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The Trees That Shaped America
by Trent Preszler
A sweeping natural history of the most valuable trees on earth that have quietly transformed our economies, cultural traditions, and collective imagination for millennia.
Every December, homes, offices, and town squares around the world are adorned with lavishly decorated evergreens to ring in the holiday season. But how did this beloved tradition begin? And as the planet continues to warm and more people swap real trees for artificial ones, will Christmas trees still be here for future generations?
In Evergreen, Cornell University professor Trent Preszler takes us on a riveting journey through history, culture, and science, exploring America's story through the lives of its most resilient and cherished trees. From the annual hunt for the perfect Rockefeller Center spruce, back to the earliest days when Ancestral Puebloan builders crafted remarkable dwellings from pine beams, Evergreen reveals surprising connections between past and present that fueled America's rise to global prominence.
With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Preszler captures the enduring struggle between nature's grandeur and humanity's desire to control and consume it. At once expansive and intimate, Evergreen delivers a stirring reflection on what it means to live in a world where Christmas trees stand as silent witnesses to our restless ambition, challenging us to reconsider the delicate balance between commercial excess and our profound yearning for hope and immortality.
"Sparkling ... Preszler's well-researched and often poignant account is strewn with intriguing trivia. History and nature buffs alike will find much to enjoy." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Woodworking meets bridge-building, and sorrow meets understanding in this impeccably written, loving memoir." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Smashing and energizing ... In each illuminating chapter, Preszler shares how the appearance of the ubiquitous evergreen at key points in America's past has made it an indelible part of the nation's identity and an undeniable symbol of holiday joy. This title is a must-read for book discussion groups and would make an outstanding addition to any general history collection." ―Booklist
"An expansive and unflinching tale about the vastness of America, its ambitions, and its contradictions—all told through the beauty and complexity of our greatest American resource: the mighty evergreens. Beautifully written and deeply researched, this book is filled with surprises, secrets, and unvarnished truths." ―Kevin O'Connor, host of This Old House
"A revelatory, confronting, and skillfully crafted natural history. At once a tribute to the wonder of trees, and a timely reminder of our urgent environmental responsibilities. Eloquent, elemental, and eye opening." ―Callum Robinson, author of Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman
This information about Evergreen was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Trent Preszler is a professor of practice in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and serves as director of the Henry David Thoreau Foundation's Planetary Solutions Initiative. After growing up on a cattle ranch in South Dakota and attending a one-room schoolhouse on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, his first job out of college was a White House internship for President Bill Clinton. Preszler received a BS from Iowa State University and an MS and a PhD from Cornell University. A former winemaker and wooden boatbuilder, his life was profiled in a documentary that won a New York Emmy Award in 2018.
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