Humans and Trees

How closely are we related? A new collection of original nonfiction edited by Josh MacIvor-Andersen of Marquette, Michigan, presents a variety of perspectives answering the question, but the answers are only the beginning. As the editor writes in his foreword,

Although trees show up in each essay, they are often merely the portals for deeper human dramas, the shadowy branches framing tales of love and life, death and discovery, longing, and learning.

Now, in Michigan summer, our trees are green with leaves, their shade welcome on sunny days. Now is the time to take half an hour in a hammock or chaise longue to lose yourself in beautiful writing from our beautiful sister peninsula to the north.

Rooted: The Best New Arboreal Nonfiction

Introduction by Bill McKibben

Edited by Josh MacIvor-Andersen

San Francisco: Outpost19, paper, 290pp

$16