohlleben is an expert with 20 years experience in the German forestry commission。 He now runs an eco-friendly woodland and writes for the general public in a style that's fun to read。 He depicts the forest as an efficient， interdependent social community and the workings and natural cycles of trees in human terms。 By the time you finish， you will envision trees having thoughts and emotions and the will to help each other survive and defend against predators and catastrophic weather events。 Wohlleben describes trees of the same species in the same immediate environment that have distinct personalities leading them to different life strategies。 He suggests that the hairs on the tips of roots may be the closest parallel to the brain， with memory storage and an amazing capacity to adapt — given trees' inability to move voluntarily or choose where to put down roots。 He calls city trees "street kids。" He writes of friendship and love among trees。 It'll wager it's the most charming science book you'll ever read。 No wonder it was a New York Timesbestseller。 。。。more
Karen Tevebaugh
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loved the audio book， excellent listen on trees
Jamie is
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As intriguing as the idea of communication and nurturing between trees is， a recently-published meta study by Justine Karst et al （University of Alberta） in the leading journal Nature finds that there is scant evidence for this。 The cooperating and nurturing behavior supposedly is coordinated through mycorrhizal fungi networks， termed the “wood wide web”。 Three major claims about these networks are based on only a few studies that have been cited repeatedly， with many other studies negating thes As intriguing as the idea of communication and nurturing between trees is， a recently-published meta study by Justine Karst et al （University of Alberta） in the leading journal Nature finds that there is scant evidence for this。 The cooperating and nurturing behavior supposedly is coordinated through mycorrhizal fungi networks， termed the “wood wide web”。 Three major claims about these networks are based on only a few studies that have been cited repeatedly， with many other studies negating these analyses。 However， I do think this is a valiant attempt at trying to explain environmental Inter connectedness in a way that humans will understand and empathize with… and maybe such empathy will help us make better choices for the environment。 。。。more
Ghosh Dasgupta
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A must read for nature lovers。 Insightful， informative and touching。
Brian Hill-Kipling
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The audio book reads nicely。 Everything is interconnected。 Cherish it， protect it。
Thomas
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Incredibly educational yet captivating as Wohlleber personifies the forest and makes the reader pause to consider how we define living and sentient beings， as well as how the scale of time in human life often hinders our ability to conduct proper research on organisms that were here before our time。 This book made me see trees in a completely new light！
Courtney
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The back of the book isn't lying。。 a walk through the woods will never be the same。 The back of the book isn't lying。。 a walk through the woods will never be the same。 。。。more
Komukill
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I was expecting a more serious and scientific discussion on trees/forests， woven into the experiences and passion of the forester。 Instead， the book is more about the author sharing his fascination with trees and how he likens them to humans， which is actually not a bad thing in itself， but it did not work for me。 Some scientific facts （with citations） are added throughout the narrative， but it is quite difficult for me to discern the facts from passionate and anthropomorphous speculations of th I was expecting a more serious and scientific discussion on trees/forests， woven into the experiences and passion of the forester。 Instead， the book is more about the author sharing his fascination with trees and how he likens them to humans， which is actually not a bad thing in itself， but it did not work for me。 Some scientific facts （with citations） are added throughout the narrative， but it is quite difficult for me to discern the facts from passionate and anthropomorphous speculations of the author。The book takes on an informal and （for me， a little too） humorous tone to exemplify the passion the author has for trees and forests （how many Spruce & Co。 can I stand。。。）。 I was only 25% into the book， but I found the chapters to be lacking cohesion; some information is glossed over while others are repeated。 But that is not to say the book lacks quality。 I learned cool things just getting into 25% of it。 Like， trees are social beings and live in communities helping each other， trees send electrical impulses to share information within itself or to others， fungi form an intricate connective system called the mycelium that has thin branching filaments called hyphae that can grow to several miles long in just 1 teaspoon of forest soil， and these fungi act as the social media trees use to stay connected to other trees， there is more genetic diversity among forest trees than among the animal kingdom and many other cool insights that I did not know about trees。Coming into this book right after 'Fish Don't Exist'， which interwove a memoir with taxonomy and tinges of ichthyology with a captivating and serious treatment， I was expecting a more serious writing with a cohesive narrative。 The audiobook version might be better suited for me， and I can perhaps revisit when I am in the mood for something light。 。。。more
Jack Warfield
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1/3 interesting （enough） science， 1/3 nature mysticism， 1/3 propaganda （though， I'm not yet sure what exactly for）。 1/3 interesting （enough） science， 1/3 nature mysticism， 1/3 propaganda （though， I'm not yet sure what exactly for）。 。。。more
Jen
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Interesting！ A little too much anthropomorphizing， but still very worthwhile。
Agvas
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Beautiful book。 Insightful and full of surprises。 Reminded me how deep the connection with living things around can go。
Maira
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Impossível ainda ter pessoas que ou acham que o que é dito neste livro é questão de "acreditar" se há tantas menções em estudos científicos。 A intenção é que nunca mais se olhe plantas e árvores da mesma forma。 E também não se deveria， porque se todos realmente entendessem as nossas florestas não seriam violadas e exploradas da forma como é feita hoje em dia。 Tenho esperanças que mais pessoas façam escolhas conscientes。 Impossível ainda ter pessoas que ou acham que o que é dito neste livro é questão de "acreditar" se há tantas menções em estudos científicos。 A intenção é que nunca mais se olhe plantas e árvores da mesma forma。 E também não se deveria， porque se todos realmente entendessem as nossas florestas não seriam violadas e exploradas da forma como é feita hoje em dia。 Tenho esperanças que mais pessoas façam escolhas conscientes。 。。。more
