Customer Reviews

Champion Trees of Washington State

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I love trees. I enjoy the company of trees, and many of them are old friends that I see on my daily walk. Reading Champion Trees gives me an appreciation for what my tame neighborhood specimen could become. I like to imagine that the 90-foot hemlock just south of our house could one day grow to over 300 feet tall, changing local weather patterns and causing small aircraft to adjust their flight plans.

At the same time, because I do love trees, I really wish people would leave them alone. This collection of record setters is an adequate sampling, and we don't really need to know if there is a tree a couple of feet taller. The book encourages the reader to measure trees and submit a report of possible new champions. I don't think the information would be worth the impact of more attention. Van Pelt even tells of trees that have suffered and died because of the increased attention and traffic generated by their champion status. This book is an excellent and sufficient record of majestic trees--now let's call it good and leave the trees alone. I sincerely hope there is never a revised edition of this book.

A must for anyone who likes trees. I know the author and this is his fourth book on this subject. The pictures are good and informative. The text makes the subject very approachable to anyone who likes trees. It describes how anyone can measure and submit giant trees to various national and local registries. Very interesting!