th e Power of Trees

Making cider has been at the heart of English and Welsh country life for hundreds of years It is a fascinating story The author traces an elusive history stretching back to the ancient civilisations of the Mediterranean and the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan He follows the trail of apples and cider making from Asia to the British Isles. He uncovers the up and downs of the industry. He meets farmers, cider experts and historians, he unearths surprising stories and anecdotes around cider and uncovers a rich history, culture and explains the science behind cider making

Crowden uncovers the ups and downs of the cider industry in recent years He clearly knows his stuff and has a passion to pass it on He worked for many years on a cider farm in Somerset as well

The book makes you see the value of a rich culture and want to preserve it It makes you want to go to “cider country“ and visit those hard-working cider makers and taste the huge variety of cider, instead of buying it in (plastic) bottles in supermarkets

James Crowden (2022): Cider

Country How an ancient Craft became a way of life Penguin Books London, £ 9 99

Peter Wohlleben

author of the international bestseller

The Hidden Life of Trees

unravel their secrets

On the island of Okinawa, out of 100 000 people, 24 are over the age of 100 – far more than anywhere else on this planet

The book contains lessons based on what these Japanese centenarians eat and drink, how they treat their work and life and how they found Ikigai.

We all have unique talents that can give meaning to our days. And if you don't know what your Ikigai is yet, your mission is to discover it!

Héctor Garcia & Francesc Miralles (2017): Ikigai Simple secrets to a long and happy life, Penguin Books London, £ 14 99

The Power of Trees is forester Peter Wohlleben’s follow-up to The Hidden Life of Trees, a Sunday Times bestseller that sold millions of copies worldwide In his latest book, he is dismissive of token gestures in terms of tree planting Just as he compared forest trees to ‘families’ and urban trees to ‘street urchins’ in his first book, in The Power of Trees he uses equally powerful metaphors to compare tree planting to battery farming ('Switching to fast-growing species and breeding trees for desired traits brought results like those achieved by factory farming: individuals ready for harvest at a young age, all with a relatively uniform carcass weight.'). However, he also joyfully describes trees determination to survive, describing seedlings breaking through the earth where you least expect them, as ‘stalwart tree children ’

This latest work is as fascinating and eye-opening as it is trenchant in its critique: on the one hand, Wohlleben describes astonishing discoveries about how trees pass knowledge down to succeeding generations and their ability to survive climate change; on the other, he is unsparing in his criticism of those who wield economic and political power who plant trees exclusively for the sake of logging and virtue signaling even as they ruthlessly exploit nature The Power of Trees is a love letter to the forest and a passionate argument for protecting nature’s boundless diversity, not only for the sake of trees, but also for us.

Priced £18 99 from Greystone Books

by Petra Jacob