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A Natural History of North American Trees
"A volume for a lifetime" is how The New Yorker described the first of Donald Culross Peatie's two books about American trees published in the 1950s. In this one-volume edition, modern readers are introduced to one of the best nature writers of the last century. As we read Peattie's eloquent and entertaining accounts of American trees, we catch glimpses of our country's history and past daily life that no textbook could ever illuminate so vividly.
Here you'll learn about everything from how a species was discovered to the part it played in our country’s history. Pioneers often stabled an animal in the hollow heart of an old sycamore, and the whole family might live there until they could build a log cabin. The tuliptree, the tallest native hardwood, is easier to work than most softwood trees; Daniel Boone carved a sixty-foot canoe from one tree to carry his family from Kentucky into Spanish territory. In the days before the Revolution, the British and the colonists waged an undeclared war over New England's white pines, which made the best tall masts for fighting ships.
It's fascinating to learn about the commercial uses of various woods -- for paper, fine furniture, fence posts, matchsticks, house framing, airplane wings, and dozens of other preplastic uses. But we cannot read this book without the occasional lump in our throats. The American elm was still alive when Peattie wrote, but as we read his account today we can see what caused its demise. Audubon's portrait of a pair of loving passenger pigeons in an American beech is considered by many to be his greatest painting. It certainly touched the poet in Donald Culross Peattie as he depicted the extinction of the passenger pigeon when the beech forest was destroyed.
A Natural History of North American Trees gives us a picture of life in America from its earliest days to the middle of the last century. The information is always interesting, though often heartbreaking. While Peattie looks for the better side of man's nature, he reports sorrowfully on the greed and waste that have doomed so much of America's virgin forest.
Here you'll learn about everything from how a species was discovered to the part it played in our country’s history. Pioneers often stabled an animal in the hollow heart of an old sycamore, and the whole family might live there until they could build a log cabin. The tuliptree, the tallest native hardwood, is easier to work than most softwood trees; Daniel Boone carved a sixty-foot canoe from one tree to carry his family from Kentucky into Spanish territory. In the days before the Revolution, the British and the colonists waged an undeclared war over New England's white pines, which made the best tall masts for fighting ships.
It's fascinating to learn about the commercial uses of various woods -- for paper, fine furniture, fence posts, matchsticks, house framing, airplane wings, and dozens of other preplastic uses. But we cannot read this book without the occasional lump in our throats. The American elm was still alive when Peattie wrote, but as we read his account today we can see what caused its demise. Audubon's portrait of a pair of loving passenger pigeons in an American beech is considered by many to be his greatest painting. It certainly touched the poet in Donald Culross Peattie as he depicted the extinction of the passenger pigeon when the beech forest was destroyed.
A Natural History of North American Trees gives us a picture of life in America from its earliest days to the middle of the last century. The information is always interesting, though often heartbreaking. While Peattie looks for the better side of man's nature, he reports sorrowfully on the greed and waste that have doomed so much of America's virgin forest.
512 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2007
74 people are currently reading
1307 people want to read
About the author
Donald Culross Peattie
112 books17 followersDonald Culross Peattie was a U.S. botanist, naturalist and author. He was described by Joseph Wood Krutch as "perhaps the most widely read of all contemporary American nature writers" during his heyday. He was nature columnist for the The Washington Star from 1924 to 1935.
His nature writings are distinguished by a poetic and philosophical cast of mind and are scientifically scrupulous. His best known works are the two books (out of a planned trilogy) on North American trees which he wrote in the late 1940s and early '50s. These were published as a single volume for the first time in April 2007 as A Natural History of North American Trees. (Unfortunately, this hardbound volume reduces the two books' original 257 mini-essays to only 112 and includes only 135 of Paul Landacre's original 365 woodcut illustrations.)
His nature writings are distinguished by a poetic and philosophical cast of mind and are scientifically scrupulous. His best known works are the two books (out of a planned trilogy) on North American trees which he wrote in the late 1940s and early '50s. These were published as a single volume for the first time in April 2007 as A Natural History of North American Trees. (Unfortunately, this hardbound volume reduces the two books' original 257 mini-essays to only 112 and includes only 135 of Paul Landacre's original 365 woodcut illustrations.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 28, 2010
Another book on trees, this time those in North America.
Compared to Colin Tudge's book The Tree (see my review), A Natural History of North American Trees has less science and more lore. Peattie lays out the story of America's long vanished primeval forests and describes uses the natives and Europeans had for the trees found in them. He includes a fair bit of detail on many of the species, especially the famous and important ones ones like redwood, white pine, douglas fir, etc, always outlining for each the history of logging their sylvan wealth, subsequent settlement of the country where they were found, and, in some cases, the diseases that reduced their numbers. Worth reading for just for the prose, which is pleasantly old-fashioned and slightly elegiac without being fussy.
