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Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet
Clear, provocative, and persuasive, Ever Green is an inspiring call to action to conserve Earth’s irreplaceable wild woods, counteract climate change, and save the planet.
Five stunningly large forests remain on Earth: the Taiga, extending from the Pacific Ocean across all of Russia and far-northern Europe; the North American boreal, ranging from Alaska’s Bering seacoast to Canada’s Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost the entirety of South America’s bulge; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africa’s wet equatorial middle; and the island forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California.
These megaforests are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands of cultures, and a stable climate, as economist John W. Reid and celebrated biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy argue convincingly in Ever Green. Megaforests serve an essential role in decarbonizing the atmosphere—the boreal alone holds 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon in its deep soils and peat layers, 190 years’ worth of global emissions at 2019 levels—and saving them is the most immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planet’s most formidable ongoing crisis.
Reid and Lovejoy offer practical solutions to address the biggest challenges these forests face, from vastly expanding protected areas, to supporting Indigenous forest stewards, to planning smarter road networks. In gorgeous prose that evokes the majesty of these ancient forests along with the people and animals who inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take us on an exhilarating global journey.
Five stunningly large forests remain on Earth: the Taiga, extending from the Pacific Ocean across all of Russia and far-northern Europe; the North American boreal, ranging from Alaska’s Bering seacoast to Canada’s Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost the entirety of South America’s bulge; the Congo, occupying parts of six nations in Africa’s wet equatorial middle; and the island forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California.
These megaforests are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands of cultures, and a stable climate, as economist John W. Reid and celebrated biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy argue convincingly in Ever Green. Megaforests serve an essential role in decarbonizing the atmosphere—the boreal alone holds 1.8 trillion metric tons of carbon in its deep soils and peat layers, 190 years’ worth of global emissions at 2019 levels—and saving them is the most immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planet’s most formidable ongoing crisis.
Reid and Lovejoy offer practical solutions to address the biggest challenges these forests face, from vastly expanding protected areas, to supporting Indigenous forest stewards, to planning smarter road networks. In gorgeous prose that evokes the majesty of these ancient forests along with the people and animals who inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take us on an exhilarating global journey.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2022
53 people are currently reading
3946 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
March 23, 2022
I liked this book even better than the previous one I read on the same topic (The Treeline)! It was a better balance for me of science and nature writing. I also found the nature writing beautifully descriptive without being over-the-top. I think the way the authors presented their experiences as informative rather than transcendental communing with nature was part of the difference there. Like the previous book, this book does a great job highlighting the work of indigenous people. In this case, many of the best, most hopeful examples of successful efforts to both protect the environment and to sustain communities came from efforts lead by indigenous people. This book was also more optimistic and action-oriented than the previous book, which focused exclusively on the Northern boreal forests because the author had written off the tropical ones. This book discussed all five major remaining forests and gave some great guidelines for the sort of programs that might allow us to save them. This book was also full of tons of cool sociology and science concepts with clearer descriptions than the previous book. I enjoyed both of these immensely and learned all sorts of cool things from reading them. If I had it do over though, I'd start with this one. It was the better book if you're only going to read one and I think starting with this big picture, than zooming in with the other book would be a good way to go if reading both.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey
November 1, 2022
An interesting, impassioned, and well-informed plea to save the world's last five megaforests: the Amazon, the Congo, Papau, and the American and Eurasian boreal forests. The authors have been leaders in forest conservation for decades, and with this experience, they are able to give a wide-reaching account of how the field has changed since its early days in the 60s. I found the book to be inspiring and very well written, and it's one of the reasons that I recently chose my current job, which focuses in part on the Amazon and Indonesia.
July 2, 2023
A wonderful read full of information and great stories.
It never fails to impress me how interesting trees and forests are. There is so much to learn and explore about how forests work, and the huge impact they have on the planet.
Not to mention the impressive interconnectedness of them! This book takes you through five megaforests over the globe, and you get to learn about good and bad practices relating to forest management in all of them.
I certainly learnt a lot, and there are so many amazing experiences documented in this book that the authors experienced during their research. Which makes me immensely envious of the opportunities they've had to get up close and amongst such amazing places on earth.
It never fails to impress me how interesting trees and forests are. There is so much to learn and explore about how forests work, and the huge impact they have on the planet.
Not to mention the impressive interconnectedness of them! This book takes you through five megaforests over the globe, and you get to learn about good and bad practices relating to forest management in all of them.
