The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed
Books | Nature / Plants / Trees
3.9
John Vaillant
A tale of obsession so fierce that a man kills the thing he loves most: the only giant golden spruce on earth. When a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Northwest, they reignite a mystery surrounding a shocking act of protest. Five months earlier, logger-turned-activist Grant Hadwin had plunged naked into a river in British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands, towing a chainsaw. When his night's work was done, a unique Sitka spruce, 165 feet tall and covered with luminous golden needles, teetered on its stump. Two days later it fell. As vividly as John Krakauer puts readers on Everest, John Vaillant takes us into the heart of North America's last great forest.
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More Details:
Author
John Vaillant
Pages
288
Publisher
W. W. Norton & Company
Published Date
2006-05-17
ISBN
0393075575 9780393075571
Ratings
Google: 4.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"Excellently written narrative through the lens of an albino Sitka spruce tree (a phenomenon unto itself), the cultures that gave it meaning, the history of British Colombia, and an accurate retelling of the logging industry from its inception until now. Through the lens of a natural “freak”, we’re allowed to contemplate our complex relationship as humans in this world aside/against nature "
June Bug
"Wow, this book blew me away. It covers so many facets of this tree, history, indigenous culture, botany, logging culture and practices, heartless corporations, climate change and biodiversity to name a few. And it reads like a thriller. I recommend the audio book which is really well read."
John Woakes