Description
Book SynopsisEven in the brick and concrete heart of our cities, nature finds a way. Birds and mammals, insects, plants and trees - they all manage to thrive in the urban jungle, and Bob Gilbert is their champion and their chronicler. He explores the hidden wildlife of the inner city and its edgelands, finding unexpected beauty in the cracks and crannies, and uncovering the deep and essential relationship that exists between people and nature when they are bound together in such close proximity. Beginning from Poplar, the East End area in which he lives, Bob explores, in particular, our relationship with the trees that have helped shape London; from the original wildwood through to the street trees of today. He draws from history and natural history, poetry and painting, myth and magic, and a great deal of walking, observing and listening.
Trade Review"Warm, rich and fascinating... [Gilbert] is a generous guide, with a deep knowledge of plant life and a fine turn of phrase." Jon Day, Guardian (books of the year); 'A joyous hymn to the urban wild and a clarion call for better - greener, wilder - cities.' Patrick Barkham; "Maps in fascinating detail how the trees in Poplar have defined each of its contrasting epochs." Joe Shute, Sunday Telegraph; "One of the best non-fiction books about London. Bob Gilbert's gifted style of writing [and] simple, clear but hilarious storytelling helps to make this secret life of trees an unlikely page-turner." The Londonist
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Hunting the Poplar Poplar; Myth and the Mulberry;The Recuperative Power of Planes; A Year Observed; After the Fire; Dowsing the Black Ditch; The Post-Human Tree; The Beating of the Parish Bounds; Bibliography; Acknowledgements; Index
