
IN TREES
AN EXPLORATION
IN TREES

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"Those who loved On Trails are rewarded for their patience with this new book, another in that rare category of 'classic upon publication.'" -Bill McKibben
From the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller On Trails comes a wondrous new journey through the wilds of nature and the gnarls of history, exploring how trees—from the mightiest sequoia to the tiniest bonsai—can teach us to grow wise.
One day, on a whim, Robert Moor set out to climb a tree near his home—unwittingly embarking on what would become a decade-long, globe-spanning adventure of intellectual and spiritual transformation. Pursuing the hidden wisdom of trees, he scales to the very top of a giant sequoia while filming a nature documentary with David Attenborough; he treks through swamps in Papua to reach a treehouse-dwelling tribe of hunter-gatherers; and he journeys to a remote research camp in Tanzania, where he spends a memorable night sleeping in a chimpanzee nest, seeking to understand our deep evolutionary history. Eventually, having gained a radical new outlook on both our gnarled past and our ever-branching future, he joins an intrepid clan of climate activists risking everything to halt construction of a new oil pipeline and save an ancient forest.
Along the way, Moor learns the art of “tree-thinking,” which, he discovers, has the power to break open some of humanity’s oldest questions: What is the secret to truly growing old? How do we set down deeper roots in an increasingly chaotic world? Most importantly, how should we—as individuals, as communities, as stewards of the earth—live?
A witty and relentlessly curious excursion through philosophy, history, and science, what begins as an ode to the miracle of trees blossoms into a joyous, daring, fiercely hopeful endeavor to "arborize humanity."
ON TRAILS

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New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award
Winner of the William Saroyan Prize
Winner of the Pacific Northwest Book Award
Finalist for the British Columbia Book Prize
In 2009, while thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, Robert Moor began to wonder about the paths that lie beneath our feet: How do they form? Why do some improve over time while others devolve? What makes us follow or strike off on our own? Over the course of the next seven years, Moor traveled the globe, exploring trails of all kinds, from the miniscule to the massive. He learned the tricks of master trail-builders, hunted down long-lost Cherokee trails, and traced the origins of our road networks and the Internet.
This book is the result of those wild perambulations. Throughout, Moor reveals how this single topic—the oft-overlooked trail—sheds new light on a wealth of age-old questions: How does order emerge out of chaos? How did animals first crawl forth from the seas and spread across continents? How has humanity’s relationship with nature and technology shaped world around us? And, ultimately, how does each of us pick a path through life?
Praise for In Trees
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“A beautiful book... impossible to put down.... I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know.”
DAVID WALLACE-WELLS
“Gorgeous, honest, and soulful.”
BRYAN STEVENSON
“This is the most life-affirming book I’ve read in a long time.”
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JOHN VAILLANT
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Entertaining, original and inspiring... it will make you think deeply about the place of humanity in the natural world
FINANCIAL TIMES
“A sage, companionable and fulgent meditation on how best to be human…The prescription is simple: live like a tree.”
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THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
“With adventurous journeys, lively storytelling, and provocative reflection, Moor invites us to know charismatic forests through the eyes of other worldviews in order to guide us through these urgent times.”
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ROBIN WALL KIMMERER
“In the course of his explorations, the author has been transformed. After reading this book, you may be, too.”
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EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL
“Daring, inspired, and wide-ranging, this is much more than a book about trees. To read this book is to feel oneself anchored more firmly to the earth and, simultaneously, to become more open to life’s many branching, wild possibilities.”
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FERRIS JABR
Robert Moor is one of the few I'd trust to bring a fresh perspective to trees and he does not disappoint. By turns earthy and philosophical, what a captivating and exhilarating book!
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TRISTAN GOOLEY
BIO

Robert Moor is a journalist, essayist, and author. A graduate of Brown University and NYU, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The New York Times, GQ, Granta, Outside, Emergence, and n+1, among other publications. On Trails, his first book, garnered the Saroyan Prize, the National Outdoor Book Award, and the Pacific Northwest Book Award. He lives in Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
CONTACT
Follow:
Email:
robertmoor[dot]
freelance[at]
gmail[dot]com
For Robert's agent, please contact Bonnie Nadell
Tel: 310. 860. 9605 | bonnie@hillnadell.com