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Tree Stories: How trees plant our world and connect our lives
Trees have played countless roles in human history - by turns hopeful symbols of freedom, pioneering space travellers, keepers of ancient history and accessories to murder. From art to politics, science to crime, these are the stories of the trees that have shaped life on Earth.
Neurobiologist and philosopher Stefano Mancuso brings his signature charm and eye for unforgettable detail to tell eight stories of trees that have rooted themselves in human history - from the red spruces that were made into Stradivarius' violins to the wooden ladder that solved 'The Crime of the Century'.
Combining scientific vigour with his inimitable voice, Mancuso reveals the amazing ways that the world's green-print has shaped the course of our lives, issuing a passionate rallying cry for greater care and attention towards the plants that have helped us survive and thrive.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 20, 2023
16 people are currently reading
303 people want to read
About the author
Stefano Mancuso
40 books420 followersStefano Mancuso is the Director of the International Laboratory of Plant Neurobiology (LINV) in Florence, Italy, a founder of the International Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior, and a professor at the University of Florence. His books and papers have been published in numerous international magazines and journals, and La Repubblica newspaper has listed him among the twenty people who will change our lives.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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February 9, 2025Tree Facts!: liberty trees as symbols of protest, tree seeds that were sent to space and then brought back and planted, why tree stumps stay alive, the friction coefficients of banana skins and the short-lived popularity of smoking banana peels
it was a cute series of anecdotes where the author gives you some context on how he discovered these tree facts exist. but i probably would have enjoyed it more outside of book format
it was a cute series of anecdotes where the author gives you some context on how he discovered these tree facts exist. but i probably would have enjoyed it more outside of book format
December 20, 2025
"He dies prematurely at the age of forty-nine, having lived a life a hundred times shorter than that of the creatures he loved and studied"
A charming little book that takes on a whole lot and charmingly little at the same time. Starting off (most chapters do, actually) on a personal note and delving into dendrochronology and the mild basics of trees. My only gripe with the chapter about dendrochronology was that no one caught the rather shameful mistake of naming the late Hessel de Vries as; 'renowned Danish physicist', even though the last name 'De Vries' might be thé most quintessentially Dutch last name in existence and the man is and has always been, a Dutchman.
Moving on. The book eventually tells of Japanese colleagues, bananas, how and moreso why 'slipping on a banana' is a thing in western language, the radioactivity of potassium, vegetable DNA in the court of law and all sorts of things that walk the line of being tree-related or not. That said, all of the stories are compelling and enjoyable in their own right.
"No one paid for this crime against life (...) nobody even believed that what happened was a crime.."
A charming little book that takes on a whole lot and charmingly little at the same time. Starting off (most chapters do, actually) on a personal note and delving into dendrochronology and the mild basics of trees. My only gripe with the chapter about dendrochronology was that no one caught the rather shameful mistake of naming the late Hessel de Vries as; 'renowned Danish physicist', even though the last name 'De Vries' might be thé most quintessentially Dutch last name in existence and the man is and has always been, a Dutchman.
Moving on. The book eventually tells of Japanese colleagues, bananas, how and moreso why 'slipping on a banana' is a thing in western language, the radioactivity of potassium, vegetable DNA in the court of law and all sorts of things that walk the line of being tree-related or not. That said, all of the stories are compelling and enjoyable in their own right.
"No one paid for this crime against life (...) nobody even believed that what happened was a crime.."
January 25, 2026
Captivating writing and interesting stories about the contributions of trees and plants to the history of earth 🌍 🌳
June 8, 2023
An interesting collection of anecdotes and findings from Mancuso's research and stories of the science of wood. Together it is both an entertaining read, complete with a murder mystery solved through wood analysis, but at the same time also showing how relevant and important this very underrecognised branch of science is.
October 8, 2024
I loved this book! Great selection of stories, great writing - although they are all on different topics (but all related to plants in some way) they all managed to capture my interest and hold it until the very last page.
I would love to read more books like this, very very interesting information told in a very accessible manner.
What I appreciate most about this book is Stefano Mancuso’s balance between giving enough information but not still being able to relate to a generalist audience without losing their interest in the details.
I would love to read more books like this, very very interesting information told in a very accessible manner.
What I appreciate most about this book is Stefano Mancuso’s balance between giving enough information but not still being able to relate to a generalist audience without losing their interest in the details.
December 28, 2025
Who would have thought I'd read a book with a title like this. The cover hooked me. The blurb made me curious and it's been such an interesting and amazing read! Eight stories about trees by a master specialist in the field. Trees are used to make music, to revitalize our cities, underpin our forests, used as evidence in court and more. This is not the slightest bit dry and scholarly. It's knowledgeable, funny and an incredible read!
November 15, 2024
It is an entertaining although not very scientific, with anecdotes and trivia related to trees. I enjoyed the author's voice and sense of humor, but have not learned anything new or groundbreaking about trees.
January 7, 2025
Some very interesting stories about historical trees and the impact of trees on science, culture, forensics, and other surprising areas. The author clearly sees plants as being just as important and interesting as animals and humans. It honestly inspired a greater appreciation for trees.
March 18, 2025
3.5 fun stories about some trees..filled with warmth and facts.
