John Pastor gives us a history and a glimpse into the future of the majestic American white pine in this wonderful book.

Pastor does a brilliant job of summarizing the white pine's importance to both indigenous peoples and the westward expansion of Europeans as they moved through the country. He does an excellent job of displaying how the poorly thought out practices of these Europeans decimated the white pines while giving us a look at the present and what's being done to preserve and help these American treasures thrive.

He also gives us a glimpse into today's and tomorrow's threats to the pines, while providing a bit of hope for its future.

White Pine: The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree, covers the extensive natural history of the white pine. I love reading and learning more about the wildlife around us, specifically the wildlife around the parks I work at. We recently became a certified old-growth forest, so much of the modern-day influence was stuff I had recently been researching, so it was a present surprise to find even more information.
I listened to this book and while it came across much more like a lecture than other non-fiction books I have been reading lately, it was a lecture by someone passionate about their topic. John Pastor tells the reader pretty much anything they ever could have wanted to know about white pines from the ecology to how its affected history. I found myself taking notes of facts to add to my hikes the whole time. He also never assumes that the reader knows everything and always explains stuff so that any skill level could learn.
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Tantor Audio for providing a free ARC copy of the audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ok ... so I'm very biased. I'm a member of the American Conifer Society (https://conifersociety.org) and from Michigan where the White Pine is our state tree. I love reading about trees. As I was reading White Pine by John Pastor, I kept thinking that it was a little like reading Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, but written by a man. Not quite as poetic, very masculine.

The full title is very fitting.
White Pine
The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree

I liked hearing about ties to University of Michigan. Enjoyable and I learned some things that were spun a little differently.

The audiobook was reviewd; White Pine was narrated by Jonathan Yen who did a great job.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to John Pastor the author and Tantor Audio the publisher for approving my review request.

This is one of my favorite genres. I love learning about trees!

The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees was a fantastic book. I hoped White Pine would deliver just as well, and John Pastor did not disappoint!

Prior to reading this book, I had no knowledge of the pine tree’s role in U.S. settlers’ autonomy and independence, and ultimately, the Revolution. The Pine Tree Riot played a pivotal role in the events leading up to the war, and visiting the Pine Tree Tavern is now on my bucket list.

This book contains a wealth of information about 17th - 20th-century logging in the U.S. as well as modern sustainable logging practices being used and more widely adopted today. We have come a long way since the first colonists arrived. I was shocked to learn that people believed in spontaneous generation until the mid-1800s. I had assumed plant reproduction was as obvious to humans as human reproduction.

Unfortunately, human ignorance did not stop there. The U.S. Forest Service's Smokey Bear campaign did prevent a great deal of unnecessary damage, but it also prevented many natural fires from spreading, which is absolutely necessary for forest health. Native Americans have known this for centuries. They have such a harmonious way of coexisting with nature that should be put into widespread practice again. If you’re interested in learning more about other Native American landscape practices, I suggest 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.

The thing that I appreciate most about this book is Pastor’s optimism. He has respect for all cultures and stories and the way trees have affected us all, as societal groups and individually. We can all work together to sustain and responsibly harvest our nation’s beautiful pines and other foundational species, which are so critical to entire ecosystems. Many scientists and conservationists are focused on preserving rare and endangered species, but the preservation of foundation species is arguably much more important.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC!

My first book of 2023 is a non-fiction work about the history of the American White Pine and its evolution through colonialism and climate change.

When I tell you I enjoyed this *so much* I mean it. Pastor takes readers through the use of the white pine as ship masts, houses, barns, and its subsequent decimation, then journeys through the CCC renewal projects and the white pine ecosystem, the controversial existence of Smokey the Bear, and on to modern day legacy old growth forests that are few and far between.

This nonfiction book takes an in-depth look at the white pine tree, a foundation species of the Northwoods ecosystem that stretches from Maine to Minnesota. The author uses the white pine to trace changing attitudes of Americans toward natural resources and conservation. I was particularly intrigued by the ways that white pine influenced early conservation efforts like CCC reforestation projects and the plant quarantine act as well as the establishment of the U.S. Forest Service.

The audiobook is narrated by Jonathan Yen. He did a good job, but my brain found his voice a little too soothing. I kept having to backtrack because my mind had wandered into daydreams of pine forests rather than actually paying attention to the book.