HOW TO READ A TREE: Clues & Patterns from Roots to Leaves Tristan Gooley Sceptre Hardback (13/4/23) ISBN 9781529339598 Tristan Gooley’s latest book ‘How to Read a Tree’ continues the themes of his previous publications ‘The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs’ and ‘How to Read Water’, but with a focus on everything a…

From Living Woods Issue 40 A Home in the Wilderness. Review by Alan Rance. Thirty Years in Wilderness Wood Chris Yarrow Matador Press My wife Janet and I discovered Wilderness Wood at Hadlow Down in Sussex when we were touring the area in 2003. What an inspiring enterprise! I collected a programme and pricelist of…

From Living Woods Issue 47 Judith Millidge settles down to read The Wood: The Life and Times of Cockshutt Wood THE WOOD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF COCKSHUTT WOOD John Lewis-Stempel Doubleday Published 8 March 2018 304 pages hardback   Twice winner of the Wainwright Prize, the writer John Lewis-Stempel is a farmer in Herefordshire…

From Living Woods Issue 48 MAKING CHARCOAL AND BIOCHAR A Comprehensive Guide Rebecca Oaks Crowood Press, 2018     An expert in coppice crafts, Rebecca Oaks demonstrates a wide range of possibilities for making charcoal both on a small scale and for commercial production. This is a really comprehensive and well-illustrated guide aimed at the…

From Living Woods Issue 48 A simple walk in the woods can yield untold benefits. Matt Larsen-Daw dips his toe into the Japanese art (and studies the science behind) shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing. SHINRIN-YOKU THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FOREST BATHING Dr Qing Li Penguin Life, 2018 Dr Qing Li states in his introduction to…

From Living Woods Issue 49 SCOTT BATTY sits back and enjoys Woodcraft: A practical celebration of the tree. Re-issued as Woodcraft: A Guide to Using Trees for Woodcraft and Bushcraft. WOODCRAFT John Rhyder The History Press ISBN: 978-0750998185 It’s fair to say that I have been looking forward to the release of this book for…

From Living Woods Issue 49 CORINNE MOSS, Teaching Trees Officer at the Royal Forestry Society, reviews Forest School Adventure. FOREST SCHOOL ADVENTURE Naomi Walmsley and Dan Westall GMC Publications Inspired by their extensive experience of delivering bushcraft sessions and of living for five months in the wild with no modern resources, authors Naomi and Dan…

From Living Woods Issue 49 Keen camper, former Brownie and firm believer in the power of matches, DONNA CAMERON reviews The Art of Fire. THE ART OF FIRE Daniel Hume Arrow Books Paperback £9.99 ISBN: 978-1784758424 Daniel Hume’s book is a joy to look at with a stylish design. It’s a pick-up-and-browse kind of book…

From Living Woods Issue 49 Woodworker MAURICE PYLE reviews a Scandinavian classic, recently translated into English, Slöjd in Wood. SLÖJD IN WOOD Jögge Sundqvist Lost Art Press Even on a superficial level, there is nothing to dislike about this book, which is full of vibrant colour photographs, unique instructional hand-drawn black and white line drawings…

From Living Woods Issue 50 GOD’S TREES Trees, Forests and Wood in the Bible Julian Evans Patula Press 198 pages ISBN 978-1-84625-410-9   The second edition of Julian Evans’ absorbing book is slightly revised and updated with extra material. This is the first authoritative book to focus on arboreal imagery in the Bible, how it…

From Living Woods Issue 50 Woodland worker and no mean craftsman himself, RICHARD HARE casts an admiring eye over Ben Law’s new book on green woodworking. WOODLAND WORKSHOP Tools and Devices for Woodland Craft Ben Law GMC Publications 208 pages ISBN 978-1784943431   Ben Law’s latest offering is a nicely presented and personal account of…

From Living Woods Issue 50 AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 TREES Jonathan Drori Laurence King Publishing 240 pages 80 illustrations ISBN 978-1-78627-161-7 In this thoroughly engaging book – beautifully illustrated with pen-and-ink illustrations by French artist Lucille Clerc – Jonathan Drori makes a selection of 80 of the world’s 60,000 tree species, starting in the…