Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape

Today, four-fifths of Americans live in or near urban areas, surrounded by millions of trees of hundreds of different species. An authoritative account.” —Gerard Helferich, The Wall Street Journal “We all know that trees can make streets look prettier. “Far-ranging and deeply researched, Urban Forests reveals the beauty and significance of the trees around us.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction“Jonnes extols the many contributions that trees make to city life and celebrates the men and women who stood up for America’s city trees over the past two centuries. But in her new book Urban Forests, Jill Jonnes explains how they make them safer as well.” —Sara Begley, Time Magazine A celebration of urban trees and the Americans—presidents, plant explorers, visionaries, citizen activists, scientists, nurserymen, and tree nerds—whose arboreal passions have shaped and ornamented the nation’s cities, from Jefferson&rs

Scientific without being tedious and political only in the sense of our responsibility to and respect for nature (or lack thereof), the narrative is sure to fascinate nature lovers and natural scientists alike. A lovingly written book that should appeal to most city dwellers and all tree lovers.”—Kirkus Reviews   “Far-ranging and deeply researched, Urban Forests reveals the beauty and significance of the trees around us.”—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. Jonnes dives deeply into trees and their roles in American cities through various eras of history. Jonnes offers an authoritative and admirably nontechnical account of the past, present and future of our cities’ trees.”—Gerard Helferich, The Wall Street Journal   “America’s cities are full of trees but de

Couldn't put it down! JAS This is a well-written and informative book. I enjoyed learning how the urban forest was transformed throughout history; the author brings up key players numerous times to tell the story of trees in American cities. I'm a forester and love trees, so buying this book was a bit of a no-brainer for me, but my studies and experience have focused on America's larger wooded tracts, not their urban counterparts. It was refreshing to read about this history of trees in a totally different environment from the one I'm familiar with - and one I hope to continue exploring through books like this.. "History of trees" according to Deborah Vogg. A very in depth history of how trees have been important in different times. And how Arber day came about. But mostly why we real need them.. Five Stars Absolutely fascinating book. A slow read because there is so.much information to absorb.Definitely worth the purchase .

Jill Jonnes is the author of Urban Forests, Eiffel’s Tower, Conquering Gotham, Empires of Light, and South Bronx Rising. She was named a National Endowment for the Humanities scholar and has received several grants from the Ford Foundation.From the Hardcover edition.