[.ca] Remarkable Trees of the World (ISBN 0297843494)

Beyond amazing!:
I've had the personal fortune of growing up in the tropical island of Sri Lanka and of having a mother who studied Botany. Every foray into the outdoors, every trip out of town was a lesson on plants, shrubs and trees. Oh, and the real-life education was supplanted (ha!) by books and documentaries. Well imagine my utter amazement to see that the tree that most captured my imagination as a kid - the "Ficus Benjamina" in the botanical garden in Kandy, Sri Lanka - has been selected by Packenham as one of the most remarkable trees in the world! A peculiarity with this particular selection is that the species is not indigenous to Sri Lanka while I noticed that most of the other trees depicted in the book are in their natural environs. (There is a chapter called the "Aliens", on trees that have attained their magnificience away from home, but the above - mentioned ficus is not categorized as such.) This book is a treat to anyone interested in unusual phenomena. In addition to the kinds of trees one expects to see in such a book - the redwoods and the gnarled bristlecone pines - there are the baobabs; giant living bottles, and a strangely fascinating ginkgo, enormous wattles draping down its massive trunk. The book is a mixture of the grotesque and the graceful, the dignified and the deranged, and all manners of trees in between. Need a hostess gift for a Halloween party? I'd recommend this!

Astonishing+:
When I bought Pakenham's precursor to this book ("Meetings With Remarkable Trees"), I was astonished then. Now I've run out of superlatives, hence the plus sign suffixing the title of my review. As enjoyable as his poetic writing style is, that's just a bonus. The highly detailed photos in this book are, well, astonishing+. He uses a heavy, large-format camera, lugging it all around the world to photograph some of the most amazing trees on the planet. And as fine as the print quality was in "Meeting With Remarkable Trees", the print quality of this book surpasses the former. I am constantly amazed at the print quality of the best books being printed today, and this is right up there at the top of the heap. You'll swear you're looking at fine, lithographic prints. I am a fanatic tree lover to begin with, and this book is just glorious, and satisfies my wildest dreams for such a book. It gives me a sense of ecstasy over being alive.

A Love of Trees got bigger:
I heard Thomas speak at Swarthmore College this past Spring(2002)at the woody conference. I was tempted to leave early on this beautiful Friday afternoon, but my conscience prevailed for after all my job had sent me to this conference to learn some things. Was I glad I stayed to hear Thomas, what a delightful speaker and presenter. He had the audience spell-bound and of course we all wanted the book, which he did not have for sale at the event. Why, I cannot imagine, because I am positive he would have sold out. This book is so wonderful it is almost impossible to describe, except he takes one to another level of appreciation for trees. I already loved trees and was almost arrested one time for trying to stop a huge stately live oak from being murdered to make way for, of all things, a Burger King. As if we needed one more hamburger stand. Anyway, Thomas showed me there are so many unusual trees around the world that I *must* see, but until I can travel, I can open that book and plan my adventures.

This is a great find!:
What a wonderful book this is. The photos are good quality, and the information makes an interesting read. If you love giants...this is your book. ;o)

An especially recommended visual experience:
In Remarkable Trees Of The World, Thomas Pakenham informatively combines stunning, full-color photography with intriguing tales of famous and ancient trees worldwide. Each individual anecdote tells a simple yet amazing story of great, arboreal giants that live for so long as to be seemingly be immortal - save to the hungry depredations of humanity, that is. Attention engaging and "reader friendly", Remarkable Trees Of The World is an especially recommended visual experience for nature lovers -- and an especially suitable selection for school and community library Memorial Fund acquisition lists.