Cynthia
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I read "The Illustrated Edition"， in which the text is apparently abridged， but the photos are superb。A thoughtful discussion of some of the most recent research in forest ecology and trees in general， this book is one that bridges science and poetry。 As if I needed more reasons to love trees， reading "The Hidden Life of Trees" gave me new understandings and insights about these complex organisms。The last chapter， in particular， expanded on our need for trees and talked about their beneficial ef I read "The Illustrated Edition"， in which the text is apparently abridged， but the photos are superb。A thoughtful discussion of some of the most recent research in forest ecology and trees in general， this book is one that bridges science and poetry。 As if I needed more reasons to love trees， reading "The Hidden Life of Trees" gave me new understandings and insights about these complex organisms。The last chapter， in particular， expanded on our need for trees and talked about their beneficial effects in our world， far beyond their commercial value for lumber or pulp。 If you live in a forested area of the world （or in an area that was traditionally forested）， I highly recommend reading this book。And even if you just visit forests sometimes， I still recommend this book。 You will truly look at forests and trees differently afterwards。 。。。more
Seth B
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A compact manual of tree ecology and etiquette that gives the reader a reverence for forests。 Peter Wohlleben writes of relationships between trees， lifecycles， opportunities， and threats。 You may be astonished that a young tree one meter tall could already be twenty years old， and that this is still quite young for a tree。 You would also be pleased to find out that trees talk to one another through the air and through their roots。 Wohlleben gives examples from forests all over the world， but sp A compact manual of tree ecology and etiquette that gives the reader a reverence for forests。 Peter Wohlleben writes of relationships between trees， lifecycles， opportunities， and threats。 You may be astonished that a young tree one meter tall could already be twenty years old， and that this is still quite young for a tree。 You would also be pleased to find out that trees talk to one another through the air and through their roots。 Wohlleben gives examples from forests all over the world， but spends much time dwelling on the oaks， beeches， and spruce in his native central Europe。 The voice of Mike Grady in the audiobook version is as monumental as the beech trees described。 Take this book on your next woodland outing。 。。。more
Holly
，
To be honest， when I started reading this book， I was prepared for boring lists of facts about plants。 Instead， I was met with life， character， and resilience。 The author’s emphasis of teamwork in a forest blew my mind， and his constant comparisons between trees and humans helped me realize that trees are living organisms just like us。 If you’re ready for a new perspective on the world around you， I recommend giving this a read！
Angie Harris
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I am a huge nature fan！ I love trees， and I love meditation with trees。 This book brought to life the reality of the energy and connection between myself and the trees I often spend time with in nature。 I highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to connect with trees or nature。
Jasper Snyder
，
I give this book a solid 2。60 stars。 I have read other books on tree communication better than this one。 However Wohlleben wrote it in a way I have never seen from a book on trees。 It is written as though we are in the （imagined） imagined mind of the trees as they communicate with one another。 If you are interested in trees and how they communicate this is a great book to start with。
tpg0
，
As an AI language model， I cannot personally read books or have opinions。 However， "The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel， How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World" is a non-fiction book written by Peter Wohlleben in 2015。 The book presents scientific research and Wohlleben's own observations suggesting that trees might possess qualities we typically associate with sentient beings。 Wohlleben asserts that trees communicate with each other through complex systems and networks， which he refers to as the “wood wide web。” The book has received positive reviews for its accessible style and intriguing insights into the natural world。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I don't have personal opinions or feelings about books， but I can provide some information about "The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel， How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World" by Peter Wohlleben。 "The Hidden Life of Trees" is a best-selling book that explores the intricate and fascinating world of trees。 Peter Wohlleben， a German forester， shares his experiences and observations of trees' communication， social behavior， and intelligence。 The book reveals how trees communicate with each other and help their offspring， how they form communities， and how they adapt and respond to their environment。 Wohlleben's writing style is engaging and accessible， making this book a great choice for both scientists and non-scientists interested in the natural world。 "The Hidden Life of Trees" also champions the importance of sustainability and underscores the value of preserving natural habitats。 Overall， "The Hidden Life of Trees" is a thought-provoking and informative book that sheds light on the complex lives of trees and their unique contributions to our planet。
tpg2
，
As an AI language model， I do not have the capability to read or have emotions about books。 However， the book 'The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel， How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World' written by Peter Wohlleben talks about the fascinating world of trees and their abilities to communicate and support each other in a forest ecosystem。 The book explores different aspects of the life of trees， including their ability to share resources， warn each other of danger， and even form social networks。 The book is informative and thought-provoking and can appeal to readers who have an interest in nature and the environment。
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the hidden life of trees what they feel how they communicate—discoveries from a secret world