I certainly learnt a lot, and there are so many amazing experiences documented in this book that the authors experienced during their research. Which makes me immensely envious of the opportunities they've had to get up close and amongst such amazing places on earth.
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May 30, 2022Here is a well-written, engaging and easy to follow book on the scientific, cultural and climate-balancing importance of the world's big forests. The authors take you on a brief tour of the worlds five megaforests before laying out the treats they (and by extension, all of us) face and the possible solutions. Drawing on the stories of people who have been studying, protecting and living in these forests for years or generations, Ever Green gives you the nature of each forest and the unique threats and solutions for each. Throughout are great photos (rendered in black and white) that let you see the people, animals and landscapes involved.
Ever Green compellingly makes the case that if the megaforests are in danger, we all are. Helping the forests is helping ourselves (and thousands of plant, animal and human inhabitants as well).
Ever Green compellingly makes the case that if the megaforests are in danger, we all are. Helping the forests is helping ourselves (and thousands of plant, animal and human inhabitants as well).
May 11, 2025
4.5 stars
September 24, 2022
What's amazing about this book is all the notes it hits in its bid to help you understand and care about our intact megaforests. It's got the science and the environmentalism and beautiful descriptions of the five big forests with interesting information about the flora, fauna and indigenous communities therein. But it also has so much compassion and empathy and reasons to hope.
Very convincing in its main message that keeping these forests healthy and intact is one very cheap and easy way to address climate change. And convincing in its message that the biophysical foundations of our economy are being consumed by our economy. The GDP, the trade deficit, the stock market, the unemployment rate, etc "could all be improving" but we would still be "eating [ourselves] for breakfast."
This book does have ideas for protecting and regrowing forest land but most of these solutions are in the hands of governments and large nonprofits. There are suggestions for how the individual can protect the forests, but I think their main goal is to get the reader to love the forests. Yes, help plant trees, and "as long as we do the rest of what's needed for the megaforests, the trifling near-term impact planting has on the balance of gases in the atmosphere matters less than the changes that may take place in the heart of the planter."
Very convincing in its main message that keeping these forests healthy and intact is one very cheap and easy way to address climate change. And convincing in its message that the biophysical foundations of our economy are being consumed by our economy. The GDP, the trade deficit, the stock market, the unemployment rate, etc "could all be improving" but we would still be "eating [ourselves] for breakfast."
This book does have ideas for protecting and regrowing forest land but most of these solutions are in the hands of governments and large nonprofits. There are suggestions for how the individual can protect the forests, but I think their main goal is to get the reader to love the forests. Yes, help plant trees, and "as long as we do the rest of what's needed for the megaforests, the trifling near-term impact planting has on the balance of gases in the atmosphere matters less than the changes that may take place in the heart of the planter."
April 19, 2022
This book is a beautiful effort at addressing the question about climate and the future: "Things are getting bad, is there anything that can be done?" Through an enjoyable mix of science, nature appreciation, economic analysis, and his personal connections with indigenous people on the front lines, the author outlines the essential role of the large forests in buffering the climate crisis. By reading this book, I have a better understanding of some of the successful forest-saving projects that are popping up all around the world, and when I finished the last chapter, I had a bit more hope about what we may be able to accomplish.
April 25, 2023
Interesting, and it makes it look like we as a species have a steep hill to climb.
October 8, 2023
Loved this book, but fair warning it took me six months to finish (25X longer than most books). It can get a bit dense on facts and places you might not have heard of. It’s an amazing accumulation of stories and people well worth the focus it takes. Also having some extra time to dwell on the ideas may not be the worst thing.
October 4, 2023
I love you Earth I’m sorry
December 8, 2023
Probably my new favorite environmental book!! So well written and kept me engaged even through topics like economics and road-building (which meant I learned a lot about what usually bores me). Super inspiring and even uplifting, which is hard to find in books where climate change is a main subject.
August 7, 2022
The adjective “intact” is earned by encompassing at least 500 square kilometers—which is roughly 125,000 acres—free of roads, power lines, mines, cities, and industrial farms. That’s the size of about 60,000 soccer fields, 146 Central Parks, or a single square of land 14 miles on a side. “Landscapes” is added to the term because natural forests have vital treeless places, such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, and mountaintops mixed in. In 2008, the group helped map all such forests globally. Worldwide, there are currently around 2,000 intact forest landscapes, or IFLs, comprising nearly a quarter of all the planet’s wooded lands. They are heavily concentrated in the five megaforests.
