The Olive Tree

• This book tells the story of humankind through the olive tree and its fruit
• An adventure through 26 countries
• Over 200 spectacular photographs taken by Eduardo Mencos, accompanied by an erudite text written by Charles Quest-Ritson
• It covers the origin and later domestication of the tree, all of the different roles it has played and the significance it has had at different times throughout history

Fifteen years ago, Eduardo Mencos (farmer, landscape designer and photographer) and Charles Quest-Ritson (historian, writer, journalist and editor) conceived the idea of going on a trip around the world, like Jules Verne, but with the olive tree playing the leading role. The outcome of that adventure through 26 countries is this book, which tells the story of humankind through the olive tree and its fruit. In the book, the authors take an in-depth look at a tree that is so familiar to us all and yet still remains so much of a mystery in terms of its many different guises.

With over 200 spectacular photographs taken by Eduardo Mencos, accompanied by an erudite text written by Charles Quest-Ritson, the book sweeps through the manifold manifestations of the olive tree and its distinguishing traits. It covers the origin and later domestication of the tree, all of the different roles it has played and the significance it has had at different times throughout history, its importance in the Bible, right through to the most innovative contemporary methods used today for growing and cloning olive trees, together with the prominent place it holds in the Mediterranean diet and its different uses.

The intention of this long journey is to awaken a vision of the olive tree that is imbued with beauty, poetry and curiosity.

Eduardo Mencos is a professional photographer. His photographic work has appeared in many Spanish and international publications and he is the author of several books: Mi Sevilla, Indianos La Gran Aventura, Hidden Gardens of Spain, and Royal Gardens of Spain. His most recent book is Spain in Light and Shadow, a display of the most spectacular and unique landscapes to be found in Spain. “I want to show what the land has shown me, seeing it as a king of canvas, redolent of the past and the people who haved lived there. Landscapes, like the human face, can record the effects of time.” Eduardo Mencos thinks of a garden as a work of art in which the plants and the architectural components combine to form an integrated whole. Water is given an important role in his designs and he incorporates decorative elements-sculptures, fountains and other ornamental features- and state of the art materials stainless steel, fibre glass to accentuate and emphasize the surrounding countryside. With his background in cinema and photography, his innovative spaces are distinguished both by their narrative. Monochromatic flower beds and the use of native plants is one of the main characteristics of his designs. This designer considers the Spanish countryside to be this great “maestro” and source of inspiration.
Charles Quest-Ritson is a writer, historian and journalist, with a column in the lifestyle magazine Country Life. He is the author of Climbing Roses of the World (Timber Press, 2003) and, jointly with his wife Brigid, of an Encyclopedia of Roses that was first published in UK by Dorling Kindersley in 2003 and has since been translated into seven languages, including American English. Charles Quest-Ritson is an author and translator but perhaps best known among rosarians for the Encyclopedia of Roses that he wrote with his wife Brigid and was first published in 2003 and translated into six languages.The RHS Encyclopaedia of Roses (2003) in Italian translation, won the literary Grinzane Cavour Prize (2006). He also wrote Climbing Roses of the World (2003) which is the most comprehensive treatment of the subject to date. He was for some years a director of the Royal National Rose Society but resigned in 2000. He also chaired the Historic Roses Group in UK and was a member of the RNRS's Trials Committee for 12 years.