[MAIPC] review of The Hidden Life of Trees

[Jil Swearingen]

Stephen,

I appreciate you bringing this to my/our attention and for taking quick
action to provide a counter-point review. It is so unfortunate and
unhelpful that people like Wohlleben, who lack a real understanding of the
invasive species issue, spend time confusing things and Disney-fying the
issue based on non-scientific personal beliefs and fantasies. These
invasive species deniers need to be called out and challenged, just like
climate change deniers.

I have not read the book and won't buy it. I'll see if I can get a copy at
our library.

Thanks again,

Jil

.......................
Jil Swearingen
Invasive Species Consultant
*In the Weeds*
410-200-7085




On Fri, Feb 8, 2019 at 10:05 AM Kirsten Johnson <kirsten2622 at comcast.net>
wrote:

>
> I agree with Stephen. I was very disappointed in this book, which has
> received a lot of acclaim, but unfortunately (as far as I can tell) not
> much knowledgeable criticism.
>
> Kirsten
>
> On Feb 8, 2019, at 9:31 AM, Muth, Norris (MUTH) <MUTH at juniata.edu> wrote:
>
> Thank you Stephen for an excellent review of a rather unfortunate work of
> fiction posing as fact. I don’t say lightly that I think this book, which
> has the appearance of being favorable to environmental protection, actually
> threatens support for environmental protection in the long run. Regardless
> of its intent, it would have us replace the hard–earned scientific
> rationales which form the often rough and impersonal foundation of the
> modern environmental movement with elegant pillars of spun sugar.
>
> Norris
> —
> *Norris Z. Muth, Ph.D. *
> Associate Professor, Biology
> Office: 814-641-3632 | 1054 VLB
> Juniata College
> 1700 Moore Street
> Huntingdon, PA 16652
>
> muthlab.org | NativePlantAdvocate.org <http://nativeplantadvocate.org/>
>
>
> From: Stephen Hiltner <stevehiltner at gmail.com>
> Date: Friday, February 8, 2019 at 7:28 AM
> To: MAIPC Listserve <maipc at lists.maipc.org>, "INVASIVES at LISTSERV.UMD.EDU"
> <INVASIVES at listserv.umd.edu>
> Subject: [MAIPC] review of The Hidden Life of Trees
>
> Like the books that deny the problem of invasive species, The Hidden Life
> of Trees is written by a non-scientist and was reviewed most prominently in
> the mainstream media by non-scientists. It was a best seller first in
> Germany, then in the US. I first heard about it while serving on an
> advisory committee for local sustainability, where a member of our shade
> tree commission started talking about mama trees and baby trees. Then a
> friend gave me a copy, and I started digging into it a bit. It's amazing
> how a book that's such a mix of information and misinformation can garner
> such positive reviews.
>
> I decided to write my own review that details some of the problematic
> aspects, including a mishmash chapter on invasive species:
>
> https://newscompanion.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-hidden-life-of-trees-review.html
>
> It would be interesting to hear others' views of the book, and encounters
> with people who had read it.
>
> Steve
> PrincetonNatureNotes.org <http://princetonnaturenotes.org/>
>
>
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