The Heartbeat of Trees

Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature

By: Peter Wohlleben

Narrated by: Mike Grady

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the author of the New York Times best seller The Hidden Life of Trees

A powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground. Where the color green calms us, and the forest sharpens our senses.

In The Heartbeat of Trees, renowned forester Peter Wohlleben draws on new scientific discoveries to show how humans are deeply connected to the natural world. In an era of climate change, many of us fear we’ve lost our connection to nature - but Peter Wohlleben is convinced that age-old ties linking humans to the forest remain alive and intact. We just have to know where to look.

Drawing on science and cutting-edge research, The Heartbeat of Trees reveals the profound interactions humans can have with nature, exploring:

• The language of the forest
• The consciousness of plants
• And the eroding boundary between flora and fauna. 

A perfect book to take with you into the woods, The Heartbeat of Trees shares how to see, feel, smell, hear, and even taste the forest.

Peter Wohlleben, renowned for his ability to write about trees in an engaging and moving way, reveals a wondrous cosmos where humans are a part of nature, and where conservation and environmental activism is not just about saving trees - it’s about saving ourselves, too. 

Praise for The Heartbeat of Trees

“As human beings, we’re desperate to feel that we’re not alone in the universe. And yet we are surrounded by an ongoing conversation that we can sense if, as Peter Wohlleben so movingly prescribes, we listen to the heartbeat of all life.” (Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling and Last Child in the Woods)

“Astonishment after astonishment - that is the great gift of The Heartbeat of Trees. It is both a celebration of the wonders of trees, and a howl of outrage at how recklessly we profane them.” (Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Earth’s Wild Music)

“As Peter Wohlleben reminds us in The Heartbeat of Trees, trees are the vocabulary of nature as forests are the brainbank of a living planet. This was the codex of the ancient world, and it must be the fine focus of our future.” (Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger, author of To Speak for the Trees and The Global Forest) 

“Peter Wohlleben knows the battle that lies before us: forging a closer relationship with nature before we destroy it. In The Heartbeat of Trees he takes us deep into the global forest to show us how.” (Jim Robbins, author of The Man Who Planted Trees)

©2021 Peter Wohlleben (P)2021 Greystone Books

Critic Reviews

An Amazon Editors' Pick: Best Nonfiction! 

“It’s hard to dispute the book’s overall message; namely, that time spent in nature can serve as both a balm for anxiety and a bulwark against despair.” (Globe and Mail) 

“Wohlleben confronts [climate change] directly. He is trenchant in his critique of tree plantations and wood-pellet-power plants, which claim to help the climate but, he argues, end up destabilizing it further.” (The New Yorker) 

“A simultaneously stimulating and soothing blend of nature writing and science.” (The Guardian) 

More the Heartbeat of the author

Disappointing! I thought it would offer some real depth about various kinds of trees or things they have in common. More like stuff the author has wanted to get off his chest about this and that. He begins with a long argument about people having more acute senses than we give our selves credit for. Waited & waited, expecting he’d tie that to something important about trees. Nope. Various other topics came up; trees not so very much, at least not before I quit. I nominate this book for an award like, “Most misleading book title” of the year. Q

Nurture the Heart

Heartbreaking the horrific destruction that far too many of us have inflicted upon the very nature from which we spring and upon which our survival depends. Peter provides a fascinating and compelling case for ever deeper love of trees - with special attention toward protecting old growth and allowing the space and grace for true forests and fully intact ecosystems - to once again thrive .

Excellent

Great info on trees and how they feel and grow around the world et cet

Love it!

The Hidden Life of Trees is probably my favorite naturalist book. This one, by the same author, is also excellent. This book focuses more on nature’s effect on humans. Highly recommended!

Such Enlightening Information

Mr. Wohlleben is doing the entire planet a tremendous service by showing us that there is an entirely different way that we, as humans, can be and should be experiencing life with our fellow earth mates, the plants. I believe the information shared in this book will, in time, become as mind blowing and ground breaking as Einstein's theory of relativity. There's no reason to believe we're the only type of sentient life on this planet. Fantastic book!

on the team!

loved it. hope many more books come out like this. thanks for translating it to English. Go team!!

Beauty in every word

This book was so beautiful written and read. It gave me chills, made me smile, and offered hope.

Love this book.

If you are human, read this book. You will love it. So much information and so many intriguing speculations.

A delightful and cozy time

A gentle old man helps you to love the forest. The narrator is incredibly soothing.

Trees - there is a wondrous journey to take

Thoughtfully written. The narrator fits perfectly. The journey and learning that comes with it are priceless. Highly recommend to adults, teens and children. The generations to come might do better than the currents one.