Summary

Foreword and Introductions

Tim Flannery introduces some of Wohlleben’s main points, comparing to fairytales and wonderland. Flannery includes that many people misunderstand trees, some of their processes are much slower than ours, trees communicate via electrical impulses and smells, and the trees in a forest care for each other.

Wohlleben introduces the English edition by explaining that he has cared for beeches and oaks for much of his life. He encourages the reader to explore the forests and trees around them for themselves. He gives an example from the Anglophonic world, describing how the disappearance of wolves from Yellowstone National Park impacted the whole ecosystem. Dozens of organisms suffered from the change. After 70 years, the wolves returned, and the ecosystem is now falling back into place.

In the original introduction, Wohlleben explains that he began working as a commercial forester...