Wildwood: A Journey through Trees

Deakin was a rare talent who made the commonplace magical and powerful. Although the book focuses on the beauty and importance of woodlands and trees, he is really bringing alive the British countryside, but never strays into sentimentality. This is a book i return to every year, and recommending to others as a must read.

This is the first Roger Deakin book I have read, but it won’t be the last. Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees takes us around the world, from carefully maintained British woodlands to the Walnut forests of Kyrgyzstan. It’s not exactly a straightforward narrative; instead it is a meandering and beautiful contemplation, on trees, on living and on the natural world in general.

I'll confess up front: the sections set in the Australian outback nearly lost me because the place is so foreign to my experience that I had little interest in Deakin's explorations there. But all the rest of the book made up for it, especially his stories of the walnut-growing regions of Central Asia.
As I reached the end of the book, I was feeling particularly aware of Deakin's untimely death and how sad it is that the world will not have lots more of his wonderful prose in years to come.

A unique, readable, erudite book which can not be easily absorbed in one sitting. The late Roger Deakin begins in his Suffolk house and gradually moves outwards writing about the fifth element, wood. It's not difficult to imagine sitting by a log fire with the author musing and reflecting about the role wood plays in our lives. It makes no difference if he is talking about the Australian outback or walnut veneers in Jaguar cars, the reader is compelled to read on and wish for yet more.
Just can't recommend this book too highly. It will make you appreciate the subject and its' value in our lives

I bought three copies of this for Christmas for people who I know would not only appreciate it, but needed to have it in their lives. You do not need to be a committed environmentalist to love this book; all the same, it will open your eyes to nature, both home and away.

I couldn't recommend this book highly enough. It is truely a shame that Deakin is not alive to write more of this work; as a reflection of the English pastoral tradition of writing, there are few to compare.

This is a wonderful book - read it!

10/10

Roam with Roger, fellow tree tourist, to find all types of apples in the ukraine, to enter the world of walnuts, too, and buried roads and pleaching. Write about your favorite trees this week!