In Trees: An Exploration

by Robert Moor

From the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller On Trails comes a wondrous new journey through the wilds of nature and the gnarls of history, exploring how trees—from the mightiest sequoia to the tiniest bonsai—can teach us to grow wise.

To truly grasp the wisdom of a tree, you need to begin thinking like one…

One day, on a whim, Robert Moor set out to climb a tree near his home—unwittingly embarking on what would become a decade-long, globe-spanning adventure of intellectual and spiritual transformation. Pursuing the hidden wisdom of trees, he scales to the very top of a giant sequoia while filming a nature documentary with David Attenborough; he treks through swamps in Papua to reach a treehouse-dwelling tribe of hunter-gatherers; and he journeys to a remote research camp in Tanzania, where he spends a memorable night sleeping in a chimpanzee nest, seeking to understand our deep evolutionary history. Eventually, having gained a radical new outlook on both our gnarled past and our ever-branching future, he joins an intrepid clan of climate activists risking everything to halt construction of a new oil pipeline and save an ancient forest.

Along the way, Moor learns the art of “tree-thinking,” which, he discovers, has the power to break open some of humanity’s oldest What is the secret to truly growing old? How do we set down deeper roots in an increasingly chaotic world? Most importantly, how should we—as individuals, as communities, as stewards of the earth—live?

A witty and relentlessly curious excursion through philosophy, history, and science, what begins as an ode to the miracle of trees blossoms into a joyous, daring, fiercely hopeful endeavor to arborize humanity.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Science, History, Audiobook, Environment

384 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2026

Reviews

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a compelling read for the first 50%. My highlighter went overtime. and I started to mentally make a list of all the people I thought would enjoy this book.

Then it shifted gears and I'll admit to losing interest slightly after the section on Kimura and the bonsai.

Fortunately, the first half of the novel was jampacked with everything I was looking for in a great read. The rest of the novel, for me, definitely relies on the strength of the first half. I still think it’s a five-star read…it just could have been trimmed.

Things I loved:
🌱Moor’s writing style - like a conversation
🌱The encouragement to define ‘tree’
🌱How bonsai cultivation relates to personal growth
🌱Reminder to see gnarls differently
🌱Overcoming limitations
🌱Difference between growing old and getting old
🌱Arborescence
🌱Julia Butterfly Hill’s advice
🌱Stealing Muir’s ‘scootchers’ term for my use
🌱Encouragement to stay wild

This is a therapeutic and medicinal read. I’ll remember this book for the encouragement to appreciate age and gnarly bits, to prioritize understanding meaning in our chaotic world, and to look at things in an arborescent way.

It was good to meet the author in person last night. How wonderful would it be if we could hear the author share about the book before we posted our review?!

I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. In Trees is, truly, a book that lives up to its subtitle: through lengthy, meandering chapters, the author not only investigates trees – their biology, their roles in ecosystems – but also humans’ relationships with trees (cultivation, stewardship, tree climbing, the art of bonsai, conservation movements, tree sitting protests), how humans’ relationships can themselves be tree-like (genealogy, family trees, evolutionary branching), and some of the many lessons we might learn from our tree neighbours. Moor combines nature writing, philosophy, history, and autobiographical elements into a whole that, much like the trees he explores, is something greater and more complex than any of its parts. As a practicing Druid, I certainly have a particular affinity for trees and have spent a lot of time getting to know the trees in my neighbourhood and region especially; I enjoyed learning about trees from a range of geographical contexts, some of which I’d not heard of before, and also really appreciate the inclusion of a relational ethic and the author’s care in presenting Indigenous perspectives. I can tell as a reader how much time, thought, research, and reflection went into this book, and definitely recommend it.

I do wish that full citations and a bibliography had been included. The author mentions and quotes from numerous sources and has clearly researched extensively; it would be beneficial to have those sources listed with full citations to be able to follow up on them more easily.

Having enjoyed this book, I’ll absolutely pick up Moor’s previous title On Trails at some point.

Content warnings: discussions of colonialism, racism, cultural appropriation, & environmental destruction

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada, the author, and NetGalley for providing me an eARC to review.

[szreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is a tree? Before reading I’d say it’s those things outside. BUT NOW…everything is a tree. So move over John Green, no longer is everything tuberculosis…really everything is a tree.

Whether it’s a sequoia or bonsai or even the path of the human brain, everything can be a tree.

In Trees is a truly magical read for nature lovers and philosophers alike. Drawing on the author’s travels, historical research, and scientific insight, it weaves these elements together into a thoughtful and engaging exploration of trees. By the end, you’ll likely walk away with a deeper appreciation not only for trees themselves but for the wonder of the natural world around us.

Grounded in history, science, and philosophy, this book might just be the ultimate work on trees. The many references to major works throughout are a valuable resource on their own, but when paired with the author’s personal adventures and reflections, they transform the book into something truly enchanting.

It is clear so much research and love went into this book!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Racheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely collection of essays written by Robert Moor. I enjoyed picking this book up, reading a section (you can read them in order or out). There are a range of stories, from a focus on nature and trees to family relationships and other human experiences. I especially liked the chapter on his family history. It's a perfect book for reflection and would make a great gift!

[Jessica Tengco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected 𝘐𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 by Robert Moor to be a nature book but it’s so much more than that. It’s about human nature, curiosity, and our deep (often overlooked) connection to the natural world.

Moor spent years immersing himself in this subject, and you can feel that dedication on every page. From learning to climb trees in the UK to sleeping in a chimpanzee nest in Tanzania, to visiting people who live in trees in Papua, his journey is as much personal as it is exploratory.

He even delves into his own family tree, tracing connections through generations, and then zooms out further back to explore the human family tree itself reaching all the way back to Lucy in Ethiopia, which adds a powerful perspective.

He also spent time staying in trees in protest against pipelines, something that hit especially close to home for me, as I live near where that took place in BC.

This isn’t a book that just gives you facts; it invites you to see and understand trees and our relationship with them differently.

Now I definitely need to pick up his other book, 𝘖𝘯 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴.

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for this physical arc. I had fun taking it out on a photo shoot in trees. This is one I’ll likely reread in future.

[Jackie McGinnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his newest book, a decade in the making, Robert Moore sets out to answer the question: Why do trees in particular have such a mythic hold on our imagination? Alongside that, with this cultural entanglement we have, how do trees transform and shape us?

His book is truly an exploration of trees. He begins in nature focusing on specific species like the sequoia and the different view of trees and the world when you climb them. Then, Moore branches out through the trees he explores and stories of the people he meets, sharing wisdom and observations of family trees, protests, and how we are connected. Perhaps most importantly, Moore shares the wisdom of rootedness from an indigenous tradition.

I enjoyed In Trees: An Exploration as a meandering meeting and discovering. Moore is a beautiful storyteller, perfect for lazy days or a fresh start to your morning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Barbara Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In Trees: An Exploration" opens with the author, Robert Moor, climbing a tree, an activity he’d done hundreds of times as a fearless child but, as an adult of 33, climbing unexpectedly provoked a fear he didn’t know he had. Moor goes on to figure out why. He decides he has lost not so much the capacity to climb a tree but the spirit of a tree climber. He begins to consider that human life is like a tree, growing branches and exploring new things in our youth, becoming gnarled in middle age until we decay and return to the ground at the end. Trees, however continue growing until they die. We humans tend to stop growing, physically and mentally at a certain age, set in our ways, which brain studies show leads to our decline. He astutely distinguishes between growing old and getting old. And then sets out to internalize the wisdom of a tree, which sets the premise for the book.

Each chapter focuses on a tree adventure, often taken with a tree expert, that reflects an aspect of a tree's life, beginning with branching and ending with rooting. He spends time with bonsai experts, tree climbing teachers, scientists, and researches. In the vein of nature writers before him, Moor uses words like awe, wonder, and spirit when describing his time in trees. I enjoyed the philosophical inquiry that tree anatomy prods Moor to do. His observations continually remind us that we are just a small part of nature not above or separate from it.