Excellent overview of the trees of the world with real life adventurous visits and viewpoints of many of the key players. They even kept my attention with a long economics chapter. I have never been to a megaforest, and am dreaming of it, but can also let them be absolutely, gorgeously alive without me, too. I have a little spiritual practice of counting trees once in a while on a hike, like how many trees can I see and if I multiply that by the forest I am in, can my mind contemplate that vastness and balance the climate and deforestation anxiety we all have? Many, if not all, of the imported trees where I live are dying, and it comforts me to think of a megaforest.
The diversity of people is similarly spectacular in the megaforests. Around a quarter of the planet’s roughly 7,000 living languages are spoken in the five great wooded regions. For modern humanity to keep the megaforests, and with them the one planet we know of that has any forests, we need to care for the world as if it is family. We need to attempt a grammar in which subject and object, people and everything else, are the same. In a material and evolutionary sense, of course, we absolutely are.
Megaforests hold staggering human diversity. Over a quarter of Earth’s languages are spoken in the world’s largest woodlands. The mere tally of languages, however, is less arresting than their particulars. Thousands of lexicons are deployed according to grammars that seem to test every possibility of human perception and cognition. They throw open the conceptual boxes within which each of us thinks and, in doing so, reveal the full spectacle of human inventiveness.
The Taiga and North American boreal forest have similar fauna and trees because they were recently one circumpolar super-megaforest interrupted only by the North Atlantic. Before melting ice filled the Bering Sea, about 11,000 years ago, you could walk from Norway to Newfoundland. Moose and people walked to the Americas, while horses and bison went from Alaska to Russia. Mammoths are buried in permafrost on both sides of the strait.
The Amazon forest exhales a Lake Tahoe every five days. Many mornings you can see mist columns twisting up from the canopy as if from fairy campfires. This vapor coalesces into “flying rivers” that ride equatorial winds to the west, while at ground level the rivers flow down an extremely subtle slope eastward toward the Atlantic.
We invite reporters to ask, in every story they cover, whether the news is good for nature. Media outlets might include climate costs and benefits in all business reporting. Data are available to gauge the atmospheric consequences of construction, oil drilling, consumer spending, air travel, and shipping. Why not show it? Another positive step would be a quarterly forest report on losses and gains, fragmentation, carbon uptake and emissions, and changes in protected status. Global Forest Watch already has most of the information online.
Go outside. Frequently. Step outside anywhere and find a leaf and permit it to blow your mind. Check out its delta of veins. Run your finger on its underside. Taste it. Check if it has hair. Crumple it and smell it. Go further, to a forest of any size, a forest clearing, a clump of trees, or even a spot under a single specimen—someplace where, even though you may hear cars and dogs in the distance, you can sit on soft, uneven ground, unseen. Consider the unspooling ribbon of human affairs that the surrounding trees have witnessed and with what interest or indifference they may have watched. Inspect the ground and picture the interlaced fingers of mycelium and roots that swap sugar and water and carbon and data, a mushroom-assisted conversation that betrays care among trees. Notice the mosaic of leaves catching light or the weave of needles on the ground. Be still and birds will invade your copse. Trees, even in small groups, exhale monoterpenes that reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and perhaps even trigger dopamine. So stay long enough to feel your mood change, watch shadows shorten or stretch. Get caught by rain or snow or nightfall. Get a little lost
Excellent overview of the trees of the world with real life adventurous visits and viewpoints of many of the key players. They even kept my attention with a long economics chapter. I have never been to a megaforest, and am dreaming of it, but can also let them be absolutely, gorgeously alive without me, too. I have a little spiritual practice of counting trees once in a while on a hike, like how many trees can I see and if I multiply that by the forest I am in, can my mind contemplate that vastness and balance the climate and deforestation anxiety we all have? Many, if not all, of the imported trees where I live are dying, and it comforts me to think of a megaforest.
The diversity of people is similarly spectacular in the megaforests. Around a quarter of the planet’s roughly 7,000 living languages are spoken in the five great wooded regions. For modern humanity to keep the megaforests, and with them the one planet we know of that has any forests, we need to care for the world as if it is family. We need to attempt a grammar in which subject and object, people and everything else, are the same. In a material and evolutionary sense, of course, we absolutely are.
Megaforests hold staggering human diversity. Over a quarter of Earth’s languages are spoken in the world’s largest woodlands. The mere tally of languages, however, is less arresting than their particulars. Thousands of lexicons are deployed according to grammars that seem to test every possibility of human perception and cognition. They throw open the conceptual boxes within which each of us thinks and, in doing so, reveal the full spectacle of human inventiveness.
