An organism that is too greedy and takes too much without giving anything in return destroys what it needs for life.

While we often disregard trees in our environment as nothing more than large stumps of bark and leaves and treat them as inanimate objects, the truth is that trees are some of the most vibrant beings surrounding us. In The Hidden Life of Trees, German forestry manager Peter Wohlleben describes the intricacy of the woods, as he breaks down the scientific processes of life, death, and regeneration of trees.

Wohlleben presents the science behind the secrets of trees and their vast communication skills. Turns out, trees in forests interact a lot like human families, with parents living with children, sharing nutrients (food), and communicating to create an healthy environment for all those around. One fact that blew my mind was that planted trees behave like children, whereas trees that grow up in a forest behave more maturely. Another fact was that trees warn each other with scents when a predatory is nearby. Even as someone who was not very interested in nature (outside of hiking), Wohlleben presents the complexity of symbiotic networks in such a way that is captivating as a reader. As someone who has grown up around nature, visiting some of the biggest national parks and forests, it gave me an entirely different appreciation.

What this book struggles with however was its ability to express certain concepts. I was often confused at the prose of the author, which swayed between explanations for a children and assuming that the reader has previous knowledge of plant processes. Often times the author would so brilliantly explain the scientific process of a forest to later simplify a certain outcome as one “going against the tree etiquette manual”. Additionally, the book repeats too much information. In the first chapters, this is extremely helpful to digest the foundation of each chapter. However, in the later chapters, it just feels like a lack of organization.

Even though this book certainly has its flaws, it contains so much valuable information. I didn’t think that this book would hold my attention so well, but each chapter encouraged me to do more research. This book posed a plethora of questions I didn’t even know I cared about and left me with more unanswered. Wohlleben brilliantly says - “So many questions remain unanswered. Perhaps we are poorer for having lost a possible explanation or richer for having gained a mystery. But aren’t both possibilities equally intriguing?”

Overall Rating: 7/10