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  • The Hidden Life of Trees

  • What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries From a Secret World
  • By: Peter Wohlleben
  • Narrated by: Mike Grady
  • Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,609 ratings)

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The Hidden Life of Trees

By: Peter Wohlleben
Narrated by: Mike Grady
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Publisher's Summary

A forester's fascinating stories backed by the latest scientific research illustrate how trees nurture and talk to each other. Are trees social beings?

In this international best seller - which has sold more than 320,000 copies in Germany alone - forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers.

Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland. After you have heard The Hidden Life of Trees, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.

©2016 Peter Wohlleben. Published by arrangement with Black Inc. (P)2016 HarperCollins Audio

Critic Reviews

"The matter-of-fact Mr. Wohlleben has delighted readers and talk-show audiences alike with the news long known to biologists that trees in the forest are social beings." ( The New York Times)
"In this spirited exploration, [Wohlleben] guarantees that readers will never look at these life forms in quite the same way again." ( Library Journal)

What listeners say about The Hidden Life of Trees

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Facinating insight of European forest biology

The insight into European forests was very informative and the science behind the book was well researched and presented. One caveat, care needs to be taken if listening to this while driving as the dulcet tones of Mike Grady would send an insomniac to sleep.

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31 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

You'll never look at trees the same!

This is one of my all-time favourites! We all know that trees are part of Nature and we've seen documentaries on weird looking fish and archaeological diggings but for someone to have studied what's right in front of us and present it with such a beautiful, flowing, narrative is - simply, stunning. You will literally be introduced to the 'Family Tree,' how they communicate with each other, their immediate surroundings, and any dangers. Do trees really die? Is there a parental structure to the Tree community?

I started out being curious. Now I hug trees!

It's also a bit of a sad awakening. We are ALL part of nature and all inter-connected. The trees have not forgotten this but us humans may have.

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29 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Pseudoscience

Utterly unconvincing. I had great hopes for this book but am very disappointed by the constant confusion between correlation and causation.

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19 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting in parts, but not very scientific...

When I listened I often found myself thinking, but have you consider X? How can we rule out Y? How did you come to that conclusion? I found this all rather distracting. In saying that it has a lot of interesting information, but personally I feel it needs a lot of refinement...

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17 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Nice, but superficial

Really nice idea and pretty good book overall, but it should be taken with a grain or two of salt.
Author takes an idea applicable for forestry (perennial dicots) and says it should be used with growing potatoes and grains (monocots).
Also the entire idea of how microbiocenosis of soil is beneficial for plants is not 100 percent true - for example specific apple replant disorder.
Picking on industry is also a bit superficial: one can not harvest enough timber for industry with a horse; pheromones, hormones and plant growth regulators are used in horticulture for many years already; chemical reliance of industry is really overrated and so on.

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13 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tree-mendous! (Sorry)

This book could have been much more boring than watching grass grow. Instead it is delightful; the author's own deep love of all things arboreal convincing the reader/listener that the intimate details of (European ) forest life are far too precious to ignore. The organisation into 40-odd chapters suits the content admirably. I used Audible for this book. Beautifully read, I found myself listening to this amazing book for hours on end. Don't be put off by the seemingly boring (!) subject matter, just try it...

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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OUTSTANDING!

This is an exceptional work. The information is clear, the style natural and easy to understand, and the narration is warm and embracing. Such an outstanding read (listen). I highly recommend this exceptional piece of scientific research, and insight. It will change how you look at your garden, our forests and wildernesses, and how you look at timber and wood in general. This is the best first step to understanding nature, trees and what we (as humans) need to do to protect these life-giving, life-saving ecosystems. Trees are our history... they are our present - and we need them more than we could possibly imagine... and they are our future - no native forests, no natural old-growth forests, no natural native tree wildernesses by the millions-of-kilometers… no humans. An inspirational work. Outstanding!

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10 people found this helpful

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thanks for the insight

great to hear there is so much literature and science already about trees and their hidden network with mycelium and eachother

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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AMAZING book!!

An incredible book about trees, their life and communication with surroundings. Makes you feel as if you're in a fairytale :) Loooooved it!!!!

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8 people found this helpful

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  • Mad
  • 16-04-2019

Love love love

This book was so entertainingly educational
I recommend it to everyone
So many great insights to trees and stuff I didn’t know and honest to god my mind was blown by some of it

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5 people found this helpful

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