The Taiga and North American boreal forest have similar fauna and trees because they were recently one circumpolar super-megaforest interrupted only by the North Atlantic. Before melting ice filled the Bering Sea, about 11,000 years ago, you could walk from Norway to Newfoundland. Moose and people walked to the Americas, while horses and bison went from Alaska to Russia. Mammoths are buried in permafrost on both sides of the strait.
The Amazon forest exhales a Lake Tahoe every five days. Many mornings you can see mist columns twisting up from the canopy as if from fairy campfires. This vapor coalesces into “flying rivers” that ride equatorial winds to the west, while at ground level the rivers flow down an extremely subtle slope eastward toward the Atlantic.
We invite reporters to ask, in every story they cover, whether the news is good for nature. Media outlets might include climate costs and benefits in all business reporting. Data are available to gauge the atmospheric consequences of construction, oil drilling, consumer spending, air travel, and shipping. Why not show it? Another positive step would be a quarterly forest report on losses and gains, fragmentation, carbon uptake and emissions, and changes in protected status. Global Forest Watch already has most of the information online.
Go outside. Frequently. Step outside anywhere and find a leaf and permit it to blow your mind. Check out its delta of veins. Run your finger on its underside. Taste it. Check if it has hair. Crumple it and smell it. Go further, to a forest of any size, a forest clearing, a clump of trees, or even a spot under a single specimen—someplace where, even though you may hear cars and dogs in the distance, you can sit on soft, uneven ground, unseen. Consider the unspooling ribbon of human affairs that the surrounding trees have witnessed and with what interest or indifference they may have watched. Inspect the ground and picture the interlaced fingers of mycelium and roots that swap sugar and water and carbon and data, a mushroom-assisted conversation that betrays care among trees. Notice the mosaic of leaves catching light or the weave of needles on the ground. Be still and birds will invade your copse. Trees, even in small groups, exhale monoterpenes that reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and perhaps even trigger dopamine. So stay long enough to feel your mood change, watch shadows shorten or stretch. Get caught by rain or snow or nightfall. Get a little lost
July 15, 2022
my fav part is when they r like most owls r very quiet fliers and have very good hearing. this is to help them hunt. fish owls are kind of loud and also have bad hearing. but that's ok because the fish and owls can't hear each other thru the water
relatively easy science/nonfiction reading
relatively easy science/nonfiction reading
December 31, 2022
A brilliant exploration of the largest reaming forests in the world. A quick, engaging read with extensive details on the importance of sovereignty for indigenous people. Many more details about the legal state of these forests than I generally expected, which I found interesting and enlightening.
May 14, 2024
This book took on a very ambitious remit: explain what "big" forests are, why they're important, and what's happening to protect them. It does a great job at the first task, a good enough job at the second task, and falls short on the third task.
I learned a lot about the tiaga, and some interesting trivia about the amazon rainforest. In the author's defense, collating information from however many disparate sources and collating it into a unified dataset is a full time job for an NGO. I felt like the descriptions of what's being done to save the tiaga and the amazon rainforest were spotty and anecdotal, and I never got a sense of the Big Picture.
I listened to this book via Overdrive from my public library.
I learned a lot about the tiaga, and some interesting trivia about the amazon rainforest. In the author's defense, collating information from however many disparate sources and collating it into a unified dataset is a full time job for an NGO. I felt like the descriptions of what's being done to save the tiaga and the amazon rainforest were spotty and anecdotal, and I never got a sense of the Big Picture.
I listened to this book via Overdrive from my public library.
February 4, 2022
This book was is so important and relevant for the perseverance of oxygen on Earth. Without trees/forests there is so no habit for wildlife; but there is also less production. Sobering AF. For anyone to still believe there is no such thing as climate change, it is here and present. These authors did a fantastic job about describing the importance of these "megaforests" and why it matters to protect them. I learned a lot more about the Congo than I knew before too.
Recommended for those interested in researching or learning about climatology. It is also for those interested in the importance of trees. Fascinating!
Thanks to Netgalley, John Reid, Thomas Lovejoy and WW Norton & Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 3/12/22
Recommended for those interested in researching or learning about climatology. It is also for those interested in the importance of trees. Fascinating!
Thanks to Netgalley, John Reid, Thomas Lovejoy and WW Norton & Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 3/12/22
August 2, 2022
This is an incisive, beautiful, and moving tribute to our forests and a call to account that we must protect them rigorously if we want to live in an inhabitable planet. Through rich story, deep relationships, and hard-hitting data, Reid and Lovejoy bring readers towards awe and action as they uplift the essentiality of earth's five megaforests. This work calls upon readers to remember that an essential part of a livable future is ensuring that the Indigenous people who have been protecting these forests for so long maintain their liberty and autonomy. I learned so much and I’m so so grateful to you for this masterpiece!
