The Hidden Life of Trees
What They Feel, How They Communicate--Discoveries from a Secret World
Will be published approx. on 5. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-77164-377-1 (ISBN)
Description
A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.
“Breaks entirely new ground ... [Peter Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.”—The New York Review of Books
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BRAINPICKINGS • HONORABLE MENTION: SEJ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award • Shortlisted: Audible International Book of the Year Award • Books For a Better Life Award • Indie Choice Award—Nonfiction Book of the Year
Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland.
“A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.”—Washington Post
“Heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment.”—The New Yorker
Includes a Note From a Forest Scientist by Dr.Suzanne Simard
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77164-377-1 (9781771643771)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally-friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working for the return of primeval forests. He is the author of numerous books about the natural world including The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Lives of Animals, and The Secret Wisdom of Nature, which together make up his bestselling The Mysteries of Nature Series. He has also written numerous books for children including Can You Hear the Trees Talking? and Peter and the Tree Children. To learn more about Peter and his books, visit his website at peterwohllebenbooks.com.
Dr. Suzanne Simard is the New York Times bestselling author of Finding the Mother Tree. She is a Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia, where she leads The Mother Tree Project and co-directs the Belowground Ecosystem Group.
Jane Billinghurst’s career has been in book publishing in the UK, the US, and Canada, as an editor, publisher, writer, and translator. She is the translator of the New York Times-bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees by German forester Peter Wohlleben.
Content
Preface to the Paperback Edition
Foreword by Tim Flannery
1 / Friendships
2 / The Language of Trees
3 / Social Security
4 / Love
5 / The Tree Lottery
6 / Slowly Does It
7 / Forest Etiquette
8 / Tree School
9 / United We Stand, Divided We Fall
10 / The Mysteries of Moving Water
11 / Trees Aging Gracefully
12 / Mighty Oak or Mighty Wimp?
13 / Specialists
14 / Tree or Not Tree?
15 / In the Realm of Darkness
16 / Carbon Dioxide Vacuums
17 / Woody Climate Control
18 / The Forest as Water Pump
19 / Yours or Mine?
20 / Community Housing Projects
21 / Mother Ships of Biodiversity
22 / Hibernation
23 / A Sense of Time
24 / A Question of Character
25 / The Sick Tree
26 / Let There Be Light
27 / Street Kids
28 / Burnout
29 / Destination North!
30 / Tough Customers
31 / Turbulent Times
32 / Immigrants
33 / Healthy Forest Air
34 / Why Is the Forest Green?
35 / Set Free
36 / More Than Just a Commodity
Afterword: Note from a Forest Scientist by Dr. Suzanne Simard
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index