* SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES CROPPER WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022 * 'The very treeline is on the move:
a devastating image. This book is an evocative wise and unflinching exploration of what it
will mean for humanity.' Jay Griffiths The Arctic treeline is the frontline of climate change
where the trees have been creeping towards the pole for fifty years already. These vast swathes
of forests which encircle the north of the globe in an almost unbroken green ring comprise
the world's second largest biome. Scientists are only just beginning to understand the
astonishing significance of these northern forests for all life on Earth. Six tree species -
Scots pine birch larch spruce poplar and rowan - form the central protagonists of Ben
Rawlence's story. In Scotland northern Scandinavia Siberia Alaska Canada and Greenland he
discovers what these trees and the people who live and work alongside them have to tell us
about the past present and future of our planet. At the treeline Rawlence witnesses the
accelerating impact of climate change and the devastating legacies of colonialism and
capitalism. But he also finds reasons for hope. Humans are creatures of the forest we have
always evolved with trees. The Treeline asks us where our co-evolution might take us next.
Deeply researched and beautifully written The Treeline is a spellbinding blend of nature
travel and science writing underpinned by an urgent environmental message.