August 8, 2024
I learned so much from this book. It highlights all of the seemingly 'intangible' reasons we need to protect our mega forests, and turns them into compelling, reasonable and very real factors within the context of our social, economic and environmental realities. Combined with a plethora of anecdotal stories and cultural insights from Tom and John's extensive travels and work, it reads like a good story. Highly recommend.
June 25, 2023
The authors provide a thorough, understandable, engaging and compelling overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s five big forests. These are in the North Americas, South America, Africa, Russia and Papua New Guinea. They are where the most continuous, least fragmented forests still exist despite the depredations of miners, loggers, poachers, farmers and urban developers. The book looks at the history and present state of each area and then the developments in conservation and global politics and economics that have helped or hindered the forests’ survival.
The writing style is clear, easily read, engaging, at often personal. The authors interweave their own visits to the forests and the local peoples with much information about the nature of the forests, the development pressures they have suffered and visionary actions to save them. The authors are very well qualified to write on this subject and their breadth of knowledge is impressive. John Reid has written for mainstream media, which shows the style of this book.
The subject is massive and the authors have done very well to contain and compress what they want to convey while making it readable. If there is a gap in its broad coverage it may be in the influence of the forests on regional and global climate and their importance in climate stability. The book is a genuine salute to those who dedicate themselves to the forests: the indigenous people, researchers and enlightened policy-makers.
Positive features of the book
1. The book addresses a very topical, important and challenging need for discussion and action.
2. It is well written by experienced communicators who convey their authority and authenticity.
3. It is informative and thought-provoking and avoids opinionated lecturing.
4. At 260 pages the length is manageable, despite the small font size!
Less positive features of the book
1. It is not a light read and will be enjoyed more by people who want a comprehensive treatment of the subject. Yet it is not academic and will appeal to the non-specialist reader.
2. It is illustrated by black and white photos, the reproduction of which doesn’t do them justice. This was an interesting choice by the publishers for a book called Ever Green, but it does convey a thoughtfulness.
3. The book has plenty of references which are numbered at the back but not in the text.
I gratefully acknowledge the NZ Book Discussion Scheme who provided my review copy.
The writing style is clear, easily read, engaging, at often personal. The authors interweave their own visits to the forests and the local peoples with much information about the nature of the forests, the development pressures they have suffered and visionary actions to save them. The authors are very well qualified to write on this subject and their breadth of knowledge is impressive. John Reid has written for mainstream media, which shows the style of this book.
The subject is massive and the authors have done very well to contain and compress what they want to convey while making it readable. If there is a gap in its broad coverage it may be in the influence of the forests on regional and global climate and their importance in climate stability. The book is a genuine salute to those who dedicate themselves to the forests: the indigenous people, researchers and enlightened policy-makers.
Positive features of the book
1. The book addresses a very topical, important and challenging need for discussion and action.
2. It is well written by experienced communicators who convey their authority and authenticity.
3. It is informative and thought-provoking and avoids opinionated lecturing.
4. At 260 pages the length is manageable, despite the small font size!
Less positive features of the book
1. It is not a light read and will be enjoyed more by people who want a comprehensive treatment of the subject. Yet it is not academic and will appeal to the non-specialist reader.
2. It is illustrated by black and white photos, the reproduction of which doesn’t do them justice. This was an interesting choice by the publishers for a book called Ever Green, but it does convey a thoughtfulness.
3. The book has plenty of references which are numbered at the back but not in the text.
I gratefully acknowledge the NZ Book Discussion Scheme who provided my review copy.
January 3, 2024
Book #39 of 2023. "Ever Green" by John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy.
This book is all about the 5 megaforests on our Earth: why they are important and what can be done to keep them standing.
In the past, much of the Earth was covered in forest. Today, we have 5 different megaforests remaining: the Taiga, mostly in Russia; the North American Boreal, spanning Alaska and Canada; the Amazon, across much of South America; the Congo, in mid-Africa; and New Guinea, traversing both Papua New Guinea and its neighbor Papua.
While it might seem like all that is required to make a forest is enough trees, the authors make it clear how much the size of a forest matters. The designatation IFL (Intact Forest Landscape) encompasses a minimum of 125,000-acres chosen "because it's a size that can accomplish natural processes, including small fires, trees felled by wind, and protection of lakeshores and riverbanks. Forests this size can play a role in the life cycle of species that need lots of space, such as tigers, reindeer, bears and wolves. And the forest interior is well protected from disturbances."
