This is a tree book unlike any other. While trees have long been
celebrated, their widespread admiration usually produces those
field guides we all know, describing habitat, form, leaf and bark,
meant to be carried with us as we wander the fields and woods, or,
more rarely, those handsome books dedicated to arboreal beauty and
character, such as those of Thomas Pakenham filled with fine
photographs of extraordinary specimens. Absent from the literature
of trees, however, is a survey of those that have been created by
and exist only in the human imagination. These are the truly
remarkable ones, including one that is the source of life, another
the source of the knowledge of good and evil; some that have a
human ancestry, others human characteristics; one that is
soundless, another that speaks of the future, and still another
that encompasses the entire world. That we cannot touch their bark,
clasp their trunks or see their foliage and fruit only addes to
their appeal, for they exist only in our minds.Gathered here are
some of these extraordinary artifacts of the imagination produced,
during man's long journey from the far past to the present, on the
real trees that have sheltered and nourished us, physically and
intellectually, enabled us to cross the oceans and both warmed and
inspired us. That a mystical, atabistic bond exists between us and
these aristocrats of the vegetable kingdom is evidenced whenever we
stroll under a redwood or yew or enter a forest.This is a field in
which you know more than you think you do. The Tree of Life and the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil are obvious examples. Mythology
provides us with Yggdrasil, the Norse world tree and the arboreal
metamorphoses described by Ovid. Other specimens have roots in
literature, philosophy, history, and folklore, and, as befits a new
guide to imaginary beings, there are several that have only just
been discovered.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
