Oak – The Frame of Civilization - Hardcover

Logan, William Bryant

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393047733 ISBN 13: 9780393047738

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005

Synopsis

The oak tree is found throughout the temperate zones of the world; knowing how to use it has made an astonishing difference to human history. Acorn-eating has sustained humans and animals; oak has been central to religious rites, heating, homemaking and travel by land and sea; the ink from oak galls advanced the written word; oak casks have made possible food and drink storage and transport; oak ships have fought the dramatic naval battles that determined political and economic history. William Briant Logan combines science, philosophy, spirituality and history with a quirky curiosity about why the natural world works the way it does. In lively literary prose, he narrates the biography of the tree that since time immemorial has been a symbol of loyalty and strength, generosity and renewal.

About this title

Review:

"His underpinning achievement in this book is to make us appreciate just how central one family of trees has been to a whole spectrum of human activities and achievements... wise and excellent..." Mark Cocker, The Times Literary Supplement * "There is no talk of hugging trees in the extraordinary little book, Oak: The Frame of Civilization, but I feel sure that Logan is a tree-hugger." Stephen Anderton, Literary Review * "A dazzling book, full of knowledge and rare wisdom, too." Thomas Pakenham"

About the Author:

William Bryant Logan is a certified arborist and award-winning writer. He previously wrote a column for the New York Times and contributed to numerous gardening magazines.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0393047733
• ISBN 13: 9780393047738
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320