By Diana Beresford-Kroeger – $32.50
The first sentence of the introduction draws the reader in to the author’s world:
‘The landscape of my youth was an Irish one. The fields were filled with the brilliant chrome yellow of furze.’
Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist and medical biochemist, which means she is an expert in the medicinal, nutritional and environmental properties of trees.
‘The Global Forest’ is a beautifully written collection of essays about a variety of the scientific facts, folklore, and environmental importance of trees and forests. Reading this book provides a gentle and compelling opportunity to learn about trees and their connection to the interconnected lives of people and the planet.
Each chapter is complete and lovely in its own right and yet the words, which dance across the pages, leave the reader hungering for more information.
For example, the chapter on Hedgerows describes them as living continuations of the forest. Hedgerows are seen, especially in Europe, wherever there is agriculture and they act as corridors of life and boundaries for farmers’ fields. One can’t read this chapter and not want to sit beside a hedgerow and stare at the life that teams within it.
In the chapter on the medicinal products and uses of trees, Beresford-Kroeger gives information about how these properties have been and are being used to support mankind. One interesting example of this is the chemical ‘ergotamine’ and its use today in the treatment of migraines.
Each chapter, no matter how specific or scientific, always seems to underscore that forests are also places of quiet refuge for all living things.
Beresford-Kroeger also writes about Gaia and the complex web of all living things. She shows how all countries and nations benefit from forests, and cautions the reader about the ongoing rape of Mother Nature. She laments that there seems to be no end to greed and no meaningful or sytemic beginning to sustainable management of the planets resource bases.
Putting aside her concerns and pessimism, Beresford-Kroeger ends with an uplifting paragraph about how today’s children are being taught better modes of planetary management.
Tags: P'lovers Book Club