MP3 Audios - Biography

Hidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained - the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. The biggest redwoods are over a thousand years old, rising more than thirty-five stories in what's left of the once-vast ancient redwood forest. Believed to be impossible to ascend, these majestic giants have remained unexplored until recently ... when a tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists discovered a lost, dangerous and hauntingly beautiful world high above California.

In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbounding story of these young voyagers who risk everything to explore the redwood canopy, where the massive trees form flying buttresses and cathedral-like structures in the air. They find a vertical Eden of hanging gardens and rare creatures, an untouched paradise where it's possible to stretch hammocks between tree branches and make love 300 feet in the air. But as they move through the treetops suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, these young adventurers know that the smallest mistake can result in a plunge to one's death.

Preston mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to recount the discovery of this amazing world - a grand adventure by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, from a master of non-fiction narrative.

Preston's book has a lot of verifiable forest facts that he gleaned from sources and added to the book. But he put a thick layer of storytelling into this book. Having been to the groves, I disagree with some things he wrote. I can't tell you where the groves are, but they are NOT in "uncharted" areas. That's a fact ... http://www.mdvaden.com/grove_of_titans.shtml Searchers for some of the largest redwoods progressed through forest that may have been uncharted. But that does not apply to either the Grove of Titans or Atlas Grove. It's important when reading this Preston book, to separate actual fact from storytelling; but that may be very hard without seeing the groves. In The Wild Trees - seems to be page 82 in hardback - Preston writes about Michael Taylor discovering "Atlas Grove". But while visiting the grove, I found, and photographed, over 100 symbols, marks and letters dating back to almost World War II era, including an identifiable name. This shows that the grove was known about, and some significance realized, over 50 years prior. Aside from Preston's writing style that stretches most events with superlative storytelling, it is still a VERY GOOD bit of reading. I've read it twice, and although I realize that a bit of the book appears misleading, I'd read it a third time, because the greater portion of it is correct, and it is an interesting story. I used to give the book 5 stars, until I explored the groves in more depth. Now I give 4 stars. The actual redwoods are worth the 5 stars.

Good book. But it was better before I located and photographed trees mentioned in the book and found the location of one grove to be exactly opposite of what Preston wrote. http://www.mdvaden.com/grove_of_titans.shtml My main dissappointment originally was lack of photos - none. But now I have a supply to share. A lot of the tree facts are verifiable. But I think Preston really stretches truth to it's limits with shock and awe writing. He wrote about one character falling, who was assoicated with another character. But the death of a forest worker in the book, had nothing to do with other characters other than add an element of shock syndrome. But ignoring the books weak points, there is plenty to enjoy. It's worth the investment.