Page 18 - PGA Community News - September '19

Page 18, PGA C.A.N.! September 2019 September 2019

Book Review: Wise Trees

By Nils A. Shapiro was also in the shadow of its leaves that Henry VIII’s romantic
I discovered Wise Trees not liaison’s with his ill-fated second wife, Anne Boleyn, took place.
in a bookstore, nor in a library. The Bodhi Tree
My wife and I were in a shop The sacred fig tree in India that is a direct descendant of the
that offered fine furniture and tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.
home decorating items, and Luna, Coastal Redwood
I saw this volume displayed The tree in which anti-logging activist Julia Butterfly Hall
conspicuously in a living room spent 738 days on a platform high in its canopy to prevent
setting. It was clearly serving its being cut down.
its purpose as what is known Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree
in the publishing industry as a This sample double-spread is an example of the book’s elegant This Flower of Kent apple grows in the orchard of
“coffee table” book: a lavishly typographic design and layout. It depicts the Hiroshima Bonsai, Woolsthorpe Manor, historic family home of Sir Isaac Newton.
produced, photographic publication – usually on a subject such a miniature Japanese white pine that was already 320 years old It was here in 1665 that Newton happened to observe an apple
as fashion, architecture, jewelry – that is intended to impress when it survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August falling from the apple tree in his orchard and, wondering why
guests, and the shop owner had placed it appropriately, as a prop. of 1945, while the city around it was devastated. The Japanese it fell straight down instead of sideways, developed his theory
As one who loves and appreciates books on a range of government presented this tree as a gift to the United States in
subjects – to read, 1975 in celebration of America’s upcoming Bicentennial. Book Review on page 19
rather than to simply
admire – I was struck
by this book’s cover
and title because of LET US HELP YOU
its subject matter.
As regular readers
of this column are Ship Your Valuable Packages & Furniture
well aware by now,
an international
nonfiction bestseller
that I reviewed about • CLOTHING • SCULPTURES • CUSTOM PACKING AND CRATING
a year ago was a life-altering experience for me: The Hidden • DISHES • ARTWORK • ESTATES PACKING AND
Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate –
Discoveries from a Secret World, in which Peter Wohlleben, • ANTIQUES • COMPUTERS SHIPPING
a German who is in charge of one of Europe’s oldest and • FURNISHINGS • FURNITURE SHIPPING • BOXES AND PACKING SUPPLIES
largest natural forests, reports on the latest scientific findings
that trees have intelligence, communicate with one another
for their mutual protection, nurture their young, act together WE PACK AND FREE
to keep alive their dying neighbors as long as possible...and
so much more. SHIP WITH TLC PICK UP AT YOUR
I decided immediately that, although Wise Trees was not LOCATION
actually for sale in that store, I was not going to leave without
it, and convinced the owner to sell it to me.
*****
Presented here in a beautifully produced, oversized (12½-
inch by 11¼-inch) volume from Abrams, the leading publisher of
fine art books, are more than 100 stunning full-color photographs
and fascinating explanatory descriptions of 59 trees from five
continents that have affected the spiritual and cultural life of
civilizations around the world.
While every one of these trees deserves your attention, space
limitations here permit me to merely touch upon a few of these:
The Magna Carta Yew
Growing in a meadow next to the river Thames near Windsor, Dishes, Glasses, Furniture
England, said to be between 2,000 and 2,500 years old, this giant
is believed to have been witness to King John’s signing in 1215 Copies, Fax Service, Notary, US Mail, Stamps
of Magna Carta, the document that outlined basic rules of law
and was influential in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. It

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Ask For Jean or Joseph
The dozen people shown along in front of this Montezuma
cypress offer only a hint of its size; as many as 30 can actually
stand together on just one side of the tree, which measures
a circumference of 137.9 feet, almost half the length of a The UPS Store The UPS Store
football field! This tall, thriving tree stands in the center of
the Mexican town of Santa Maria del Tule and began life
between 1,200 and 3,000 years ago. Another photo in the
book shows the full tree. Show Your AAA 5¢

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