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    The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization
    The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization
    The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization

    Written by Roland Ennos

    Narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A “smart and surprising” (Booklist) “expansive history” (Publishers Weekly) detailing the role that wood and trees have played in our global ecosystem—including human evolution and the rise and fall of empires—in the bestselling tradition of Yuval Harari’s Sapiens and Mark Kurlansky’s Salt.

    As the dominant species on Earth, humans have made astonishing progress since our ancestors came down from the trees. But how did the descendants of small primates manage to walk upright, become top predators, and populate the world? How were humans able to develop civilizations and produce a globalized economy? Now, in The Age of Wood, Roland Ennos shows for the first time that the key to our success has been our relationship with wood.

    “A lively history of biology, mechanics, and culture that stretches back 60 million years” (Nature) The Age of Wood reinterprets human history and shows how our ability to exploit wood’s unique properties has profoundly shaped our bodies and minds, societies, and lives. Ennos takes us on a sweeping journey from Southeast Asia and West Africa where great apes swing among the trees, build nests, and fashion tools; to East Africa where hunter gatherers collected their food; to the structural design of wooden temples in China and Japan; and to Northern England, where archaeologists trace how coal enabled humans to build an industrial world. Addressing the effects of industrialization—including the use of fossil fuels and other energy-intensive materials to replace timber—The Age of Wood not only shows the essential role that trees play in the history and evolution of human existence, but also argues that for the benefit of our planet we must return to more traditional ways of growing, using, and understanding trees.

    A brilliant blend of recent research and existing scientific knowledge, this is an “excellent, thorough history in an age of our increasingly fraught relationships with natural resources” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateDec 1, 2020
    ISBN9781797114569
    Author

    Roland Ennos

    Roland Ennos is a visiting professor of biological sciences at the University of Hull. He is the author of successful textbooks on plants, biomechanics, and statistics, and his popular book Trees, published by the Natural History Museum, is now in its third edition. He is also the author of The Age of Wood and The Science of Spin. He lives in England. 

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    Reviews for The Age of Wood

    4.5/5

    96 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      There are so many things important in life that we can not see the forest through the trees. The trees get lost and forgotten. This book REMINDS US how really important trees are to us.
    • 3/5
      Rather brief, but compelling book that will solidify in the readers mind how intimate man's relationship is with wood, which initially built shelters, boats, provided writing instruments and books, kindling and fuel for cooking and numerous examples. The original masts of ship were from giant trees stripped of their branches and revered for their flexibility and strength.Wood has been the catylyst in the development of stronger materials such as steel and lightweight polymers and plastics that have in many ways supplanted this miraculous, abundant material. Conifers acidify the soil, while oak and ash are used to make strong tools and fine furniture, while providing a more diverse habitat for flora and fauna beneath their boughs. The book meanders all over the place in pleasent ways as it stirs the readers imagination. It doesnt just confine itself to wood, but talks about evolution and matetials science in general. I wished it could have rambled on a bit longer, but it can always be replayed in segments for a deeper understanding.
    • 5/5
      Better than expected. An interesting read, none the less. X
    • 1/5
      I didn't finish this audiobook. After listening to an extended lecture about evolutionary theories concerning the age of the earth and how it all came to be, I grew impatient. My interest in "Wood" grew from - yes - the cover. It depicted grand sailing ships. I was hoping for something similar to the works of Simon Winchester or like "Barkskins" by Annie Proulx.
    • 5/5
      An enjoyable overview of how wood has been harvested, worked, and utilized for the duration of human history.
      Anyone who finds interest in how the world around them has been crafted and constructed will find this interesting.
    • 4/5
      Interesting overview. As a book a bit disjointed, feels like a collection of essays. But worth the time. Learnt some new things, mostly the technical stuff about the use of wood.
    • 4/5
      This guy REALLY digs trees. Drags a bit at the end.
    • 5/5
      i m a carpenter
      and my passionnin life is history
      this book is a masterpiece!!!