Company of Trees

When Thomas Pakenham was born they broke the mould. He has performed many roles on life's stage: acclaimed historian, effective politician, espouser and leader of causes, and, as a reluctant member of the aristocracy, an energetic guardian of a grand country house and estate. But it is a champion on behalf of trees that he is best known. From Mongolia and the wildest parts of China to the redwood forests of the US he has circled the globe searching out the oldest, the rarest, the biggest and those with stories to tell. He has led expeditions to conserve seeds, and planted forests; he has chaired tree societies, led protests against destruction and lectured tirelessly. He is the original Man of the Trees. In this book each chapter deals with his adventures, of the trees he has encountered and their stories and the often hazardous journeys to find them. He investigates the future and the likely threats to the landscapes we take for granted, whether directly from the hand of man or from the effects of a changing climate, or from disease. Whether writing of the peculiar group of 'Talebans' who have stealthily taken root from Cape Town to Glasgow and who would oust all non-native trees from their national soil, or witnessing the drama of terrible storms breaking the backs of majestic trees which have stood sentinel for hundreds of years he is never less than enthralling. A passionate writer, educator - and entertainer - he brings both wit, and grit, to a subject of universal appeal.