Meetings With Remarkable Trees (Cassell Illustrated Classics) [Paperback]

Thomas Pakenham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 2001 | Series: Cassell Illustrated Classics

With this astonishing collection of tree portraits, Thomas Pakenham produced a new kind of tree book. The arrangement owed little to conventional botany. The sixty trees were grouped according to their own strong personalities: Natives, Travellers, Shrines, Fantasies and Survivors. From the ancient native trees, many of which are huge and immeasurably old, to the exotic newcomers from Europe, the East and North America, Meetings with Remarkable Trees captures the history and beauty of these entrancing living structures. Common to all these trees is their power to inspire awe and wonder. Meetings with Remarkable Trees was a lovingly researched book, beautifully illustrated with colour photographs, engravings and maps - a moving testimonial to the Earth s largest and oldest living structures.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Thomas Pakenham, a distinguished historian of Africa, takes a new tack by writing an old-fashioned kind of book: a catalog of trees of the British Isles. The last such book was published in 1826. In Meetings with Remarkable Trees Pakenham assembles a beautifully photographed gallery of 60-odd trees of Scotland, England, and Ireland, and magnificent trees they are. One is a 600-year-old king oak that looms large over Charleville, Ireland; another is the yew tree that Wordsworth called the "pride of Lorton's vale"; still another is a sequoia brought from the United States and planted in a Herefordshire grove in 1851, where it has since flourished. Pakenham helpfully includes a map showing the locations of his scattered dramatis personae; you could make a fine tour retracing his steps and having a look for yourself. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'For sheer impact nothing has equalled Thomas Pakenham's photographs, fierce and ethereal' Simon Jenkins, Book of the Year, Sunday Times 'a marvellous collection of photographs... an eminently readable, intelligent book.' Independent 'a book of translucent beauty...' Sunday Times 'entrancing... utterly beguiling...' Mail on Sunday

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cassell (October 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841880868
• ISBN-13: 978-1841880860
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,101,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Photographs, stories and more!, December 1, 1999

By 

Bill Gould - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meetings with Remarkable Trees (Hardcover)

Thomas Pakenham has presented us with a wonderfully photographed essay into the lives of living legends. This book is a superb blend of poetry, philosophy and photography of living giants of the Earth. From native trees of Britain to New World immigrants, he has captured the essence of trees as giants. Part dendrology and part philosophy, no home library should be without this magnificent work. Ancient trees are inspirational in nature and this book presents a photographic essay that will inspire all who read it. A must have for the library of any tree enthusiast!

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Green People You'll Be Pleased To Meet, June 15, 2002

By 

Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meetings with Remarkable Trees (Paperback)

This quality book contains large photographs and interesting historical text concerning sixty eccentric, distinctive and unforgettably beautiful huge old trees. You might think that a book about trees would be dull. Some of us do take trees for granted but this book will not fail to impress you and cause you to re-examine the individual beauty that each tree exhibits. Imagine the ancient yew tree beneath whose branches legend says conspirators plotted the murder of Mary, Queen of Scots' 2nd husband,the Earl of Darnley. You have to crawl under its drooping gnarled branches like you are entering an igloo. The dome they create is 60 feet high and 400 feet in circumference. The photograph is taken from inside this arboreal dome and we are treated to the light peeking through the ancient branches. We feel we are in a magical place indeed. As one who is growing a baby Yew so small that I can easily step over her while watering the garden, this enormous old Yew inspires and amazes me. It is only one of SIXTY similar treasures of Nature this book shares. Take the tour!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful images of Great Britain's beautiful trees, January 31, 2003

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Meetings with Remarkable Trees (Paperback)

This book was everything I'd hoped for -- and less and more! I'd hoped for a book full of beautiful photographs of large old trees, and it is that, indeed. It is also a bit less than I'd hoped, being trees only of the United Kingdom, and I would dearly love to have this author give a similar treatment to the gentle giants inhabiting other parts of the world.

It is also much more than I'd expected, being filled with enchanting stories of the 60 (groups of) trees Pakenham has chosen to introduce. Each tree (group) is beautifully photographed, often with people nearby so you can get a sense of their immensity, and the images are accompanied by a few pages of text filled with delightful anecdotes and histories.

Making the book even more valuable for travellers is a gazetteer with a map of the UK showing each tree's location as well as information regarding its common name, scientific name, full measurements and accessibilty to the public. Unfortunately none of the sixty are located in Wales, but there are 8 in Ireland, 10 in Scotland and 42 in England, including 10 in the London area. The book is interspersed with olde line drawings, and the book concludes with a bibliography, credits for the illustrations and a good index.

If you love trees or travel to Great Britain, you will want to meet this remarkable book. Highest recommendation.