The Genius of Trees: How trees mastered the elements and shaped the world

A mesmerising, mind-expanding global story which shows how trees have learned to use the soil, air, water, plants, fungi, fire, animals and people around them to shape our world - possessing agency beyond anything we might have imagined. The Genius of Trees tells a mind-expanding global story revealing the inventive and astonishing ways trees learned to shape our natural world. Over hundreds of millions of years, from prehistoric forests to the trees around us today, we see trees using fire as a reproductive tool, harnessing large mammals to spread their seeds (but poisoning smaller, less useful mammals), and splitting rock to create fertile ground in barren landscapes. Because trees, we discover, manipulate fundamental elements, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and even humankind to achieve their ends. From the laurel cloud-forests of the Canary Islands to the magnificent sex-shifting oaks of Iraq, from the giant sequoias of California to the carbon-spinning junipers of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border - trees sculpt their environments. At once transporting and expert, this profoundly original exploration of the science of trees is a startlingly new way of understanding these glories of our natural world. The Genius of Trees gives us hope for the future. It enables us to see trees, for the first time, not as victims but as agents of change in a grand ecological narrative - and as leading actors in the great drama of life on earth.

About the Author :
Harriet Rix is a tree science consultant and writer. She was formerly based at the Tree Council where she supported Defra in researching tree diseases and urban tree strategies. Before joining the tree sector, she worked in landmine clearance in the Middle East. She acted as scientific advisor on Adrian Grenier's climate documentary, was secretary of Hedgelink and is trustee of the Iraqi environmental charity Hasar. Rix holds a biochemistry degree from the University of Oxford and an MPhil in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. She was a London Library Emerging Writer, and her writing and photography has been published in the Financial Times, London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and more. The Genius of Trees is her first book.

Review :
Sublime … Through the scenes we glimpse an Indiana Jones figure who is both an eminent, travelling scientist and a born writer … Dazzling … Non-fiction rarely sees a debut like The Genius of Trees. It is a true masterpiece A mind-blowing and erudite account of how trees created the world around us ... Harriet Rix presents trees as an awesome force of nature Very few book reviewers are so captivated that they read the book carefully from end to end - not once, but twice. That is my boast about this extraordinary first work from Harriet Rix ... Rix has given us a completely new vision of how trees came to dominate our continents Extensively researched [and] elegantly written ... A satisfying read. Trees emerge as entities which are just as dynamic as animals - including, dare one say, humans A wondrous spreading canopy of a book that gives us trees as we’ve never seen them before: as dynamic forces, founders of our world, and agents of their own destiny - as well as ours. This is science writing at its best - beautifully explained, brilliantly written and perception-changing An exceptional book. Up to date scientifically, beautifully clear for all of us, it changes our entire view of trees while carrying us to other worlds and times. Enchantingly written, it has personal touches which unite science, travel and fine literature and lead us by the hand through woods we never understood before Ambitious and stunningly expansive ... Few come better qualified or more passionate than Rix, a biochemist and tree science consultant, who makes this subject utterly compellingly A compelling journey of a book, full of wonder and revelation. Highly recommended If I was dazzled by nature and in awe of trees before I read this book, I now know how much we are indebted to them for the way they have shepherded life on earth for millions of years Fascinating and evocative, an intimate ride into the magical world of trees. This book contains everything you ever wanted to know - and so much you never knew you wanted to know - about these incredible organisms An ambitious and stunningly expansive investigation into the role trees play in shaping our natural world … Few come better qualified than Rix ... The Genius of Trees feels like a particularly timely reminder of the importance of protecting natural resources The idea of trees manipulating animals may be eye-opening, but in The Genius of Trees swiftly makes complete sense … In an elegantly structured, shibboleth-shaking book, Rix explains how trees have shaped the elements and then played dynamic roles in influencing the evolution of species in all kingdoms of life … An impressive, globetrotting book An ambitious and stunningly expansive investigation into the role trees play in shaping our natural world. Few come better qualified than Rix, a biochemist and long-time tree science consultant, whose passion for the project shines through in this immersive paean to the grandest of all plants You will forever love trees after you read this wonderful book. Not only is the text brilliant, but the author is genius. Harriet Rix's stories range from why sloths are shaped by trees to be greenish in colour, to the chemical secrets of chocolate trees, to how one fragile moth pollinates the Joshua trees. You will want to read this book again and again A magisterial tour de force. Rix packs in several lifetimes of science into this sweeping story of the amazing genius of trees. I learned so much. Surely destined to become a classic Trees are not passive passengers in Earth’s story; they are the engineers of life itself. The Genius of Trees is a rare blend of science and wonder, reminding us just how much we still have to learn from these ancient organisms. Harriet Rix captures their wonder with clarity and awe In her wonderful book, Harriet Rix has given us a unique vantage point on the inalienable agency of trees. The Genius of Trees is both shocking and poetic, full of detail and even then dotted with fascinating footnotes. I left the book feeling invigorated and inspired