Compared to Colin Tudge's book The Tree (see my review), A Natural History of North American Trees has less science and more lore. Peattie lays out the story of America's long vanished primeval forests and describes uses the natives and Europeans had for the trees found in them. He includes a fair bit of detail on many of the species, especially the famous and important ones ones like redwood, white pine, douglas fir, etc, always outlining for each the history of logging their sylvan wealth, subsequent settlement of the country where they were found, and, in some cases, the diseases that reduced their numbers. Worth reading for just for the prose, which is pleasantly old-fashioned and slightly elegiac without being fussy.
November 14, 2017
I don’t know how to recommend this book because I don’t quite know how to describe it. Peattie’s masterpiece is at once an encyclopedia and field guide, yet also an exhaustive history and poetic tribute to the noble trees that span across the United States and Canada. As I read it, it stirred up the feeling of awe that my first sighting of a giant redwood evoked and a certain sentimentality in reflecting upon the black ash and pin oak trees that grew just outside my childhood home. Each entry carefully describes the physical and natural properties of a species, discusses our uses for the wood, and recounts the shortsighted and destructive lumbering practices of our ancestors. But Peattie’s book is far from depressing. It is simply honest when facing our past, hopeful when facing our future, and spiritual when seeing trees for what they are: Natural wonders of ancient origin.
As a result, the book is rather long, so I don’t suggest you to read it cover to cover as I did. I would instead treat it as an anthology of stories, and pick the stories that you find most familiar while allowing yourself to fall into a few curious and new ones along the way. If you have any strong memories of a tree in your life, read the way Peattie describes that tree and be amazed that he can capture its essence so perfectly and effortlessly, as if he was there when you made those memories and recorded them for you.
The people who would like this kind of book already know who they are. If you're one of those people, then you'll read a volume chocked full of stories and factoids told in a soothing voice that’s reverent of nature. If you learn nothing else reading it, you’ll learn that trees are awesome. And I mean awesome as in they inspire awe and should probably be the subjects of love poems and religions. Oh and you’ll also learn that some trees are just about worthless for lumber or industry. But any tree, and I mean ANY tree can be and probably already has been shaped into a fence post. Even the most useless species can be both beautiful and utilitarian, and I don’t know, there’s just something that I find uplifting about that.
As a result, the book is rather long, so I don’t suggest you to read it cover to cover as I did. I would instead treat it as an anthology of stories, and pick the stories that you find most familiar while allowing yourself to fall into a few curious and new ones along the way. If you have any strong memories of a tree in your life, read the way Peattie describes that tree and be amazed that he can capture its essence so perfectly and effortlessly, as if he was there when you made those memories and recorded them for you.
The people who would like this kind of book already know who they are. If you're one of those people, then you'll read a volume chocked full of stories and factoids told in a soothing voice that’s reverent of nature. If you learn nothing else reading it, you’ll learn that trees are awesome. And I mean awesome as in they inspire awe and should probably be the subjects of love poems and religions. Oh and you’ll also learn that some trees are just about worthless for lumber or industry. But any tree, and I mean ANY tree can be and probably already has been shaped into a fence post. Even the most useless species can be both beautiful and utilitarian, and I don’t know, there’s just something that I find uplifting about that.
November 15, 2023
The poetic descriptions of trees - 5 stars
Emphasis on lumbering metrics - 2 stars
Historical information - 4 stars
FREAKING RACIAL SLURS EVERYWHERE - 0 STARS
The fact that in 2014 there was a voice actor who was okay doing this audiobook and saying these words - 0 stars
Seriously put an acknowledgment of the racist language in the front, and then replace those terms. I'm not trying to pretend that racism didn't exist. It's one thing if this was a history book about race explaining the way things were in a certain place and time, but this is a book about trees in the lumber business and I shouldn't have to worry about hearing this crap, or my kids hearing this crap.
Aside from that, it was charming, but it's unfortunately a big aside, due to the sheer volume of unnecessary language used.
Emphasis on lumbering metrics - 2 stars
Historical information - 4 stars
FREAKING RACIAL SLURS EVERYWHERE - 0 STARS
The fact that in 2014 there was a voice actor who was okay doing this audiobook and saying these words - 0 stars
Seriously put an acknowledgment of the racist language in the front, and then replace those terms. I'm not trying to pretend that racism didn't exist. It's one thing if this was a history book about race explaining the way things were in a certain place and time, but this is a book about trees in the lumber business and I shouldn't have to worry about hearing this crap, or my kids hearing this crap.
