A History of Trees (Hardback)
Imprint: White Owl
Pages: 216
Illustrations: 120 colour
ISBN: 9781526701596
Published: 12th December 2018
(click here for international delivery rates)
Order within the next 1 hour, 50 minutes to get your order processed the next working day!
Need a currency converter? Check XE.com for live rates
Other formats available | Price |
---|---|
A History of Trees Paperback Add to Basket | £16.99 |
A History of Trees ePub (31.8 MB) Add to Basket | £6.99 |
Have you ever wondered how trees got their names? What did our ancestors think about trees, and how were they used in the past? This fascinating book will answer many of your questions, but also reveal interesting stories that are not widely known. For example, the nut from which tree was predicted to pay off the UK’s national debt? Or why is Europe’s most popular pear called the ‘conference’? Simon Wills tells the history of twenty-eight common trees in an engaging and entertaining way, and every chapter is illustrated with his photographs.
Find out why the London plane tree is so frequently planted in our cities, and how our forebears were in awe of the magical properties of hawthorn. Where is Britain’s largest conker tree? Which tree was believed to protect you against both lightning and witchcraft?
The use of bay tree leaves as a sign of victory by athletes in ancient Greece led to them being subsequently adopted by many others – from Roman emperors to the Royal Marines. But why were willow trees associated with Alexander Pope, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Samuel Johnson? Why did Queen Anne pay a large sum for a cutting from a walnut tree in Somerset? Discover the answers to these and many other intriguing tales within the pages of this highly engrossing book.
It's what you would expect from the title. A history of trees in the UK covering indigenous and non-indigenous species, it's history, how it got it's name and a description of the tree. It's both a useful and beautiful read.
NetGalley, Adam Waldron
Author article: 'What is DNA?' as featured by
Family Tree, February 2020
I really enjoyed this book, which is a perfect gift for the tree-enthusiast in your life.
Rambles.net
Read the full review here
Acknowledged at the end of author article 'Tracing Lifeboatmen'
Family Tree, October 2019
Acknowledged at the end of author article 'Tramps, tinkers & travellers'
Family Tree, September 2019
This book is such an interesting one for me as I wouldn't say that I am very interested in trees or very into nature but it's a book that manages to blend together facts, history and the present and this is what makes it such a wonderful collection. The book features pictures and images of trees in different locations across the UK and details where trees have been used in historical artwork. A particular favourite of mine was the Huntingdon elm in Marylebone High Street that is right outside the school I used to attend and until reading this book I walked past it blissfully unaware! In closing, this book is one that makes you double-take when you're in your surroundings and pay closer attention when you're out and about.
Amazon Customer, Sandra
Featured in 'The best of this month's Hertfordshire-linked books and book news'
Hertfordshire Life, August 2019
Click here to read author Q&A conducted by Stevie Gallacher
The Sunday Post (online), 13th June 2019
This lovely book was a welcome and gratefully received Christmas present. Engagingly written, it was absolutely perfect for a relaxing read over Christmas and New Year and I’ve been dipping into it ever since.
Sue Simkins, writer & blogger
It’s useful too, as the seasons unfold, for identifying species. Full of factual information, folklore, history and all kinds of tree-related knowledge, it’s beautifully illustrated with colour photos and historical drawings. Who knew alder trees had had so much to contribute to the everyday lives of our ancestors? Learn how to plant a ‘quickset’ hedge with wise advice from the fifteenth century and find out which well-known roadside favourite is also known as the ‘tree of Mars’. Did you know what happened to change the British landscape so drastically in the 1920s and again in the 1960s?
A History of Trees is a joy of a book to keep on your bedside table.
Listed in alphabetical order from alder to yew, readers will learn how the tree got its name, how and where it grows and how the tree has been used by humans through history, along with legends and folklore about it. Several pages are devoted to each tree, with beautiful full color photos, drawings and woodcuts. An indispensable guide to some of our planets most majestic beings.
Cayocosta 72, Rose Smith
Read the full review here
I really enjoyed this book, it is entertaining and informative. It is not a heavy read and very much a book you can dip in and out of. I am happy to recommend it.
The Blackberry Garden
Read the full review here
A beautiful hardback book. This is definitely a book to treasure.
For the Love of Books
filled with dramatic photographs and fascinating facts on trees from Alder to Yew.
Each species has been lovingly described and an explanation given on what the wood has been used to make, and what medicinal property of each tree has been used for, through the ages.
It is interesting to learn that many of these old remedies are now being reviewed in the current world of medicine.
Article 'Book of trees' as featured by
Dorset Living, April 2019 – Joanna Davis reports
Click here to listen to author interview
BBC Radio Derby with presenter Andy Twigge, 1st April 2019
NOTE: set cursor to 16:00
Many years ago I illustrated a book on trees, so I have looked at this with a particularly critical eye. My verdict? Superb!...
Sussex Living, March 2019 - review by Elizabeth Kay
... The book is well-written and beautifully presented with some delightful photographs.
