Publisher's Synopsis
Drawing on the most recent work of historians, ecologist geographers, botanists, and forestry professionals, Charles Watkins reveals how established ideas about trees-such as the spread of continuous dense forests across the whole of Europe after the Ice Age-have been questioned and even overturned by archaeological and historical research. He shows how concern over woodland loss in Europe is not well founded-especially while tropical forests elsewhere continue to be cleared-and he unpicks the variety of values and meanings different societies have ascribed to the arboreal. Altogether, he provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of humankind's interaction with this abused but valuable resource.