Trees, nature’s largest and longest-lived creations, play an
extraordinarily important role in our cityscapes.
They are living landmarks that define space, cool the air,
soothe our psyches, and connect us to nature and our past.
Today, four out of five Americans live in or near cities,
surrounded by millions of trees that make up urban forests containing hundreds
of species.
Despite the ubiquity and familiarity of those trees, most of us
take them for granted and know little of their specific natural history or
civic virtues.
Perfectly timed to the season of fall foliage “Urban Forests: A Natural History Of Trees And People In The American Cityscape”
(Viking; Sept. 27, $30.00) by Jill Jonnes is a wide-ranging
history of the tree in American cities over the course of the past two
centuries.
Jonnes’ survey ranges from early sponsors for the Urban Tree
Movement, to the fascinating stories of particular species—including Washington
DC’s famed cherry trees, and the American chestnut and elm, and the diseases
that almost destroyed them—to the institution of Arbor Day, to the most recent
generation of tree evangelists who are identifying the best species to populate
our cities’ leafy canopies.
The book also examines the character of American urban forests
and the effect that tree-rich landscaping might have on commerce, crime, and
human well-being.
For more information, please visit: www.jilljonnes.com.
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