Twelve Trees

And What They Tell Us About Our Past, Present and Future

By: Daniel Lewis

Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BOOKS TO WATCH IN 2024

Twelve amazing species of trees that can teach us about our past, present and future.

In Twelve Trees, professor Daniel Lewis takes us around the world – from Australia to the United States, from Easter Island and Mexico to Cameroon – and introduces us to twelve tree species that epitomise the many threats faced by our planet, from climate change, poachers and parasites, to fungi and even elephants. He celebrates their many strengths in the face of adversity, and their enduring abilities to survive – and even thrive – in an increasingly dangerous planet.

Trees are essential to all of our lives – and they need our help. In this incredible tribute to the noble tree, Lewis dives deep into the cutting-edge science and inspiring community efforts helping to keep them alive. Saving the tree, as he argues, means the saving of humanity.

Beautifully written and informative, Twelve Trees is a heartwarming and enlightening guide to some of our most fascinating trees – and why we should be working harder to protect them.

©2024 Daniel Lewis (P)2024 Simon & Schuster, UK

Critic reviews

‘Twelve Trees is a remarkable adventure that takes us from the heights of the redwood canopy to the craters of Easter Island and the depths of the Congo Basin, using cutting-edge science and personal stories to explain the ways these incredible trees shape our world’ (Eric Rutkow, author of American Canopy)

‘Daniel Lewis channels the wisdom of twelve of the planet’s most eloquent teachers – the oldest, the tallest, and even the extinct – to share their deep time lessons with us. With the precision of a scientist, the skill of a historian, and the voice of a poet, Lewis speaks for the trees. If we listen, we will grow to love these twelve trees deeply, and come to recognize how closely our own lives and fates are linked to theirs’ (Melanie Choukas-Bradley, author of City of Trees)

‘This highly readable and informative celebration of trees stands out in the forest of books about them. “No tree is an island,” declares the author, backing this up by exploring the infinite interactions of a dozen well-chosen trees in the web of life on Earth which connects all living things. In an era of rapid environmental change, we and the trees share the same future and must face our fate together. The perspectives and wisdom offered here will inspire greater respect – not just for trees, but for all of nature’ (Stephen Blackmore, His Majesty's Botanist and author of How Plants Work)

‘Rarely have I read a book that so seamlessly interweaves science and sensibility. If you are interested in trees, you will love this book. If you are not interested in trees, this book will show you why you should be’ (Naomi Oreskes, co-author of Merchants of Doubt and The Big Myth)

‘As Daniel Lewis elegantly illustrates, trees are basic material and precious resource; refugees and invaders; recorders, victims, and perhaps solvers of the changing climate. In every case, Lewis argues, they are a mirror back on humanity and its often fraught relationship with the wider world’ (Zach St. George, author of The Journey of Trees)