Summer reading: The Hidden Life of Trees

Book cover for The Hidden Life of TreesThe Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
Peter Wohlleben

This book captures Peter Wohlleben’s approach to forestry, especially his enduring interest in identifying and tracing the interconnectedness of the disparate living beings of the Black Forest in southwest Germany. The implications of his ideas may serve students well, framing important scholarly questions, including, but not limited to, non-human consciousness, communication, memory, and time. Moreover, Wohlleben’s discussion of how non-human beings are affected by and respond to both short- and long-term ecological challenges may offer new ways to think about the transformative consequences of California wildfires, and the effects of climate change more generally.

MICHAEL DALEBOUT
PhD Candidate
Department of Rhetoric

This book is part of the 2020 Berkeley Summer Reading List. Stay tuned for more weekly posts!