I enjoyed the book and learned a fair amount about the lives of trees and the interconnected nature of “nature” and man in general. I felt like I’d have liked more science and less philosophy, but I think the title was sufficient to earn me there might be a bit more of the latter, so I really can’t complain. Actually , an often lovely book ( )

John Muir said, "When we try and pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." Haskell's book is about how trees serve as a marvelous nexus that connects individual humans to one another and to other denizens of nature. (Haskell is adamant that humans and our machines not be thought of as "non-natural" or "outside of nature".) It builds upon themes from his prior book, The Forest Unseen, but indulges in some much more poetic writing that serves his purpose of reminding us of our attachments to all around us. For me, personally, Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees was a more profound awakening. But had I not run across that book first, it might have been The Song of Trees that opened my eyes to a greater awareness of the truth Muir wrote. ( )

I like the purpose of the book in revealing the complex, little-known world of trees and how elements of nature are intricately entwined. I like the meditative vibe as the author narrates the reader through various scenes. I like the scientific explanations and environmental change implications. Somehow, though, in this case the sum is not greater than its parts. ( )

Some very good writing on trees and their stories, though honestly I found my eyes rolling a few times at the over-flowery language. Sometimes it just got to be a bit much. ( )

The big hole at the heart of this book is Africa. I feel like crowd sourcing a fund to send David Haskell to finish the book. Apart from that it was personal and interesting and I liked it a lot. ( )