Giants in the Earth: The California Redwoods

by Peter Johnstone (Editor), Peter E. Palmquist (Editor)

The coast redwoods and the giant sequoias of California have inspired a body of extraordinary writing. The selections in this anthology, carefully chosen for literary quality, include Native American stories; the first sightings by European explorers; accounts of flourishing logging camps and sawmills; explanations of redwood biology; laments for the trees' passing; and celebrations of their beauty, ecological importance, and the efforts to preserve them. From John Muir and Jack London to Gary Snyder, Joan Dunning, and Julia Butterfly Hill, Giants in the Earth will deliver a beautifully designed and illustrated ode to California's most treasured asset.

Genres: Nature

368 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[RdWd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE definitive collection of non-fictional and fictional writing on coast redwoods and giant redwoods. Editor Peter Johnstone has collected texts from some well-known authors such as: John Muir, Jack London, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle and Jack Kerouac on various topics concerning the enigmatic redwoods of California. Though, that being said, some of the best writing in this collection comes from lesser known figures; one of my favourite texts in the collection comes from California native, Mary Austin.

The writings are divided vaguely into several sections which document the history of redwood trees. There is discussion of: their fossilized ancestors millions of years ago; native American mythology of the redwood (otherwise known as keelch); white settlers' initial 'contact' stories; the logging industry's capitalisation of redwood lumber and their aggressive deforestation; and finally the more recent environmentalist activism which is struggling to protect this ancient Terranean stock from human destruction.

A great read that I'm sure I will be revisiting time and time again.