Aside from that, it was charming, but it's unfortunately a big aside, due to the sheer volume of unnecessary language used.
January 8, 2016
If I said a book describing trees made me cry, you'd think I'm crazy.
Well...this book describing trees made me cry, and you'll do the same. If you read one book on trees, read this one. Start with species you know and then explore. Each tree has its own beautiful, and occasionally tragic, narrative.
Every time I read a selection from this book I want to (1) write, (2) hike, and (3) do more...of everything. It's rare any book can inspire in so many ways.
Well...this book describing trees made me cry, and you'll do the same. If you read one book on trees, read this one. Start with species you know and then explore. Each tree has its own beautiful, and occasionally tragic, narrative.
Every time I read a selection from this book I want to (1) write, (2) hike, and (3) do more...of everything. It's rare any book can inspire in so many ways.
March 28, 2018
[Listened via audiobook]
Simultaneously a field guide and also a bit of a love letter to native trees. Peattie gets all the stars for romantic, whimsical descriptions of even the most common trees. If you dislike anthropomorphism then you should give this book wide berth (I'm looking at you, Ken-ichi).
The book covers many North American native trees, organized roughly phylogenetically. Peattie describes the habit and ecology of the trees, and a great del of time discussing the lumber uses. It's naive of me, but I had truly never thought about all the different uses for wood, and how some trees may be better suited for one purpose or another. White pine is used for ply-wood. Western hemlocks are pulped and turned into rayon. The best honey comes from sourwood. You'll want to use dogwood for the shuttle on loom, as it is very hard and wears smoother with use, instead of coarser. Matchsticks, flooring, fruit crates, fence posts, shingles, baseball bats, basketry, canoes ... Obviously, many uses of lumber have been subsumed by petroleum by-products. While Peattie makes a point to show each tree's uses, he always comes back to the joy of the creature in its own right. And he seems to take a dim view of poorly managed lumber interests that decimate forests with little thought of future impacts.
What I didn't like about this book:
1. The anachronism. It's simply out of date and the facts and figures cited are no longer relevant, so it reads as a historical document, and less as a useful current guide. More heartwrenching are the species that have gone extinct since the writing. I may never see a living elm, or an American chestnut. When Peattie was writing, these species were on the decline, but it's unclear that even he imagined their extirpation.
2. Native Americans do not get the respect they deserve. Not enough attention is given to indigenous uses of trees. And there are way too many references to "savages" and "hostiles". I get that this was written in the mid 20th century, but come on! At least have a forward acknowledging the use of this racist language.
3. As a corollary to 2, there is way too much romanticization of colonial interests, from the missionaries, to the colonists, to the western settlers. These people tore up the landscape, yet Peattie describes their exploits with reverence.
4. The hard copy has chapter prefaces describing common characteristics of each tree family. Subsequent chapters describe a particular species in depth. I think the audio version should include these prefaces, because they more context to the species descriptions, and allow for a more natural chunking of information. With each tree as a separate chapter, it gives the sense that it's a mere list.
Simultaneously a field guide and also a bit of a love letter to native trees. Peattie gets all the stars for romantic, whimsical descriptions of even the most common trees. If you dislike anthropomorphism then you should give this book wide berth (I'm looking at you, Ken-ichi).
The book covers many North American native trees, organized roughly phylogenetically. Peattie describes the habit and ecology of the trees, and a great del of time discussing the lumber uses. It's naive of me, but I had truly never thought about all the different uses for wood, and how some trees may be better suited for one purpose or another. White pine is used for ply-wood. Western hemlocks are pulped and turned into rayon. The best honey comes from sourwood. You'll want to use dogwood for the shuttle on loom, as it is very hard and wears smoother with use, instead of coarser. Matchsticks, flooring, fruit crates, fence posts, shingles, baseball bats, basketry, canoes ... Obviously, many uses of lumber have been subsumed by petroleum by-products. While Peattie makes a point to show each tree's uses, he always comes back to the joy of the creature in its own right. And he seems to take a dim view of poorly managed lumber interests that decimate forests with little thought of future impacts.
What I didn't like about this book:
1. The anachronism. It's simply out of date and the facts and figures cited are no longer relevant, so it reads as a historical document, and less as a useful current guide. More heartwrenching are the species that have gone extinct since the writing. I may never see a living elm, or an American chestnut. When Peattie was writing, these species were on the decline, but it's unclear that even he imagined their extirpation.
