The Tree Collectors
Tales of Arboreal Obsession
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Narrated by:
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Jade Wheeler
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By:
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Amy Stewart
About this listen
Fifty vignettes of remarkable people whose lives have been transformed by their obsessive passion for trees—written by the New York Times bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist
“I love everything Amy Stewart has ever created, but this book is my favorite yet. I’m giving this book to everyone I know. Because it, like its subject, is a gift.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love
When Amy Stewart discovered a community of tree collectors, she expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple. But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from something deeper and more profound: a longing for community, a vision for the future, or a path to healing and reconciliation.
In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process. Vivian Keh has forged a connection to her Korean elders through her persimmon orchard. The former poet laureate W. S. Merwin planted a tree almost every day for more than three decades, until he had turned a barren estate into a palm sanctuary. And Joe Hamilton cultivates pines on land passed down to him by his once-enslaved great-grandfather, building a legacy for the future.
Stewart populates this lively compendium with side trips to investigate famous tree collections, arboreal glossaries, and even tips for “unauthorized” forestry. This book is a stunning tribute to a devoted group of nature lovers making their lives—and the world—more beautiful, one tree at a time.
©2024 Amy Stewart (P)2024 Random House AudioCritic reviews
“After spending time [with The Tree Collectors], you’ll undoubtedly experience an intense desire to recline under the shade of a leafy canopy. But something even more profound is happening here: by creating a space for people to talk about something they love, Stewart made me feel more tender-hearted toward my fellow humans. ‘How often do any of us get a chance to pour our hearts out to a stranger?’ she writes. ‘Somehow, talking about trees made it possible.’”—Scientific American
“I love everything Amy Stewart has ever created, but this book is my favorite yet. I’m giving this book to everyone I know. Because it, like its subject, is a gift.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of The City of Girls and The Signature of All Things
“These mesmerizing trees, and the inspiring people they’ve transformed, will alter your perspective and give you hope.”—Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees
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- Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
- By: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Earth is not well. The promise of starting life anew somewhere far, far away—no climate change, no war, no Twitter—beckons, and settling the stars finally seems within our grasp. Or is it? Critically acclaimed, bestselling authors Kelly and Zach Weinersmith set out to write the essential guide to a glorious future of space settlements, but after years of research, they aren’t so sure it’s a good idea.
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Excellent Book, As the Weinersmiths Are Known to Do!
- By R. Carr on 02-03-24
By: Kelly Weinersmith, and others
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Should We Go Extinct?
- A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times
- By: Todd May, Michael Schur
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Michael Schur
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Should we bring new humans into the world? Or would it be better off without us? A renowned philosopher and advisor to NBC’s The Good Place offers a thoughtful exploration of humanity’s future—or lack thereof.
By: Todd May, and others
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The Nature of Oaks
- The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees
- By: Douglas W. Tallamy
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Oaks sustain a complex and fascinating web of wildlife. The Nature of Oaks reveals what is going on in oak trees month by month, highlighting the seasonal cycles of life, death, and renewal. From woodpeckers who collect and store hundreds of acorns for sustenance to the beauty of jewel caterpillars, Tallamy illuminates and celebrates the wonders that occur right in our own backyards. The Nature of Oaks will inspire you to treasure these trees and to act to nurture and protect them.
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Inspirational
- By Kaysi12 on 07-22-22
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Bringing Ben Home
- A Murder, a Conviction, and the Fight to Redeem American Justice
- By: Barbara Bradley Hagerty
- Narrated by: Barbara Bradley Hagerty
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1989, Ben Spencer, a twenty-two-year-old Black man from Dallas, was convicted of murdering white businessman Jeffrey Young—a crime he didn’t commit. From the day of his arrest, Spencer insisted that it was “an awful mistake.” The Texas legal system didn’t see it that way. It allowed shoddy police work, paid witnesses, and prosecutorial misconduct to convict Spencer of murder, and it ignored later efforts to correct this error. The state’s bureaucratic intransigence caused Spencer to spend more than half his life in prison.
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Profoundly well written, incredible and timely story
- By Kindle Customer on 11-14-24
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The Nature Fix
- Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative
- By: Florence Williams
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; Nikola Tesla conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Florence Williams sets out to uncover the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain.
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Yes!...and No!
- By Paul on 03-18-17
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The Secret Lives of Numbers
- A Hidden History of Math’s Unsung Trailblazers
- By: Kate Kitagawa, Timothy Revell
- Narrated by: Daphne Kouma
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Mathematics shapes almost everything we do. But despite its reputation as the study of fundamental truths, the stories we have been told about it are wrong—warped like the sixteenth-century map that enlarged Europe at the expense of Africa, Asia and the Americas. In The Secret Lives of Numbers, renowned math historian Kate Kitagawa and journalist Timothy Revell make the case that the history of math is infinitely deeper, broader, and richer than the narrative we think we know.
By: Kate Kitagawa, and others