An urban nature book telling the story of an East London borough through its trees, past and present.
“One of the best non-fiction books about London. Bob Gilbert’s gifted style of writing [and] simple, clear but hilarious storytelling helps to make this secret life of trees an unlikely page-turner.”
“Warm, rich and fascinating… [Gilbert] is a generous guide, with a deep knowledge of plant life and a fine turn of phrase.”
“Lyrical and beautifully evocative … in a language as rich and lilting as the contours of the estuarine land … A delight.”
“Ghost Trees will awaken any Londoner to the plants that cling on in the city’s cracks.”
“Informative, enjoyable, enchanting. A book that, in the best sense, educates. It is well written with the occasional alliterative poetic cast. It is a book full of delights which makes one look again, achieving the mystic’s gift of seeing the ordinary as anything but.”
Absorbing.”
Fascinating.''
Profoundly uplifting: Gilbert’s keen eye reveals the wealth of wild – and weird – species that cling on against the odds in a global city, and enrich its residents’ lives in unheralded ways."
“Its tone warm and its content wide-ranging, Ghost Trees spans history and social history, folklore, religion and walking as well as nature – but Gilbert wears his vast knowledge lightly and shares it engagingly and entertainingly.”
“Ghost Trees is a reflective book, about personal reaction and engagement. Reading it is like spending time with a knowledgeable uncle who is keen to share his enthusiasms.”
‘Full of deep truths and improbable marvels, this beautifully observed book is a joyous hymn to the urban wild and a clarion call for better – greener, wilder – cities.’
Even in the brick and concrete heart of our cities, nature finds a way. Birds and mammals, insects, plants and trees – they all manage to thrive in the urban jungle, and Bob Gilbert is their champion and their chronicler. He explores the hidden wildlife of the inner city and its edgelands, finding unexpected beauty in the cracks and crannies, and uncovering the deep and essential relationship that exists between people and nature when they are bound together in such close proximity. Beginning from Poplar, the East End area in which he lives, Bob explores, in particular, our relationship with the trees that have helped shape London; from the original wildwood through to the street trees of today. He draws from history and natural history, poetry and painting, myth and magic, and a great deal of walking, observing and listening. Beautifully written, passionate and defiant, Ghost Trees tells the secrets and stories of the urban wildscape, of glorious nature resilient and resurgent on our very doorsteps.
- | Author: Bob Gilbert
- | Publisher: Saraband
- | Publication Date: Mar 10, 2020
- | Number of Pages:
- | Language:
- | Binding: Paperback / softback
- | ISBN-13: 9781912235575
- | ISBN-10: 1912235579