March 21, 2025
Maravilloso libro 🌱🤍
June 30, 2025
Super sweet book about this author’s musings on trees. Fun stories about bananas, they Stradivarius violins, the solving of the Lindbergh case, and on trees.
October 2, 2024
A great read, featuring selected stories of where trees have been the star or main feature. I learnt the word 'tribology' - the slipperiness of things re banana skins.
The only downside is that there are no pictures of photos.
The only downside is that there are no pictures of photos.
July 3, 2023
It's always interesting to see something new in popular science, and without doubt plants (and, in this case, trees) tend not to get enough of a slice of the biology market (I don't really count 'nature' as popular science as there's very little science in it). So I had considerable hopes for Tree Stories. But in practice, although there are some genuinely interesting little snippets of information around the way that trees interact with each other through their root networks, the book was problematic. One issue I had was that each 'story' - each chapter in effect - is continuous, without any section breaks. There is no substructure it just goes on and on, which was quite wearing. Worse, though, was that despite this book being labelled popular science, the science content was extremely thin on the ground.
Take the opening story. It comes across as a typical literary tale in which nothing much happens. Two academics become acquaintances after battling over secondhand book purchases. They share an interest in a book on 'liberty trees' - planted across both revolutionary France and post independence America. The book portrays the trees as a network and Stefano Mancuso points out in an actual forest the tree roots form a connective network and tells us that the trees are a superorganism like ants or bees. This is just throwing a thin sprinkle of facts into a self-indulgent story. It's not popular science. How does this network form? No idea. In a superorganism the individual insects are highly specialised - how do the trees specialise? No mention of this. In a superorganism, the individual insects can't survive alone - surely this isn't really true of trees? Is a forest not more like Facebook than a superorganism? Don't know. This is not science.
The second essay on plants, and particularly trees, in cities was much more effective - there was less of a memoir feel and a bit more science content, though it’s odd that with Mancuso's obsession with tree networks, he pretty much ignores the way IT networks are reducing the importance of cities as places to live. The story gives a strong argument for the wider greening of our urban spaces, particularly in the face of climate change. This is mostly about urban planning rather than any underlying scientific principles, but at least it’s interesting.
Most of the rest of the chapters are more like the second with at least a spot of scientific content, though it's often just a few words. So, for example, in a piece on the wood used in famous ancient violins like a Stradivarius there are maybe two lines on why a particular wood might be unusually good in the role. But the rest is atmospheric woffle. And there's a purely anti-scientific statement that blind testing showing these violins aren't better wasn't right in Mancuso's opinion - the only scientific test mentioned gets dismissed out of hand where it's clearly a case where only double blinding could give useful information.
I've no objection to this sort of book (though it's not one I would usually read), but it just doesn't do what it says on the tin.
Take the opening story. It comes across as a typical literary tale in which nothing much happens. Two academics become acquaintances after battling over secondhand book purchases. They share an interest in a book on 'liberty trees' - planted across both revolutionary France and post independence America. The book portrays the trees as a network and Stefano Mancuso points out in an actual forest the tree roots form a connective network and tells us that the trees are a superorganism like ants or bees. This is just throwing a thin sprinkle of facts into a self-indulgent story. It's not popular science. How does this network form? No idea. In a superorganism the individual insects are highly specialised - how do the trees specialise? No mention of this. In a superorganism, the individual insects can't survive alone - surely this isn't really true of trees? Is a forest not more like Facebook than a superorganism? Don't know. This is not science.
The second essay on plants, and particularly trees, in cities was much more effective - there was less of a memoir feel and a bit more science content, though it’s odd that with Mancuso's obsession with tree networks, he pretty much ignores the way IT networks are reducing the importance of cities as places to live. The story gives a strong argument for the wider greening of our urban spaces, particularly in the face of climate change. This is mostly about urban planning rather than any underlying scientific principles, but at least it’s interesting.
Most of the rest of the chapters are more like the second with at least a spot of scientific content, though it's often just a few words. So, for example, in a piece on the wood used in famous ancient violins like a Stradivarius there are maybe two lines on why a particular wood might be unusually good in the role. But the rest is atmospheric woffle. And there's a purely anti-scientific statement that blind testing showing these violins aren't better wasn't right in Mancuso's opinion - the only scientific test mentioned gets dismissed out of hand where it's clearly a case where only double blinding could give useful information.
I've no objection to this sort of book (though it's not one I would usually read), but it just doesn't do what it says on the tin.
August 2, 2023
Some truly interesting facts that I would not have known before reading this, however I felt that it did not do what I wanted the book to achieve. I bought this book to learn mainly about trees and how forests work as an organism for example, which of course was covered but I felt the book trailed away at times into anecdotes from the author’s life and more broadly about plants. Furthermore, I am not mocking a discourse about plants in the broader terms, yet I wish the book had more of a set direction on what it wanted to tell.
August 17, 2024
A quick read, witty and interesting, thought provoking reflections about the links between our history and the natural world it happened it - how it is and will be connected. It’s written in a casual tone, as if you were grabbing a coffee with Mancuso, who is a charming storyteller. A very enjoyable pageturner that makes you more aware of the trees around you.
August 7, 2023
An interesting series of anecdotes, linked quite tenuously to trees
August 19, 2024
bomen zijn fucking vet
January 3, 2025
Some interesting bits, but WAY too much information about banana skins and why they are so slippable (if there is such a word).
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews