The Forest Unseen was published on March 15th, 2012, by The Viking Press, an imprint of Penguin USA. The Penguin paperback edition was published on March 26th, 2013.
Finalist for 2013 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
Winner of the 2013 Reed Environmental Writing Award
Winner of the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature.
The book’s website has more information.
Thank you for your book. I read it once and I am re-reading it by the season again. I made some comments about the winter passages in our blog “The invisible Trees” (In Spanish, Los árboles Invisibles).
http://losarbolesinvisibles.com/el-bosque-que-no-se-ve-invierno/
Teo, Thank you! I’m very happy that you’ve enjoyed the book and I’m honored that you have written about it in your blog. I like your emphasis on integrating the various winter survival strategies of the forest creatures. I send my best wishes for springtime!
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Very honored!
Dear Dr. Haskell,
I’ve just finished reading The Forest Unseen. I have slowly savored your book over many weeks, reading one day’s entry, at most two, at one sitting. I have never read anyone who combined a meditative consciousness with a scientist’s mind so beautifully. You presented the theme of the interconnectedness of all things so delightfully in so many amazing forms: bird’s eggs, vultures, lichen, and the roothair-fungus relationship all come easily to mind as examples.
Long ago I learned to walk in the woods without a goal. I live in western North Carolina and for many years lived on a gravel road surrounded by national forests. I carved my own hiking trails to special places—a rock outcropping, a particular tree, a springhead flowing over a small rock cliff—and would walk to those places and then sit and observe.
Now I live in Asheville, in a mountain cove with a lawn that is mostly Prunella vulgaris. Four or five afternoons a week (I work at home) I spend time in a little patch of this lawn with my cat, sitting and observing the ants, spiders, and other creatures crawling over the vegetation. You’ve inspired me to see this suburban patch as my own mandala and look even close than before.
You’ve created a book that I know I will enjoy reading many times in my life. I already plan on having my husband read this aloud to me, so we can savor it together.
Btw, I wrote this before I read the other comments; it’s no coincidence that two of us use the word “savor.” I will also blog about your book to spread the word.
Katie, Thank you very much for this very kind note. I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed the book and delighted that you’ll be returning to its pages. I’m particularly honored that someone so attuned to contemplation of nature should find something of worth in the book. So: thank you for your generous words! Your garden mandala sounds fabulous. With my best wishes, David
I am happy to say I have remained inspired by your book: I have been looking closer at my backyard mandala. Just last week I noticed a ground-hugging plant with velvety leaves that were warm and soft to the touch while the other plants nearby had leaves that were smooth and cold. And I noticed the patch of melting snow wasn’t just a blob (what I always had seen before); when looked at closely it revealed textures that hinted at the hexagonal structure of the snow flakes that had fallen, with the glint of ice crystals in the sun at the edge. I’ve put a strap on my viewer so I remember to take it out with me every day. Thank you again!
This is fabulous! I’m very happy to hear that you’re seeing the world with new eyes. Happy New Year!
Hi! I have been reading your blog for quite some time. I moved to Sewanee about 3 years ago, but have never explored it. I recently came across the path to Lost Cove after seeing a sign for it behind the soccer fields on Ball Park Rd. However, I was unsure if I should really be exploring all of this without someone else that is more acquainted with the surroundings. So, my question: Is there a hiking group in Sewanee? I don’t really mind going back there with my fiance…it’s just I will mind if I encounter a mountain lion or anything along those lines. Do you think it is safe to hike back there with it being just the two of us? I am not really a naturist…I can tell very few trees apart, I treat all snakes as if they are poisonous because I can’t tell the poisonous ones from the non-poisonous…Anyways..I am rambling. I enjoy your blog very much! I have a lot of respect for environmentalists and people that do care for the land around them.
Meaghan, I’m very happy to hear you’ve enjoyed the blog!
About trails: I recommend stopping by the Sewanee Outing Program (http://www.sewanee.edu/sop/) in the Bishop’s Common to get a trail map from them (see also here for info on trails and a digital copy of the map: http://www.sewanee.edu/sop/perimetertrail.htm). There are lots of great trails. All these trails are, in my opinion, very safe. Mountain lions are extraordinarily unlikely here. I hike these trails alone and with company all the time. I know many others, men and women, who do the same. So, going out on the trails with your partner is a great idea.
A great trail that connects to the one that you found at Ball Park is the Caldwell Rim trail. This is a great loop.
There is no official hiking club that I know of, but the Outing Program does organize hikes. There is one on the Caldwell Rim loop this Saturday. I’ll post the email that they sent around below:
FROM THE OUTING PROGRAM:
Parents! Students! Brothers and Sisters!
Hike the
Caldwell Rim Trail! (2.4 mi. loop)
Leaders: Elizabeth Sega, C’ 15
Brita Brudvig, C’ 15
When: Sat. Oct 6th @ 9am
Where: Meet at the B.C. (to self-drive/carpool to trailhead)
Come with your kids! Come with your parents! Come without your kids!
In 2008, Sewanee acquired 3,000 acres in Lost Cove just south of central campus. Seeing as Sewanee students can be a little outdoor-curious we ask, “What is the point of a bunch of beautiful land with no trails?” Thus, the Caldwell Rim Trail was born and named in memory of Dr. Hugh Caldwell, beloved philosophy professor and legendary founder of the Sewanee Outing Club.
The 2.4 mile loop begins following Depot Branch stream, nearing the tip of Point Disappointment. Suddenly, the trail crosses several creeks, and approaches the bluff line overlooking Lost Cove in all its glory. After hiking along the bluff overlook, the closing stretch loops right and connects to a fire lane. This brings our hike to a casual Saturday morning stroll, a pace quick enough to return you in time for the game against Centre. If you’ve ever walked, this should be a breeze (level of difficulty similar to that of Piney Point and Beckwith’s Point trails).
Directions to Caldwell Rim Trail:
The trailhead is located at the end of Bob Stewman Road, a short bike ride from campus. From University Avenue, cross 41A in downtown Sewanee (past the Sewanee market) and take a left onto Lake O’Donnell road. The second right is Bob Stewman Rd. Follow Bob Stewman road until it dead ends, then take the unpaved road on the right to the new trailhead parking area.
Sign-Up Outside the SOP office or just show up.
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:) Thank you so much!!!
Like the above commenter – I also blogged about your book at our Town Mouse and Country Mouse blog here: http://tmousecmouse.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-forest-unseen-read-this-book.html. If I leave a comment on a Ramble post – WordPress forces me to link to my WordPress blog which is not yet active, and not the blog spot blog — so I just thought I’d mention the post here. I appreciate your presence in my life to be sure.
Thank you VERY much for this. I am very happy that the book has brought you pleasure. And I’m grateful to you for spreading the word! :)
I really enjoyed this book. It took me about two months to read which is mindbogglingly slow for me but I wanted to savor each chapter. It was a lot to think about. Thank you for your writing.
I have put up a review post about your book which has generated a comment which I do not feel qualified to answer. If you would like to see, here is the link: http://dorestorativeyoga.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-forest-unseen-years-watch-in-nature.html
Sara,
Thank you so much for these very kind words. I’m delighted that you enjoyed the book and grateful to you for spreading the word through your blog. Word of mouth is the best way of getting news about a new book into the world, so thank you!
The comment on the blog mostly does not address the points made in the book — it is a long list of defensive arguments about why we need forest management. What I argue is that we DO need management, ” thoughtful management for the long-term well-being of both humans and forests.” I state elsewhere in the book that wood products are part of the answer to living sustainably in the world. I also think that in some cases, plantation management is appropriate — but not everywhere and not over huge areas. In our region, huge areas of native forest have been wiped out to make room for plantations. This seems to me to be a little unbalanced. It was also, it turned out, bad business — most of the plantations got killed by beetles, so the landowners lost their investment in the plantations.
The main argument, though, is that we need to know and understand our forests before we can hope to “manage” them well. In my experience, that knowledge is being lost, at least in some parts of the land management world.
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