"In Trees" is a book that invites pause and reflection. The chapters switch between Moor's personal story and tree science or history, which at times felt a bit fractured and tedious; I enjoyed both parts of the writing but would have preferred fewer transitions between the content.

For readers who enjoy nature writing or tree climbing, "In Trees" is an interesting book. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#netgalley #intrees

[Elmira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Robert Moor for allowing me to read a free ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Although the book's title is Innocuous and Uninformative, "In Trees: An Exploration" is anything BUT a boring succession of tree facts. It is instead an expansive view into many different aspects of trees. The author starts with some broad editorials on what trees mean to him and how he came to write this book. He then takes the reader with him on explorations into barefoot tree climbing in England, Bonsai tree pruning and growing in Japan, his own family "tree" in Alabama, climbing Sequoias in California on the set of The Green Planet with Sir David Attenborough, climbing into vertiginous tree houses with the Korowai Tribe in remote Papua, our evolutionary "tree" of three million year old humaniod fossils in Tanzania, sleeping in trees like chimpanzees, living in a tiny makeshift tree house to protest the destruction of forest to build a petroleum pipeline in British Columbia, and finally to the Fairy Creek area of Vancouver Island where protesters spent years living in the trees to protest clearcutting of the old-growth forest ecosystem. In among each of these fascinating journeys are woven tales that relate to climate change, the science of carbon capture/release, wildfires, increasing urbanization of population causing widespread mental stress, American racial prejudice, Indigenous land rights, and single crop and chemical agriculture poisoning the land.

What a fun and interesting journey! Highly recommend!

[MJ Beauchamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When I ask myself, how a person should live, this is the advice I now turned to: Learn to branch out like a tree, to let go like a tree, to weather hardship like a tree, to rise above like a tree, to set down roots like a tree. In a scarred and storm-battered world, we couldn’t hope to find wiser teachers.”

Happy pub day to In Trees by Robert Moor; my latest five star book, and one I can’t stop thinking about.

Over a decade of work and research went into this project, and well worth the effort. The author captures the magic of trees and all that they encompass, not only in words… but as a way of life.

“Life, in short, is fundamentally adolescent. In order to make sense of it, it helps to think in trees.”

From its table (or tree) of contents to the chapter titles and order, Moor maps out a clear and thoughtful message. Nothing gimmicky nor for show, simply strength and hope for the present, and for the future.

Through fascinating examples and personal experiences, travels and bits of history, we see how all is connected. Branching out or settling roots. Pruning or shadowing. Caring for nature, for ourselves and for others.

A breathtaking and empowering read. Timely, and timeless.

“Here we stand
by the river
through the wind,
the rain, and snow.
When the wind blows
our branches may quiver.
We will sway
but we will stay.
And one day
when we fall—
we will rot
and crumble.
But we’ll know
we have given our all.
To feed
the seeds of tomorrow.”

Many thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lovely metaphor towards the end of this book: Robert Moor tells us that the first tiny root sent out by a tree is called a “radicle” - from the Latin “radix,” meaning root. Our word “radical” has the same relationship to radix. So what it means to be radical is getting to the root of the issue.

In this book, Moor thoroughly examines the root of the issue, as well as the trunk, branches, leaves and canopy. His quest takes him all over the world, from urban woods to remote rainforests, where he sits in trees with professional tree climbers and environmentalists, explores the branches of family trees, and spends a night (well, part of one) in a chimpanzee nest.

In Trees has a strong environmental message, encompassing scientific knowledge (and how it has grown and changed over time), indigenous beliefs, history and his own observations. Moor speaks in the vein of Robin Wall Kimmerer (Braiding Sweetgrass), Peter Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees) and others who have warned that humans exploit trees and nature at our peril. Trees can teach us about what we have forgotten: that life is complex, it has at the same time roots, branches and stems, and life on earth is longer than than the life of any one of us.

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

[AJ Thurlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Trees: An Exploration.