2. Native Americans do not get the respect they deserve. Not enough attention is given to indigenous uses of trees. And there are way too many references to "savages" and "hostiles". I get that this was written in the mid 20th century, but come on! At least have a forward acknowledging the use of this racist language.
3. As a corollary to 2, there is way too much romanticization of colonial interests, from the missionaries, to the colonists, to the western settlers. These people tore up the landscape, yet Peattie describes their exploits with reverence.
4. The hard copy has chapter prefaces describing common characteristics of each tree family. Subsequent chapters describe a particular species in depth. I think the audio version should include these prefaces, because they more context to the species descriptions, and allow for a more natural chunking of information. With each tree as a separate chapter, it gives the sense that it's a mere list.
July 10, 2012
I loved this book. It wasn't thrilling because it isn't a novel or story in any way. It's like a text book about North American trees. But the way it is written is so beautiful, very essayistic and poetic. You begin to feel like all these trees are your long lost loved friends.
October 28, 2007
Awesome! If you don't already love trees, you will after this. It is the best natural writing you can find. And the illustrations are just fantastic. It is so scientific in its information but you don't even realise you are reading non-fiction. You expect at any moment to have a talking redwood come around the corner and deliver the world's mysteries to your feet!
June 15, 2022
I love this book so much, and no doubt it will be a life long companion as I continue to explore the lives of trees I meet along life’s journeys! Only a master wordsmith would be able to intertwine history, science, and prose in a way that keeps the reader so curious and completely captivated about the lives of trees! That is exactly what Peattie has done here in “The Natural History of North American Trees.” He takes us through the first documented discovery of each of the trees, put the trees into their historical context while keeping their personal stories on center stage, and he takes us deep into the inner life and working of each tree from sapling to sawmill and beyond. I have learned about heartwood and sapwood, pulp-trees, paper-mills, the logging industry, fire forests, the glory of the understory, nurse trees, self-pruning trees, match and pencil making, and trees with perfect pitch and resonance.
I met trees that were perfectly symmetrical and others awkward, strange, and eccentric. Trees that can grow anywhere and under any condition and others that can’t, even with careful cultivation, grow outside their native land. Trees that are tough yet flexible, or fast growing but feeble, or strong but susceptible to disease. Trees with deep traveling roots, hollow trees that are dying while growing, trees that seem to live forever or until lightening strikes, and some very strong trees with very short lives. Thanks to Peatie, even the trees that I see everyday have come alive to me, and I now have a bucket list, not of places to visit, but of trees all around the country that I can’t wait to meet!
I met trees that were perfectly symmetrical and others awkward, strange, and eccentric. Trees that can grow anywhere and under any condition and others that can’t, even with careful cultivation, grow outside their native land. Trees that are tough yet flexible, or fast growing but feeble, or strong but susceptible to disease. Trees with deep traveling roots, hollow trees that are dying while growing, trees that seem to live forever or until lightening strikes, and some very strong trees with very short lives. Thanks to Peatie, even the trees that I see everyday have come alive to me, and I now have a bucket list, not of places to visit, but of trees all around the country that I can’t wait to meet!
April 18, 2019
An amazing book. This edition is an abbreviation of the original 2-volume set (eastern and western NA trees, orig), but that's okay - it retains the exceptional illustrations by Paul Landacre, and for the normal reader, it's difficult to tell what was left out.
Those volumes were written in the 1950s, so some of the botanical understanding is outdated, and some of what we know of forest ecosystems was completely unknown at the time of writing; too, there is for my sensibilities a bit too much emphasis on tree utility for man (board-feet; wood-product, etc.). All that said, the understanding and celebration of trees is remarkable, and the writing is lyrical, evocative, poetic, and extremely precise, all at once. I've read many a novel and many a poem with far less feel and sense of rhythm and nuance for the English language than Mr. Peattie expressed - it's no wonder this book remains in print. A superb research resource and a soul-filling read.
Those volumes were written in the 1950s, so some of the botanical understanding is outdated, and some of what we know of forest ecosystems was completely unknown at the time of writing; too, there is for my sensibilities a bit too much emphasis on tree utility for man (board-feet; wood-product, etc.). All that said, the understanding and celebration of trees is remarkable, and the writing is lyrical, evocative, poetic, and extremely precise, all at once. I've read many a novel and many a poem with far less feel and sense of rhythm and nuance for the English language than Mr. Peattie expressed - it's no wonder this book remains in print. A superb research resource and a soul-filling read.
