Originally written in German, with an English translation released a year later, The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World, Peter Wohlleben was featured on NPR a few years ago. I immediately searched for a copy on inter-library loan, but my library system didn’t own a copy, so I put it on my Amazon wishlist to remind me to try again later.

I finally discovered my library had purchased a copy this winter, which I requested immediately. What followed was a lovely read.Wohlleben’s book starts with a forward full of spoilers by Tim Flannery. I was kind of shocked by how much he gave away, and I was sorry I read it before diving into the book.

Fortunately, Wohlleben’s engaging prose quickly pulled me out of my disappointment over the forward (Mr. Flannery, forwards are to talk up the book and the author, not to give away the entire plot in a two page flurry of activity. Not cool.)

The book shamelessly personifies trees in the way they live, reproduce, and communicate. It’s not just wishful thinking, though: Wohlleben’s easy language and dry humor communicate solid science to back up his claims.

He focuses on Central Europe, where he works as a forester, branching out to talk about the Pacific Northwest, some other areas of the world, and global forest trends.

As I read I was often gasping in amazement or laughing aloud at some witty observation Wohlleben had made. I read, fascinated, about aphid farms, fungi, and freshwater snails.

It’s the sort of book that engages you with subjects you never thought you’d find interesting. The short chapters cover a lot of ground, while giving ample breaks for those of us who need frequent places to stop (I blame a full and sometimes chaotic household for that).

Yet the end of a chapter often found me continuing into the next one. The book reads almost like a novel, yet is full of juicy scientific research. I appreciated Wohlleben’s willingness to admit what science doesn’t yet understand about trees. I was awed by his description of the pace and scale at which trees live – it often brought to mind the infuriatingly slow Ents from LOTR.

While there is no mention of God in this book, God’s signature is on every page with descriptions of the complex and wonderful ways that trees take care of our world.

If you love nature, The Hidden Life of Trees will make you fall in love all over again. Every time I leave the house now, I find myself admiring and studying the crowns of the trees I pass and wondering what’s going on in the community of each group of trees along the side of the highway.

This is the perfect science book: engaging and accessible. It will leave you more aware, full of curiosity, and with a better understanding of the ways of nature.

I took this photo at the marriage retreat the Chaplain and I went on nearly a year ago near Branson, MO. Want to know if the beautiful lichen on this tree’s bark is hurting it, and how long it takes a tree to become covered with lichen? Well, unlike Mr. Flannery, I’m not into spoilers. You can find the answers in The Hidden Life of Trees.