What seemed to me like an unusual premise at first, pursuing the hidden wisdom of trees, this new work by Robert Moor quickly became one of my favourite pieces of modern philosophy. In his search for how trees relate to and influence our lives, Moor explores themes of climate change and environmental impact, social and economic mobility, modernisation, exploitation, and loss of indigenous cultures, as well as family ties, personal growth and the hunt for the meaning of life. These themes are intertwined with individual tree-themed stories, even one of which would be the hit of any dinner party conversation. Moor allows his personal anecdotes to feel both fantastical and grounded, and relishes in taking the reader along for a front seat ride in his adventures and intimate realisations during each new journey. I enjoyed a deeper level of thinking, laughed and gasped while reading, and highly recommend “In Trees”.

[Nyx Lewis-Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel changed for having read this book, and yet I find it impossible to distill it in any concise way, for each piece feels necessary.

It's a book about trees, but it's also not about trees. Or rather, its about trees, but also everything.

Within the branching pages of Moor's deft narrative, I found musings on neuroplasticity and learning, on patience and artistry and bonsai, on Romantic poetry and tree climbing and religion, on genealogy and racism and slavery and lynchings, on farming and climate change and environmentalism, on treehouses and colonialism and anthropology, on activism and indigeneity and rootedness... all interwoven and rooted in our relationship with trees.

Moor's voice is friendly and welcoming as the old maple tree I climbed in my parents' backyard over and over as a child, the branches of his ideas well-spaced to guide the reader through, truly, an exploration that requires only a willingness to learn and a little trust.

[Rally]

5 stars
I was given an arc of this book by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I think most people depending on their interest would give this a 3-4. I had to give it a 5 however. I loved how the author dove into this topic from many angles. It talked about trees in spiritual realms and history. It gave their impact in the environment and to each other. It told of how it relates to all living things in many ways. I both learned and resignated over parts of it. I already had an interest in trees and not even half way into the book I was ready to buy it. This has made me want to go read the authors other books. I feel this is not one you rush through but instead you read slowly. Savor it while learning. If you dont understand a part google it and learn even deeper. I loved the topics in this book.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I genuinely expected a book about trees their ecology, history, and philosophy to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite land for me.

As an Ecologist in Canada (and notably, the author’s home country), much of the scientific and environmental content felt familiar rather than insightful. That’s not necessarily a flaw, readers without that background will likely find it far more informative and engaging.

Where I’d hoped to gain something new was in the historical and philosophical sections. However, those often drifted into territory that felt overly abstract and, at times, a bit too “hippy-dippy” for my taste, which made it difficult to stay fully invested.

Overall, the book is well written and well researched; I just don’t think I’m the right audience for it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subject matter (trees) is deciptively simplistic. In many ways, Robert Moor's In Trees reads like an expanded New Yorker article and this book was ten years in the making. Trees (literal and figurative) are the connective tissue but, as a reader, I go along for the ride as Moor explores tree climbing, tree houses, family trees, tree huggers, tree growth and topics that expand from there - history, politics, environmentalism, the conservation movement, land management, agriculture, colonization, industrialization...He takes us around the world and across different terrain, climates, cultures and we meet incredible people along the way. Many are quirky, some are flawed, and all are passionate in some way. This is the kind of story where you learn something new at each turn or where you are introduced to a new way of looking at something that you might have taken for granted. In Trees was a contemplative and, at parts, meditative, read for me even as I absorbed a ton of information. Wow.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this book. I had a feeling I would, since it's about trees, but Moor's writing is fantastic, and how he addresses the topic is also wonderful.

Moor talks about physical trees and the environment, but he also addresses family trees, genetic trees, and how trees are perceived in different cultures. He explores how trees are entwined with racism, art, capitalism, environmentalism, and activism.

This book is a well-rounded study of trees in many forms, and I want to reread it!

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good and was compeling! But I think I didn't read it at the right time. I would love to go back and read it again in the right headspace!

[Justjenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can someone who sees such greatness in trees.... believe in evolution?

[Michael Carver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about trees obviously... but it was also about community, ancestry, and just being a good conscientious person.

[Kylie Main · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought me joy and made my little adventurous heart happy! It is rich with facts, history, folklore, and insights into human design and nature. Its depth ignites curiosity about the often-overlooked bond between humans and the natural world. The author dedicated years to reading and researching, ultimately weaving it all together beautifully with his personal adventures and experiences.