The Genius of Trees
How trees mastered the elements and shaped the world
Published on 7. August 2025
320 pages
978-1-5299-2127-4 (ISBN)
Description
'Wondrous. Gives us trees as we've never seen them before' ISABELLA TREE, author of Wilding
'If I was dazzled by nature and in awe of trees before, I now know how much we are indebted to them' KIRSTY WARK
The Genius of Trees tells the mind-expanding story of the inventive and astonishing ways trees learned to shape our natural world.
Over hundreds of millions of years, from prehistoric forests to the trees around us today, we see trees using fire as a reproductive tool, harnessing large mammals to spread their seeds (but poisoning smaller, less useful mammals), and splitting rock to create fertile ground in barren landscapes.
Because trees, we discover, manipulate fundamental elements, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and even humankind to achieve their ends. From the laurel cloud-forests of the Canary Islands to the magnificent sex-shifting oaks of Iraq, from the giant sequoias of California to the carbon-spinning junipers of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border - trees sculpt their environments.
At once transporting and expert, The Genius of Trees gives us hope for the future. It enables us to see trees, for the first time, not as victims but as agents of change in a grand ecological narrative - and as leading actors in the great drama of life on earth.
'Sublime ... It is a true masterpiece' DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5 Stars
'Mind-blowing' GUARDIAN
'Exceptional' ROBIN LANE FOX, Financial Times Gardening Columnist
'Full of wonder and revelation ... Highly recommended' SUE STUART-SMITH, author of The Well Gardened Mind
'If I was dazzled by nature and in awe of trees before, I now know how much we are indebted to them' KIRSTY WARK
The Genius of Trees tells the mind-expanding story of the inventive and astonishing ways trees learned to shape our natural world.
Over hundreds of millions of years, from prehistoric forests to the trees around us today, we see trees using fire as a reproductive tool, harnessing large mammals to spread their seeds (but poisoning smaller, less useful mammals), and splitting rock to create fertile ground in barren landscapes.
Because trees, we discover, manipulate fundamental elements, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, and even humankind to achieve their ends. From the laurel cloud-forests of the Canary Islands to the magnificent sex-shifting oaks of Iraq, from the giant sequoias of California to the carbon-spinning junipers of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border - trees sculpt their environments.
At once transporting and expert, The Genius of Trees gives us hope for the future. It enables us to see trees, for the first time, not as victims but as agents of change in a grand ecological narrative - and as leading actors in the great drama of life on earth.
'Sublime ... It is a true masterpiece' DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5 Stars
'Mind-blowing' GUARDIAN
'Exceptional' ROBIN LANE FOX, Financial Times Gardening Columnist
'Full of wonder and revelation ... Highly recommended' SUE STUART-SMITH, author of The Well Gardened Mind
Reviews / Votes
Sublime ... Through the scenes we glimpse an Indiana Jones figure who is both an eminent, travelling scientist and a born writer ... Dazzling ... Non-fiction rarely sees a debut like The Genius of Trees. It is a true masterpiece -- Horatio Clare * Daily Telegraph, 5 stars * A mind-blowing and erudite account of how trees created the world around us ... Harriet Rix presents trees as an awesome force of nature -- Guardian Very few book reviewers are so captivated that they read the book carefully from end to end - not once, but twice. That is my boast about this extraordinary first work from Harriet Rix ... Rix has given us a completely new vision of how trees came to dominate our continents * Country Life * Extensively researched [and] elegantly written ... A satisfying read. Trees emerge as entities which are just as dynamic as animals - including, dare one say, humans * Literary Review * A wondrous spreading canopy of a book that gives us trees as we've never seen them before: as dynamic forces, founders of our world, and agents of their own destiny - as well as ours. This is science writing at its best - beautifully explained, brilliantly written and perception-changing -- Isabella Tree, author of Wilding An exceptional book. Up to date scientifically, beautifully clear for all of us, it changes our entire view of trees while carrying us to other worlds and times. Enchantingly written, it has personal touches which unite science, travel and fine literature and lead us by the hand through woods we never understood before -- Robin Lane Fox, historian and gardening correspondent for the Financial Times Ambitious and stunningly expansive ... Few come better qualified or more passionate than Rix, a biochemist and tree science consultant, who makes this subject utterly compellingly * Daily Mirror * A compelling journey of a book, full of wonder and revelation. Highly recommended -- Sue Stuart-Smith, author of the Sunday Times bestselling The Well Gardened Mind If I was dazzled by nature and in awe of trees before I read this book, I now know how much we are indebted to them for the way they have shepherded life on earth for millions of years -- Kirsty Wark, television presenter and journalist Fascinating and evocative, an intimate ride into the magical world of trees. This book contains everything you ever wanted to know - and so much you never knew you wanted to know - about these incredible organisms -- Chris Fitch, author of Wild CitiesMore details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Edition type
New edition
File size
6,99 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-5299-2127-4 (9781529921274)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2026
Vintage
€16.50
Available immediately
Book
08/2025
The Bodley Head Ltd
€31.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Book
08/2025
The Bodley Head
€21.50
Available immediately
Person
Harriet Rix is a tree science consultant and writer. She was formerly based at the Tree Council where she supported Defra in researching tree diseases and urban tree strategies. Before joining the tree sector, she worked in landmine clearance in the Middle East. She acted as scientific advisor on Adrian Grenier's climate documentary, was secretary of Hedgelink and is trustee of the Iraqi environmental charity Hasar.
Rix holds a biochemistry degree from the University of Oxford and an MPhil in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. She was a London Library Emerging Writer, and her writing and photography has been published in the Financial Times, London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and more. The Genius of Trees is her first book.
Rix holds a biochemistry degree from the University of Oxford and an MPhil in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. She was a London Library Emerging Writer, and her writing and photography has been published in the Financial Times, London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and more. The Genius of Trees is her first book.
