Fifty vignettes of remarkable people whose lives have been transformed by their obsessive passion for treesΓÇöwritten and charmingly illustrated by the New York Times bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist ΓÇ£I love everything Amy Stewart has ever created,but this book is my favorite yet. IΓÇÖm giving this book to everyone I know. Because itlike its subjectis a gift.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöElizabeth Gilbertauthor of Eat Pray Love When Amy Stewart discovered a community of tree collectorsshe expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple. But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from something deeper and more profound: a longing for communitya vision for the futureor a path to healing and reconciliation. In this slyly humorousinformativeoften poignant volumeStewart brings us captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process. Vivian Keh has forged a connection to her Korean elders through her persimmon orchard. The former poet laureate W. S. Merwin planted a tree almost every day for more than three decadesuntil he had turned a barren estate into a palm sanctuary. And Joe Hamilton cultivates pines on land passed down to him by his once-enslaved great-grandfatherbuilding a legacy for the future. Stewart populates this lively compendium with her own hand-drawn watercolor portraits of these extraordinary people and their treesinterspersed with side trips to investigate famous tree collectionsarboreal glossariesand even tips for ΓÇ£unauthorizedΓÇ¥ forestry. This book is a stunning tribute to a devoted group of nature lovers making their livesΓÇöand the worldΓÇömore beautifulone tree at a time.