How to Read a Tree

“The Sherlock Holmes of Nature”—BBC “Reams of appealing facts make one itch to get outside and right up close to trees’ rough surfaces and shady cover.”—The Atlantic Open your eyes to the secret language of trees

"Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller An Indie Bestseller 2023 Foreword INDIES Finalist "The trees and the woods will never look the same again."

"This book will make wise naturalists out of us yet."

"An important book and a pleasure to read."

"We would be lucky to be lost in a forest with [Tristan Gooley]. Not just to find our way out—something he could surely help with—but to find our way in: to see what the trees are telling us about the Earth we all find ourselves a part of."

"Gooley interprets clues like a private investigator of the wilds. . . . For those inclined to solve mysteries written into the landscape, this author’s lead is one they’ll want to follow."

"The Sherlock Holmes of Nature"

"How to Read a Tree is so packed with information . . . it will undoubtedly leave you with a deeper appreciation of trees. . . . Your country walks will never be quite the same again."

"You will never look at a tree in the same way again after reading this mesmerizing book. Gooley drops learning as lightly as a blossom falls in spring."

"Tristan Gooley has done trees the greatest service. In this gentle, enchanting book he leads us into their language—how to spot their natural tendencies and individual foibles, and to recognize their responses to stress and ingenious strategies to survive. And with these insights he arouses an even deeper affection and concern for trees—our friends and allies, with whose fate our own is inextricably bound."

"Wherever you are—city or wilderness—if you want to understand the secrets of trees you pass, this is the book to read. . . . Tristan has the rare gift of explaining the most complex ideas with humour and deep insight."

"It was a lightbulb moment! I thought I knew my local woods—I walk there almost every day. But it’s a thrill to see it through fresh eyes, to develop a much deeper understanding."

"How to Read a Tree builds on the joy that we take in trees—with some handy facts to go alongside that joy."

"Trees can reveal fascinating secrets. . . . This book will add a new dimension to your next countryside stroll."

Tristan Gooley is the New York Times–bestselling author of How to Read Water, How to Read Nature, The Natural Navigator, The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs, The Secret World of Weather, The Nature Instinct, How to Read a Tree, and The Hidden Seasons. He has led expeditions on five continents, climbed mountains in three, and is the only living person to have both flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. His more than two decades of pioneering outdoor experience include research among tribal peoples in some of the remotest regions on Earth. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society, a vice-chairman of Trailfinders, and he runs the world’s only school of natural navigation.