Woodlands

This is a special book - the compilation of a lifetime’s exploration, learning, research and reflection.Oliver Rackham presents trees and woodland as a wildlife phenomena in itself, rather than just a setting in which (other) wildlife exists.He presents trees and woodland in their remarkable diversity, and for me revealed just how weak the concepts of planting trees, replacing wild woodland with planted trees and planting new woodlands have been on so many different levels.I do not remember ever being so astounded and enthralled by a natural history book.Why four stars? This is a reprint of a volume first published under the New Naturalist series. At £7, this edition is very good value, but the print is as small as I have come across in a book, and photographs, tables, maps are poorly reproduced and hence this volume has not been as enjoyable to read as it should be - I have just bought a copy of the original New Naturalist volume to replace it, the first time I have done this in 50 years as an avid reader and book collector, as I expect to dip back in and out of this book for many years to come.

This is an excellent book, reprinted from the expensive New Naturalist series. Unfortunately the downside of the lower cost is a very poor quality format, with a reduced size, and with the colour illustrations reproduced in black and white on low quality paper and put at the back of the book for some reason rather than in position in the text. Worth paying extra for the original edition.Update: I sent this edition back and got a 'Very Good' used copy of the original New Naturalist paperback. It cost a few pounds more but is a vast improvement.

The book is as brilliant as other reviewers suggest, and highly recommended. I have a suggestion for those who complain of the poor quality and black-and-white photos of the paperback edition: the Kindle edition! This has perfectly readable print and (on an iPad or similar anyway), all the photos in colour and accessible at a touch, as are the hundreds of references and notes. There are >200 illustrations (tables, maps and drawings as well as excellent photos), so this facility is well worth having. The Kindle version is even a bit cheaper (but not a good idea if you only have a Kindle: back to B & W, and too slow recalling references etc).

Such an interesting book, one to dip into time and again with a writing style that is easy and enjoyable to read, whilst being informative.

This is a very comprehensive book. Much of what you thought you knew about trees, forests & their history is probably incorrect. Many theories and myths about the origins, evolution and dynamics of woodlands are perpetuated on a daily basis. I have just watched a TV programme in which Alan Titchmarsh has stated that: 8000 years ago, the entire population of England could have fitted into a football stadium and they de-forested their environment with stone axes! Interesting points- how did they remove the stumps, when did they find the time to plant, harvest, hunt, raise children, build massive stone monuments and houses, make/repair axes, oh and keep the forest from encroaching upon the land that they had already cleared? Let's not forget that their life span would probably have been less than half of current day man and that a considerable number of them would have been incapable of land clearance due to: age, infirmity & pregnancy etc. This book; not only, sets the record straight but also provides compelling evidence from a wide variety of sources. However, it would definitely benefit from the inclusion of a glossary as there are many archaic and subject specific references.