It honestly blew my mind how important it is to be away from roads and human settlement. In fact, the single best way to protect forests is to limit roads into them.
"Overall, 95 percent of Amazon deforestation has taken place within 3 miles of roads or immediately adjacent to one of the region's major navigable rivers."
Forests are so important for the future of humanity because of their ability to sequester carbon. But even more than that, the sheer nature encompassed within these areas is incomprehensible. Losing these forests kills off countless species of animals, plants, languages, cultures. The loss of all of these is a true catastrophe. There are many programs working on taking care of and bringing more of the forests under protection so our children will be able to experience the beauty they represent.
This book does a great job of introducing many people working on this fight. Many of whom are indigenous, as they are the first line of defense between their ancestral forest lands and the enemies trying to deforest these incredible lands.
This book is all about the 5 megaforests on our Earth: why they are important and what can be done to keep them standing.
In the past, much of the Earth was covered in forest. Today, we have 5 different megaforests remaining: the Taiga, mostly in Russia; the North American Boreal, spanning Alaska and Canada; the Amazon, across much of South America; the Congo, in mid-Africa; and New Guinea, traversing both Papua New Guinea and its neighbor Papua.
While it might seem like all that is required to make a forest is enough trees, the authors make it clear how much the size of a forest matters. The designatation IFL (Intact Forest Landscape) encompasses a minimum of 125,000-acres chosen "because it's a size that can accomplish natural processes, including small fires, trees felled by wind, and protection of lakeshores and riverbanks. Forests this size can play a role in the life cycle of species that need lots of space, such as tigers, reindeer, bears and wolves. And the forest interior is well protected from disturbances."
It honestly blew my mind how important it is to be away from roads and human settlement. In fact, the single best way to protect forests is to limit roads into them.
"Overall, 95 percent of Amazon deforestation has taken place within 3 miles of roads or immediately adjacent to one of the region's major navigable rivers."
Forests are so important for the future of humanity because of their ability to sequester carbon. But even more than that, the sheer nature encompassed within these areas is incomprehensible. Losing these forests kills off countless species of animals, plants, languages, cultures. The loss of all of these is a true catastrophe. There are many programs working on taking care of and bringing more of the forests under protection so our children will be able to experience the beauty they represent.
This book does a great job of introducing many people working on this fight. Many of whom are indigenous, as they are the first line of defense between their ancestral forest lands and the enemies trying to deforest these incredible lands.
September 11, 2022
When you take away the signposts of human civilization - roads, fences, mechanical tools, map boundaries, the boundaries between the human and natural world are negligible. The lingering image of this book from me is a Western sitting across from a gorilla. Not in a zoo or in any type of role based relationship. Just two animals looking at each other. Neither able to fully understand the consciousness of other.
Commodification of forest into wood, rubber, sulfur and carbon, essentially framing the natural world into a market, belies our place in it. Exploring the five intact megaforests of the world, we see the untrammeled spaces where biodiversity flourishes. Out of reach from farmlands, poaching, carbon emissions and political retort, the Eurasian boreal or the Jurua river majestically sustains.
Part history lesson of colonial hubris and part prognostication of a world tipping close to climate catastrophe, “Ever Green” is an illuminating and beautiful portrayal of how activism, science, and indigeous culture continue to push back against the mechanisms of destruction. Glancing into our primordial past, with pangs to preserve and preserve, these chapters on the Congo, Amazon, North American Megaforest, Taiga and Papa New Guinea are just breathtaking.
Referencing Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic” from the beautifully written “A Sand County Alamanac” (1949), we explore what this world would look like if we expand preserved areas; accounted for ‘first people’s’ ancestral instructions; and expanded our economic models to forecast for future people’s happiness. What we can not meet with grace, we may have thrust upon us.
Commodification of forest into wood, rubber, sulfur and carbon, essentially framing the natural world into a market, belies our place in it. Exploring the five intact megaforests of the world, we see the untrammeled spaces where biodiversity flourishes. Out of reach from farmlands, poaching, carbon emissions and political retort, the Eurasian boreal or the Jurua river majestically sustains.
Part history lesson of colonial hubris and part prognostication of a world tipping close to climate catastrophe, “Ever Green” is an illuminating and beautiful portrayal of how activism, science, and indigeous culture continue to push back against the mechanisms of destruction. Glancing into our primordial past, with pangs to preserve and preserve, these chapters on the Congo, Amazon, North American Megaforest, Taiga and Papa New Guinea are just breathtaking.