This is a beautiful book that would make a perfect present for anybody interested in trees, in general, and UK trees in particular. It is a photographic book, but it also contains a wealth of written information about trees: factual and botanical data, historical events related to specific trees, folk and mythological stories about them, literary connections, etc... this is a beautiful, informative, entertaining, and amusing book that will delight all those who love nature, trees in particular, and who enjoy trivia, stories and photographs. Perfect as a present, for yourself or others, as an inspiration, and as a breath of fresh air. Enjoy!
Author Translator, Olga Nunez Miret
Read the full review here
Trees hold a special place in most people’s hearts, and Simon’s photographs and fascinating accomanying texts are the perfect antidote to the rigours of modern life. There are things in this book I never knew, and feel better for knowing. Superb.
Books Monthly
Read the full review here
"A History of Trees" by dedicated wildlife and nature photographer Simon Wills is a unique and beautifully illustrated volume that reveals such fascinating topics as how trees got their names, what our ancestors thought about trees, and how trees were used in the past. A fascinating compilation of interesting stories that are not widely known, readers will learn that the nut from which tree was predicted to pay off the UK's national debt, and why Europe's most popular pear called the 'conference'. Simon Wills tells the history of twenty-eight common trees in an engaging and entertaining way, and every chapter is illustrated with his photographs. A simply fascinating and impressively informative read from cover to cover, "A History Of Trees" will prove to be an enduringly valued addition to community, college, and university collections.
Midwest Book Review
Read the full review here
As featured by
Sussex Local, March 2019
This is a fascinating book beautifully presented.
Bradway Bugle, Spring 2019
Simon Wills entertainingly explores more or less everything you might want to know about 28 of our most common trees.
Evergreen, April 2019
Taking a detailed look at each species, he illuminates its origin and social history with the help of plenty of photos, illustrations and interesting facts.
New Nature, March/April 2019
The writing was easy to read and full of fascinating facts and ideas, folklore and superstition, all lavishly illustrated with colour photographs, some by the author and featuring his dedicatee, Tim the dog. It was the richness of the photographs that drew me to this book, and the writing that kept my interest. If the writing wasn’t so good I could easily have got lost in the pictures.
Rosemarie Cawkwell, Blogger
Read the full review here
Article: 'Monkey puzzle isn't the only tree that leaves you baffled' as featured by
East Anglian Daily Times/Eastern Daily Press - words by Steve Russell
As featured in competition
Countryman, January 2019
Click here to listen to author interview at Kingley Vale Forest
BBC Radio Sussex with presenter Danny Pike, 24th January 2019
Hereford Times, 3rd January 2019 - words by Richard Prime
Click here to listen to author interview
BBC Radio Devon with presenter David Fitzgerald, 29th January 2019
NOTE: set cursor to 1:15:43
Article: 'Collection of fascinating facts about humble tree' as featured by
Western Morning News, 7th January 2019 – words by Keith Rossiter
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good reference book.
Amazon Customer
I'm looking forward to rediscovering my love of trees and learning about the associated history.
Click here to listen to author interview
BBC Radio Wiltshire with presenter Sue Kinnear, 9th January 2019
NOTE: set cursor to 42:10
Click here to listen to author interview
BBC Radio Berkshire with presenter Sarah Walker, 8th January 2019
NOTE: set cursor to 2:10:35
Click here to listen to author interview
BBC Radio Oxford with presenter Kat Orman, 8th January 2019
NOTE: set cursor to 1:31:30
Books to look out for with a Yorkshire link
Yorkshire Post, 4th January 2019
I like learning about trees and nature. This book was really interesting for me and I loved learning more about the history of different trees.
NetGalley, reviewed by Catherine C
I think this is a wonderful book for a booklover, I can see that as a hardcover it will be wonderful book to peruse and flick through, however, I don't think I got the full benefit of that in the digital version. Still, definitely a book that will make a brilliant gift for any tree lover, lover of facts.
NetGalley, reviewed by Melanie Martin
This book is interesting and full of information about trees and their history.. It's well written and engaging.
NetGalley, reviewed by Anna Maria Giacomasso
Recommended.
While I did have a few quibbles with the book, finding some entries were much shorter than others, as well as too much focus on certain geographical areas, overall, I quite liked this title. It also deserves a special shout out for the dedication alone, it did make me smile.
NetGalley, reviewed by Kat Munro
About Dr Simon Wills
Dr SIMON WILLS is a genealogist, historian and journalist and a regular contributor to Family Tree, the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? and other magazines. He writes mainly about maritime history and genealogy, but he also has a special interest in health and disease in the past. He has given presentations and interviews all around the UK for history, genealogy and literary festivals, and for organisations such as the BBC, National Trust and National Archives. His most recent publications include a guide to maritime photographs, Tracing Your Seafaring Ancestors, and a popular account of our forebears' illnesses, How Our Ancestors Died.