Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree: Getting to know trees through the language of scent

Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree is a book that explores the evocative scents of trees and encourages readers to connect with them through the sense most aligned to their emotions and memories. It includes thirteen essays that explore the scents of trees, from the smell of a book just printed to the ingredients of a good gin & tonic, and everyday practices such as taking a tree inventory and breathing in the scents of different trees.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 28 October 2021
Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group

Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree is a captivating book that appeals to literary connoisseurs, fact-lovers, and environmentalists alike. In essence, it is a book about trees and people, for everyone. This remarkable work has been praised by BBC Countryfile, Sir Peter Crane, FRS, and Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment.

Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree is an olfactory journey through the forest that leaves the reader's sense tingling. Each chapter introduces a new aroma, such as leaf litter and woodsmoke, pine resin and tannin, quinine and bay leaf. Author David George Haskell is a knowledgeable, witty, and erudite companion who leads the reader through the world, reminding them to breathe in all its glorious complexity. This book is a breath of fresh air.

The book takes the reader on a journey to connect with trees through the sense most aligned to their emotions and memories. Thirteen essays are included that explore the evocative scents of trees, from the smell of a book just printed as you first open its pages to the calming scent of Linden blossom to the ingredients of a particularly good gin and tonic.

In one essay, the author describes holding a highball glass, beaded with cool moisture, and taking a sip. In their nose, they experience the aromatic embodiment of globalized trade, with the spikey, herbal odor of European juniper berries. A tang of lime juice from a tree descended from wild progenitors in the foothills of the Himalayas is also present. Bitter quinine, from the bark of the South American cinchona tree, is spritzed into their nostrils by the pop of sparkling tonic water.

As they take a sip, the reader feels the aroma and tastes three continents converge. Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree is a delightful and informative book that will appeal to anyone who loves trees, nature, and the sensory experience.

Weight: 216g
Dimension: 120 x 187 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781856754880