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The Wild Trees by Richard Preston

Out of the Woods by Will Cohu

Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin

The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane

Beechcombings: The Narratives of Treesby Richard Mabey

As I was growing up, a mass of elm filled the view from my bedroom window. Now the view from every window at the front of the house I share with my husband is dominated by a cedar of Lebanon. The rain and the snow pass before it, turning it into the focal point for our lives.

Rooted in our psyche, trees define landscapes. They are markers and points of reference, and without them there is a greater sense of loneliness. Trees evoke such powerful emotions in some people that they write books about them.

Richard Preston's The Wild Trees describes the hunt for the tallest tree in the world, ending in Redwood National Park in California where a 379ft example was discovered.

Such a book reminds us of what is important. Even in New York, where the sky is visible only directly above one's head because the buildings are so tall, there are trees, and Central Park acts as the lungs of the city. In Britain, trees in cities are being severed from their roots in case people slip on a wet leaf. In nature, perspective is evident, whereas human beings often impose false importance on things.

A breathtaking view almost always includes trees. Will Cohu's Out of the Woods proclaims itself “the armchair guide to trees” (for those who evolved an upright stance only to recline on a semi-

permanent basis). It includes hints on which trees burn best, so you can keep warm in your armchair. Cohu waxes lyrical about trees in their nakedness, identifying them from their knotted, smooth or tangled limbs, each tree possessing an identifiable shape.

The humble elder is brought into focus, its smell of crushed bark and leaves likened to body odour, which is transformed into a narcotic scent when in bloom. Trees are appreciated, not deified, which can be counterproductive when trying to get across a genuine love of their earthy reality and practical uses.

Roger Deakin's Wildwood includes reference to farmers and woodworkers, as he explores the use of wood and the origins of practices involving wood. His journey takes him to places as diverse as Kazakhstan and Australia. Sadly, Deakin died last year, but left us his memories.

In The Wild Places Robert Macfarlane journeys to parts of Britain and Ireland that have not been spat upon by crass development. His book begins and ends with a beech wood that “could not answer [his] need for wildness”, so he sets off to find places where our presence is unnoticeable in the face of nature, eventually returning to see more clearly the wild aspects of the woods in his own backyard.

Beechcombings, by Richard Mabey, explores trees and the history of their use back to 1353, Edward the Black Prince. Bartering, negotiations, theft and wily practices concerning trees, specifically beech trees, describe our human weaknesses. We haven't changed much.

Mabey mentions October 16, 1987, when a storm took down 15 million trees across Britain. I had no idea that we lost so many. I was working late that night, and around 4am, shortly before the power went out, I saw all the trees in the London street outside my flat slowly lie down on the pavement. Then the dustbins and boxes began their journey from front gardens to the end of the street. By daylight the road was blocked at both ends.

We cannot live without trees, yet we cut them down, leaving our concrete labyrinths without the relief so necessary to those who inhabit them. These writers all feel that trees are so important in our history, our journeys of discovery, our landscape, lives and evolution, that they write marvellous books about them — printed on, of course, trees.

The Wild Trees by Richard Preston

Allen Lane, £20; 320pp

Out of the Woods by Will Cohu

Short Books, £14.99; 256pp

Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees

by Roger Deakin

Hamish Hamilton, £20; 416pp

The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane

Granta, £18.99; 352pp

Beechcombings: The Narratives of Trees by Richard Mabey

Chatto, £20; 288pp

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