The library amasses further numbers with the below six books, which arrived during this month. All, quite obviously, pertain to trees and the landscape, and of notable interest will be the new tree statics book that was recently translated into English from German and published. Expect a detailed review of this book in the coming few days (currently around half way through reading it).
As always, links to where you can buy the books are given at the end of this post. Note that those ordered from Oxbow were acquired for a good third of their suggested retail value, as they were doing a clearance sale. Quite honestly, for anyone who likes anything to do with landscape history and ecology, bookmarking this particular publisher and distributor will yield some awesome results. For tree lovers, the imprint Windgather Press is probably one to keep a tabs on, as many of the books published involve trees.
To the left, we have a very interesting book on the mapping of Norfolk by William Faden and how the landscape has changed from then through to now. Tom Williamson, one of the authors, is a prominent authority on landscape history and thus the book does delve into the rural landscape of Norfolk and, to a degree, arboreal heritage. I picked it up for £10 (down from £30), and as of the time of this blog post it is still on sale and can be purchased here.
Along the top row working from the left, we first have the new book on tree statics and visual assessment, which, as I mentioned, will feature as a detailed review in a coming blog post. It’s certainly an expensive book so it is one to research before purchasing. By all means, await my review before deciding. This book I acquired for £115 from Summerfield Books at this link.
Adjacent is what looks to be a truly captivating book on the Cedar of Lebanon and its prominence in human history. From my readings on this tree in the culture and religion of many historic peoples, this will be next on my list of reading material and will undoubtedly be rich in information that helps build my view of the tree further. As a very recently publication, it can be purchased via Archaeopress for £36 here. Please, consider trawling their book store as there are some other very great books they sell that involve trees and the natural landscape.
The lower duo are books on the historic gardens of Derbysire (left) and hedgerows across Britain (right). Following on from the information provided in Mark Johnston’s Trees in Towns and Cities: A History of British Urban Arboriculture, I have been keen to learn more about pleasure gardens and earlier arboretums / plant collections, so this book specific to Derbyshire will hopefully supplement my learning on this front and can be bought here from Oxbow Books. As for the latter, the detailed exploration of hedgerow characteristics and distribution throughout Britain is somthing that, would you have guessed, I also find intriguing. Indeed, hedgerows have historically – and still are – being gutted, for a variety of reasons, which means understanding what makes them unique (even down to a specific region) and crucial ecological and cultural features very necessary. This book is currently reduced from £25 to £10 on Oxbow Books and can be purchased here. The book is clad with images and can easily be read entirely in a day.
The last book, which is all the way to the right, further expands upon my desire to learn more about botanic gardens. Instead of Derbyshire however, this book takes the reader to Manchester – specifically, the Manchester Botanic Garden. At £5, though reduced from £25, its acquisition was a no-brainer and, from scanning the book, it appears an utter steal. Again, this was purchased via Oxbow Books via this link.
Keep an eye out for my review of the tree statics book. Hopefully, if all goes to plan, it’ll be online before the close of the bank holiday.
Arboriculture 