'The master. Puts all other modern tree-writers in the shade' John
Lewis-Stempel, author of Meadowland
Thomas Pakenham is an indefatigable champion of trees. In The Company
of Trees he recounts his personal quest to establish a large arboretum
on the family estate, Tullynally in Ireland; his forays to other
tree-filled parks and plantations; his often hazardous seed-hunting
expeditions; and his efforts to preserve magnificent old trees and
historic woodlands.
Whether writing about the terrible storms breaking the backs of
hundred-year-old trees or a fire in the peat bog on Tullynally which
threatens to spread to the main commercial spruce-woods, his fear of
climate change and disease, or the sturdy young saplings giving him hope
for the future, his book is never less than enthralling.