Referencing Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic” from the beautifully written “A Sand County Alamanac” (1949), we explore what this world would look like if we expand preserved areas; accounted for ‘first people’s’ ancestral instructions; and expanded our economic models to forecast for future people’s happiness. What we can not meet with grace, we may have thrust upon us.
July 17, 2022
What do I think?
Originally thought this was about how reforesting the planet can help alleviate the impacts of climate change, but I’m glad I was wrong. This book explores the various impacts of deforestation, including the loss of indigenous lands which I was not expecting (perhaps cause we are usually told it’s the biodiversity loss and climate change that are more severe). And surprisingly, the protection of indigenous lands actually plays a crucial role in the preservation of forests. That was one of the solutions proposed, which also includes nature reserves, roadlessness and reforestation (which btw, is more than just re-planting trees).
Who should read?
This could be dry for most. I found some chapters pretty dry and draggy, but the main topics were sobering and definitely taught me a lot more about the importance of forests, especially what can be done to protect them (I had thought setting up reserves was the best and only way). Recommended for those who are interested in sustainability and preservation.
Originally thought this was about how reforesting the planet can help alleviate the impacts of climate change, but I’m glad I was wrong. This book explores the various impacts of deforestation, including the loss of indigenous lands which I was not expecting (perhaps cause we are usually told it’s the biodiversity loss and climate change that are more severe). And surprisingly, the protection of indigenous lands actually plays a crucial role in the preservation of forests. That was one of the solutions proposed, which also includes nature reserves, roadlessness and reforestation (which btw, is more than just re-planting trees).
Who should read?
This could be dry for most. I found some chapters pretty dry and draggy, but the main topics were sobering and definitely taught me a lot more about the importance of forests, especially what can be done to protect them (I had thought setting up reserves was the best and only way). Recommended for those who are interested in sustainability and preservation.
February 16, 2023
1. COLOR PHOTOS versus their black and white would have greatly improved my reading experience. The book celebrates the diversity of forests but the message is lost via photos which fail to capture our attention.
2. Book was focused on the mega forests as a buffer to climate change but adding more commentary regarding health benefits for humans would have personalized the need for more forest acres
3. Fallow - my grandfather taught me how he rotated crops on his farm which included a period of leaving some acres fallow for rejuvenating the soil. The authors might have included an entire chapter on this agricultural concept- I think “fallow” was mentioned once in this book.
4. Last - the global elites should ban their global environmental we know best conferences! Stay home and work locally versus creating a huge carbon footprint by gathering in resorts and conference centers to issue press releases and doomsday scenarios. Your private jets and limousines don’t benefit our 🌳 forests!!
2. Book was focused on the mega forests as a buffer to climate change but adding more commentary regarding health benefits for humans would have personalized the need for more forest acres
3. Fallow - my grandfather taught me how he rotated crops on his farm which included a period of leaving some acres fallow for rejuvenating the soil. The authors might have included an entire chapter on this agricultural concept- I think “fallow” was mentioned once in this book.
4. Last - the global elites should ban their global environmental we know best conferences! Stay home and work locally versus creating a huge carbon footprint by gathering in resorts and conference centers to issue press releases and doomsday scenarios. Your private jets and limousines don’t benefit our 🌳 forests!!
June 10, 2022
An excellent read on something I was unfamiliar with: megaforests. And now that I know more, like most nature books I read, it is concerning that these forests are being depleted at a rapid pace. The scientific stats, numbers, and facts are astounding and fascinating. From the amount of carbon stored in these forests to the fact they create their own atmosphere that affects the surrounding areas, the peoples that live in the forest, the detrimental effects of roads, and the biodiversity involved with these massive forests, megaforests are vitally important to save if humans want any chance of a future in which they can thrive. While the authors serve up a number of different solutions, you have to still have hope in order to think any of them will actually work instead of just delaying the inevitable collapse that is coming.
October 11, 2022
Proud of myself for getting through some nonfiction. Credit to the authors for making this a human story that, although not a narrative, had plenty of small stories throughout. Here's what I learned or was reinforced:
-There are 5 megaforests currently on earth (how did I not know that)?
-Protecting existing forests is overall the best solution when it comes to forests.
-Large swaths of undeveloped forest are the most valuable to protect.
-Keeping roads from forests is one of the best ways to keep the forests from being developed, degraded, or fragmented.
-Humans that have traditionally occupied forests/native groups are the most effective conservators of their forests.