September 9, 2018
This book is a variety of books in one: American history; industrial forestry guide; naturalist's field guide; and nature appreciation. I finished the entire book in order to savor the lattermost kind. Peattie's prose is obviously the product of an earlier time; earlier even than the early 1950s in which he originally published this work. I knew within a few chapters that this book would be something I would likely turn to in future years to replenish an appreciation for the trees themselves and for Peattie's prosecraft.
All that said, I will suggest that most readers may, after a certain point, do well to focus on the trees in their region or those regions they are likely to visit. Because this is a long book.
All that said, I will suggest that most readers may, after a certain point, do well to focus on the trees in their region or those regions they are likely to visit. Because this is a long book.
February 5, 2022
What an incredible book. The prose as good as the information. Made me care about a subject I wasn't 100% interested in. It did get tough for me to keep going for a bit because it was so much new information that it became difficult in my head to differentiate what was going on. If you love trees and have me knowledge than I on the subject, then this would likely be 5 stars
September 4, 2018
What a beautiful book. This is a great book to read if you want to exercise your brains ability to visualize what you are reading/listening to. The way he describes these trees exposes you to an earnest reverence/love that is hard to come by.
November 15, 2018
Written in the 1940's this book does an excellent job of setting context and giving the historical background for all the trees in our sylva (his word for 'the woods'). The sections are quaint, well researched and so nicely written that you forget that you're reading a book about trees.
January 3, 2022
This is beautifully written in an old school style with very helpful hand-drawn illustrations this book covers common trees of North America. I was familiar with about half the tree species. the language so fluid and descriptive is a real treat. They don't write nature guides like that anymore.
April 24, 2019
I've never heard a tree called a "courageous vegetable" before reading this book. It's a wonderful resource for the armchair forester.
June 12, 2020
This reads like a love letter to North American trees. Beautifully written, he excels by being able to bring out each tree's personality.
December 13, 2020
Charming, but lengthy and repetitive.
January 20, 2021
An encyclopedia of trees. A little short on stories so a bit dry in places. I've read this book on and off for a week or so and I have enjoyed it. it was quite thorough.
July 17, 2022
History plus botany in the best possible of mixes. Brilliant book.
October 30, 2022
I really wanted to love this book. The perspective on trees is beautiful.
But, the indigenous erasure and glorification of colonizers is really upsetting and inaccurate.
But, the indigenous erasure and glorification of colonizers is really upsetting and inaccurate.
November 15, 2022
Love the natural history notes on all the trees. The illustrations are wonderful.
December 17, 2022
this is the best kind of casual history and some highly opinionated tree discourse that peattie establishes some kinda intrinsic hierarchy between random na tree species. i love it 10/10
April 3, 2023
A lovely read. Hope you enjoy as I did.
June 8, 2023
Interesting information, but I think I want a modern version that's less euro-centric and racist.
October 20, 2023
Fascinating
August 13, 2024
A bit dated in it's language but still a captivating read on the forests of North America. A good insight into North American trees.
December 19, 2025
Loved this, slightly lyrical at times and very well researched, used some of the information in an essay
May 10, 2023
my man donnie can WRITE!!!!! very in love w the blend of (digestible) ecological science and just absolutely beautiful prose. this man respects the fuck out of those trees
September 29, 2024
No one has ever wanted to have grimy sweaty gay sex with John Muir in the redwoods as much as Donald Culross Peattie. Which is exactly what you want from someone writing about american trees.
Update after finishing:
Pros: it's exactly what it says, done in a lovely semi-poetic style. It is also _very_ unintentionally (?) silly. I was going to compile a list of all the choicest weird descriptions of trees (he keeps calling them "lusty" and "aristocratic"), but I don't actually want to go back and pluck them all out.
Cons: he talks *way* too much about the lumber industry (I don't care that much!), and it gets pretty uncomfortable whenever he, say, talks about native relationships to a tree. He's also deeply bought into the American Mythos and I could really do with less of the fawning over Washington and Jackson.
Update after finishing:
Pros: it's exactly what it says, done in a lovely semi-poetic style. It is also _very_ unintentionally (?) silly. I was going to compile a list of all the choicest weird descriptions of trees (he keeps calling them "lusty" and "aristocratic"), but I don't actually want to go back and pluck them all out.
Cons: he talks *way* too much about the lumber industry (I don't care that much!), and it gets pretty uncomfortable whenever he, say, talks about native relationships to a tree. He's also deeply bought into the American Mythos and I could really do with less of the fawning over Washington and Jackson.
November 17, 2022
I really enjoyed how the author manages to bring to life the story and charm behind each type of major North American tree species, tying many of them to stories in history. The book inspired in me a greater appreciation for nature and trees in general. I would follow up this reading with a tree-spotting field guide book and a field trip to identify various common tree species.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews