The Treeline by Ben Rawlence

The Treeline

by Ben Rawlence

A ground-breaking and beautifully written investigation into the Arctic Treeline with an urgent environmental message.

'Evocative, wise and unflinching' Jay Griffiths, author of Wild

The Arctic treeline is the frontline of climate change, where the trees have been creeping towards the pole for fifty years already.

Scientists are only just beginning to understand the astonishing significance of these northern forests for all life on Earth. At the treeline, Rawlence witnesses the accelerating impact of climate change and the devastating legacies of colonialism and capitalism. But he also finds reasons for hope. Humans are creatures of the forest; we have always evolved with trees and The Treeline asks us where our co-evolution might take us next.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE

'A moving, thoughtful, deeply reported elegy for our vanishing world and a map of the one to come' Nathaniel Rich, author of Losing Earth

'A lyrical and passionate book... The Treeline is a sobering, powerful account of how trees might just save the world, as long as we are sensible enough to let them' Mail on Sunday

'Ben Rawlence circumnavigates the very top of the globe - returning with a warning, in this enthralling and wonderfully written book' Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees

Reviewed by Jeff Sexton on

3 of 5 stars

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Lyrical Anthropological Examination That Needs Better Scientific Documentation. When Rawlence is describing the people and peoples he is traveling to and among, he has such a lyrical quality to his prose here that it really is quite beautiful - these are the best parts of this book. However, Rawlence is also quite the pessimist about human action and survival, going on at one point to proclaim that Earth would be better off without humanity. While this is not an unheard of proposition, fantastical claims like that require substantial documentation - and documentation is what this text sorely lacks, clocking in at barely 10% of the overall text (25-30% being more "normal", and I've read books making far less fantastical claims clocking in north of 40% documentation). Ultimately, your opinion of the book is likely going to depend on whether you agree with Rawlence's politics and philosophies, though, again, the writing when he is *not* speaking to these really is quite beautiful. Still, even in what he does present and even with the lack of documentation, this is a book that needs to be read by most anyone speaking to any level of climate science, as he does bring up some truly valid points here and there. Recommended.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 February, 2022: Finished reading
  • 13 February, 2022: Reviewed