-These humans also have senses of the land, forest, and inhabitants that most of us have lost and can not even imagine.
-There are 5 megaforests currently on earth (how did I not know that)?
-Protecting existing forests is overall the best solution when it comes to forests.
-Large swaths of undeveloped forest are the most valuable to protect.
-Keeping roads from forests is one of the best ways to keep the forests from being developed, degraded, or fragmented.
-Humans that have traditionally occupied forests/native groups are the most effective conservators of their forests.
-These humans also have senses of the land, forest, and inhabitants that most of us have lost and can not even imagine.
November 26, 2023
The Taiga, the Boreal, the Amazon, the Congo and (unheard of by me) the island forest of New Guinea make up the five mega forests around the globe. John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy do an excellent job of taking readers through these different forests, describing what makes each one special. They give us the good, the bad, yes - the ugly, but also the hopeful and promising. Unlike many environmental science books, I finished with a greater appreciation for the world around us without that heavy sense of "we've doomed all future generations." No, it's certainly not all rosy, indeed far from it, but it was great to read a book that focused more on the conservation efforts that are happening. This was one I started about 2 years ago and put down until I could spend more time enjoying it. I'm glad I came back!
May 29, 2022
This book is a deep dive into our last great forests, focusing on large forests in the Amazon, Congo, Russia, New Guinea and North America’s Boreal Forest. The book focuses on parks, indigenous lands, roadless areas and restoration.
What makes the book so readable and enjoyable are the detailed stories of people living in these forests and their struggles to conserve these places, vital in the fight against climate change and species conservation. I read the book slowly, taking it in a bit at a time and will undoubtedly reread it at some time as it is densely packed full of ecological concepts, stories and conservation approaches. Overall despite the conservation setbacks and challenges, I found the book overall uplifting and hopeful.
What makes the book so readable and enjoyable are the detailed stories of people living in these forests and their struggles to conserve these places, vital in the fight against climate change and species conservation. I read the book slowly, taking it in a bit at a time and will undoubtedly reread it at some time as it is densely packed full of ecological concepts, stories and conservation approaches. Overall despite the conservation setbacks and challenges, I found the book overall uplifting and hopeful.
April 11, 2024
Excellent explanation as to why big, contiguous forests are important for our health as well as the flora & fauna that depend on them and the health of the planet's atmosphere, water bodies and, well, life!
The more carved up by inroads, or chipped away from the edges, or the idea that replanting will replace old growth, - the science says otherwise. The author travels to the last 5 major areas of forests on different continents. Through interviews and first hand experiences, he takes you to the people that live there or nearby and depend on it for food and resources. What do we owe these countries in terms of an economical tradeoff to sustain the forest? What will it take in political will and human education to see these remaining forests as essential to life?
The more carved up by inroads, or chipped away from the edges, or the idea that replanting will replace old growth, - the science says otherwise. The author travels to the last 5 major areas of forests on different continents. Through interviews and first hand experiences, he takes you to the people that live there or nearby and depend on it for food and resources. What do we owe these countries in terms of an economical tradeoff to sustain the forest? What will it take in political will and human education to see these remaining forests as essential to life?
March 6, 2023
Amazing book that details many interesting aspects of large mega forests. It spends a long time on the importance of indigenous owned traditional lands and how we can realistically redistribute the lands we have to those with a rightful claim to them. It talks about linguistic diversity and how that can affect the way that we view nature. It talks about carbon finance and the future of monetizing carbon sequestration.
A fabulous book that I would recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about the importance of large forests and how we interact with them in the face of climate change.
Took off one star because it dragged on a bit in places.
A fabulous book that I would recommend for anyone who wants to learn more about the importance of large forests and how we interact with them in the face of climate change.
Took off one star because it dragged on a bit in places.
September 16, 2025
I unfortunately did not finish this book but I tremendously enjoyed the half I did read. With only a few weeks to my due date, I wanted to prioritize the prep books I've been reading and didn't want to risk my library loan going over. Will definitely finish one day.
This was one of those books that gave me a ton to think about and as a result, I really savored the reading experience. Reading just 5 pages or so, I'd learn something new and have to stop reading to think about it. Those are truly some of my favorite books and the ones that stick with me for years. I've already recommended to numerous friends!
This was one of those books that gave me a ton to think about and as a result, I really savored the reading experience. Reading just 5 pages or so, I'd learn something new and have to stop reading to think about it. Those are truly some of my favorite books and the ones that stick with me for years. I've already recommended to numerous friends!
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