num_pages: 256
description: Children around the world know that to tell how old a tree is you count its rings. Few people however know that research into tree rings has also made amazing contributions to our understanding of Earth's climate history and its influences on human civilization over the past 2000 years. In her captivating new book Tree Story Valerie Trouet reveals how the seemingly simple and relatively familiar concept of counting tree rings has inspired far-reaching scientific breakthroughs that illuminate the complex interactions between nature and people.Trouet a leading tree-ring scientist takes us out into the field from remote African villages to radioactive Russian forests offering readers an insider's look at tree-ring research a discipline formally known as dendrochronology. Tracing her own professional journey while exploring dendrochronology's history and applications Trouet describes the basics of how tell-tale tree cores are collected and dated with ring-by-ring precision explaining the unexpected and momentous insights we've gained from the resulting samples.Blending popular science travelogue and cultural history Tree Story highlights exciting findings of tree-ring research including the fate of lost pirate treasure successful strategies for surviving California wildfire the secret to Genghis Khan's victories the connection between Egyptian pharaohs and volcanoes and even the role of olives in the fall of Rome. These fascinating tales are deftly woven together to show us how dendrochronology sheds light on global climate dynamics and uncovers the clear links between humans and our leafy neighbors. Trouet delights us with her dedication to the tangible appeal of studying trees a discipline that has taken her to austere and beautiful landscapes around the globe and has enabled scientists to solve long-pondered mysteries of Earth and its human inhabitants.
language: English
title: Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Rings
publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press