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Reading lists

Uplifting climate books to inspire hope about the planet’s future

How to tell the time using just the sun | The Weather Detective

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Extracts

How to tell the time using the sun and other natural signs

The Delicate Balance of All Living Things

The Secret Network of Nature

From the bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees comes an exploration of the invisible connections sustaining the entire natural world

Peter Wohlleben doesn't merely look, he sees. Let's all learn as much from him as we can, and quickly.

Rosamund Young, author of THE SECRET LIFE OF COWS

Fascinating… Wohlleben is right to remind us that everything is joined up

Praise for The Hidden Life of Trees: ‘Marvellous’

Praise for The Inner Life of Animals: 'Always fascinating… Wry, avuncular, careful and kind'

Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working towards the return of primeval forests, as well as caring for both wild and domestic animals. 
 
Wohlleben has been celebrated for his distinctive approach to writing about nature; he brings to life groundbreaking scientific research through his observations of nature and the animals he lives amongst. He is also the author of international bestsellers including The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of Animals.

An exploration of the invisible connections sustaining the entire natural world from the bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees 
 
 Did you know that trees can influence the rotation of the earth? 
Or that wolves can alter the course of a river? 
Or that earthworms control wild boar populations? 
 
The natural world is a web of intricate connections, many of which go unnoticed by humans. But it is these connections that maintain nature’s finely balanced equilibrium. 
 
Drawing on the latest scientific discoveries and decades of experience as a forester, Peter Wohlleben shows us how different animals, plants, rivers, rocks and weather systems cooperate, and what's at stake when these delicate systems are unbalanced. 
 
 ‘Peter Wohlleben doesn't merely look, he sees. Let's all learn as much from him as we can, and quickly’ Rosamund Young, author of The Secret Life of Cows

Rediscovering Nature’s Secret Signs

The Weather Detective

Bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees shows how to decipher the weather through nature's secret signs

The best weather detectives are the birds, plants and animals we share this fragile world with. But how many of us nowadays can interpret the clues they offer? Peter Wohlleben delves deep into the mysteries of animal and bird behaviour, soil management, plant adaptation, and ways of mitigating the effects of climate change on our gardens and our planet.

Christopher Somerville, walking correspondent for The Times. Author of The January Man

Wohlleben’s insightful observations of nature, combined with his signature blend of science and imagination, invite us into deeper relationship with the ecology of our homes

David George Haskell, Pulitzer finalist and author of The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees

For a society increasingly distanced from nature, Wohlleben renews our appreciation of the wonderful and varied ties between the living and nonliving worlds, including those that bind our favorite plants and animals with that most familiar of all physical entities, the weather

Bill Streever, nationally bestselling author of Cold

A treasure trove of fascinating information about the environment. A primer for the curious gardener... a book to browse and then think to yourself, 'Oh, so that's why.'

Bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben, invites you to reconnect with nature 
 
As soon as we step out of the door, nature surrounds. Thousands of small and large processes are taking place, details that are long often fascinating and beautiful. But we've long forgotten how to recognise them. 
 
Peter Wohlleben, bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, invites us to become an expert, to take a closer look and interpret the signs that clouds, wind, plants and animals convey. Chaffinches become weather prophets, bees are live thermometers, courgettes tell us the time. 
 
The Weather Detective combines scientific research with charming anecdotes to explain the extraordinary cycles of life, death and regeneration that are evolving on our doorstep, bringing us closer to nature than ever before. A walk in the park will never be the same again.

Surprising Observations of a Hidden World

The Inner Life of Animals

The mysteries and emotional richness of the animal world revealed as never before, from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees.

Always fascinating… Wry, avuncular, careful and kind, Wohlleben guides us from one creature to the next

Wohlleben presents short chapter in bite-sized portions, so the reader has a constant sense of learning something new almost with every page ... The formula is provably winning. I still felt I was on a robust learning curve as subjects as diverse as motherly love, gratitude, deception, desire, shame and knowledge of good and evil were explored one by one ... fascinating

Wohlleben is connecting with something big here… He truffles up some wonderful animal facts, too… Wohlleben’s empathy with animals can be touching and illuminating

The Inner Life of Animals will rock your world. Surprising, humbling, and filled with delight, this book shows us that animals think, feel, and know in much the same way as we do -- and that their lives are, to them, as precious as ours are to us.

Sy Montgomery, author of THE SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS

[Wohlleben] neatly combines anecdotes and scientific evidence in his search for the answers to some basic questions, such as do animals feel things the way we do?... Wohlleben has no doubt that all animals have a rich inner life. By the end of this delightful, surprising book, most readers will be persuaded that he is right.

The tone is friendly and informal and the prose largely free of scientific jargon… Entertaining and thought-provoking

Wouldn’t it be fascinating to know what animals think? Here, Peter Wohlleben explores a range of bestial emotions we didn’t know existed… unveiling remarkable insights into their hidden lives in the process

Peter Wohlleben’s convincing, highly readable stories about free-living and domestic animals show there’s much overlap between how humans and other animals experience bonding, loss, and the great, shared themes of life.

Carl Safina, author of BEYOND WORDS: WHAT ANIMALS THINK AND FEEL

Animal lovers everywhere will be enthralled. Find out what squirrels, deer, and other animals really do out in the woods.

Temple Grandin, author of ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION

With the same charm and clarity that drew so many readers to The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben has produced another gem. I found delight on every page, thanks to the author’s rare skill at blending scientific discoveries with his own wealth of insightful personal experiences.

Jonathan Balcombe, author of WHAT A FISH KNOWS

A tour de force. Wohlleben’s love of animals is apparent on every page of this absorbing book, and he has a special gift for allowing the rest of us to feel his enthusiasm and share in his knowledge and personal observations in a very simple way … Reading this book is pure delight.

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP

An important reminder that while we surely are different from other animals, the similarities in our cognitive, emotional, and moral lives are not only surprising and daunting, but very real.

Marc Bekoff, author of THE EMOTIONAL LIVES OF ANIMALS

A book which is so fascinating and moving that it has genuinely made me more fond of trees.

Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice. He now runs an environmentally-friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working towards the return of primeval forests, as well as caring for both wild and domestic animals. 
 
Wohlleben has been celebrated for his distinctive approach to writing about nature; he brings to life groundbreaking scientific research through his observations of nature and the animals he lives amongst. He is also the author of the international bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees.

Can horses feel shame? Do deer grieve? Why do roosters deceive hens? 
 
We tend to assume that we are the only living things able to experience feelings but have you ever wondered what’s going on in an animal’s head? From the leafy forest floor to the inside of a bee hive, The Inner Life of Animals opens up the animal kingdom like never before. We hear the stories of a grateful humpback whale, of a hedgehog who has nightmares, and of a magpie who commits adultery; we meet bees that plan for the future, pigs who learn their own names and crows that go tobogganing for fun. And at last we find out why wasps exist.

Peter Wohlleben

Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

A guide through the forest with Peter Wohlleben

Can you tell which plants are safe to eat? 
 
Which trees are best to shelter under a storm? 
 
How do you tell a deciduous and coniferous tree apart? 
 
In his charming new book, bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees Peter Wohlleben takes you on a journey of discovery. From learning what creatures lurk beneath tree roots to finding your way around the woods without a compass, this is a captivating guide to navigating the wonders of the wild.

Peter Wohlleben

Books by Peter Wohlleben

Articles featuring Peter Wohlleben

Uplifting climate books to inspire hope about the planet’s future

How to tell the time using the sun and other natural signs

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