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The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization
Maybe someday
42
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
16/100Critics
67/100Scholars
Author:
Roland Ennos
Publisher:
Scribner
Date:
December 1, 2020
An examination of the role that wood and trees have played in our global ecosystemâincluding human evolution and the rise and fall of empiresâin the bestselling tradition of Yuval Harari's Sapiens and Mark Kurlansky's Salt .
What The Reviewers Say
Ennos specializes in biomechanics and writes with an appreciative eye for wood’s physical qualities.
... a lively history of biology, mechanics and culture that stretches back 60 million years, from the evolution of small, tree-dwelling, bush babies, with which humans share a common ancestor. It ends in our more sobering modern times, as megafires, propelled by climate change, incinerate millions of hectares in Australia and the United States, and thousands of square kilometres of Brazilian rainforest are razed to make way for mining and cattle ranching..
Ennos shares his insatiable curiosity with us. He applies his sharp eye for details, and he does so entertainingly.
[Ennos] takes a fresh look at the familiar substance, wielding it like a wedge to pry open our past, examine our present and even glimpse our future.
