The Yew Tree: A Thousand Whispers : Biography of a Species

by Hal Hartzell

Book by Hartzell, Hal, Rust, Jerry

Genres: Science

Paperback

First published June 1, 1990

Reviews

[Naomi Toftness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting to take a look at the cultural history of a tree species! I wish all the trees had this! I honestly got a little lost in the medical section, but that's just not my particular interest.

[Kristofer Stinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really fascinating history of the Yew tree. This ancient, toxic being is truly the stuff of legend, wielding the power and proximity of death and also (more recently) saved life. The books is a largely accessible look at this tree as its own being but focuses much more on the Yew’s historic interactions with humanity - from the great long bows of the Middle Ages to the more recent cancer research that sees in the Yew the next step in medicine. While the book was on the whole interesting and engaging, it is indeed ‘a thousand whispers’ - it is an edited collections on hundreds of snippets from histories, newspapers, and conversations on the Yew. While all of these whispers were interesting, the format of the book was hard to get into and follow at times. But for you tree enthusiasts out there who know nothing about the Yew (I certainly did not), this was a fantastic start.

[David P. Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tip from Carson Brown the bow maker