The Remarkable Baobab
by Thomas Pakenham
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Description
Standing tall on the sunburnt plains of Africa and Australia, like great living giants, baobabs may be the oldest life forms on the planet, and many of the specimens still standing today have been around for at least 2000 years. For centuries, the tree has provided food, medicine, shelter, places of refuge and worship and even served as prisons and tombs. Long before Africa was opened up by European explorers, the news of the baobab had astonished the world of science, due to its stupendous show more size (twice the girth of any tree in Europe), its bizarre appearance (more like a pumpkin than a tree) and its extraordinary soft, pith-like wood. Today, the baobab continues to baffle scientists. Nothing seems certain about the tree except that mythology comes to it naturally. The countless superstitions and myths that surround these 'gnarled upside-down giants' are as strange and intriguing as the appearance of the trees themselves. In this book Thomas Pakenham recounts his personal encounters with the different species of baobabs of Africa and Australia in his own inimitable style, as well as describing trees which have migrated to other lands. He tells of the myths and legends as well as the history - stranger than fiction - of many of the trees and their chances of survival. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Photos worth the price of admission to this pretty little book priced in pounds sterling, not US dollars. We had to figure out the price. The cashier and owner ended up letting me have it for $12, because we were buying a bunch of books and magazines at an independent store.
Text repetitive and not that inspiring or broadly informative, but that's okay - I was breezing through the book looking at gorgeous photos of massive trees growing in lands I've never visited. I wish the people in the photos were better identified, at least in the captions - they would have made the text a little more interesting to me. However, I always give extra points for paintings and vintage imagery.
This will look nice shelved next to "Lives of the Trees" by show more Diana Wells, which is next to "Wicked Plants" by Amy Stewart. show less
Text repetitive and not that inspiring or broadly informative, but that's okay - I was breezing through the book looking at gorgeous photos of massive trees growing in lands I've never visited. I wish the people in the photos were better identified, at least in the captions - they would have made the text a little more interesting to me. However, I always give extra points for paintings and vintage imagery.
This will look nice shelved next to "Lives of the Trees" by show more Diana Wells, which is next to "Wicked Plants" by Amy Stewart. show less
Lovely pictures, but the accompanying text is completey mad.
This is indeed a remarkable tree and lovely book.
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Author Information
16+ Works 4,437 Members
Thomas Pakenham's Remarkable Trees of the World received international acclaim
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- Dedication:
For Barbara and in memory of Jim
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 126
- Popularity
- 256,196
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.90)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
