Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Rings

Description

Children around the world know that to tell how old a tree is, you count its rings. Few people, however, know that research into tree rings has also made amazing contributions to our understanding of Earth's climate history and its influences on human civilization over the past 2,000 years. In her captivating new book, Tree Story, Valerie Trouet reveals how the seemingly simple and relatively familiar concept of counting tree rings has inspired far-reaching scientific breakthroughs that illuminate the complex interactions between nature and people. Trouet, a leading tree-ring scientist, takes us out into the field, from remote African villages to radioactive Russian forests, offering readers an insider's look at tree-ring research, a discipline formally known as dendrochronology. Tracing her own professional journey while exploring dendrochronology's history and applications, Trouet describes the basics of how tell-tale tree cores are collected and dated with ring-by-ring precision, explaining the unexpected and momentous insights we've gained from the resulting samples. Blending popular science, travelogue, and cultural history, Tree Story highlights exciting findings of tree-ring research, including the fate of lost pirate treasure, successful strategies for surviving California wildfire, the secret to Genghis Khan's victories, the connection between Egyptian pharaohs and volcanoes, and even the role of olives in the fall of Rome. These fascinating tales are deftly woven together to show us how dendrochronology sheds light on global climate dynamics and uncovers the clear links between humans and our leafy neighbors. Trouet delights us with her dedication to the tangible appeal of studying trees, a discipline that has taken her to austere and beautiful landscapes around the globe and has enabled scientists to solve long-pondered mysteries of Earth and its human inhabitants. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Epigraph Contents Prologue One. Trees in the Desert Two. I Count the Rings Down in Africa Three. Adonis, Methusaleh, and Prometheus Four. And the Tree Was Happy Five. The Stone Age, the Plague, and Shipwrecks under the City Six. The Hockey Stick Poster Child Seven. Wind of Change Eight. Winter Is Coming Nine. Three Tree-Ring Scientists Walk into a Bar Ten. Ghosts, Orphans, and Extraterrestrials Eleven. Disintegration, or The Fall of Rome Twelve. It’s the End of the World as We Know It Thirteen. Once upon a Time in the West Fourteen. Will the Wind Ever Remember Fifteen. After the Gold Rush Sixteen. The Forest for the Trees Playlist List of Tree Species Recommended Reading Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgments Index