It's rare that I find the authors writing style so off-putting that it thoroughly spoils the book. Apparently James Woodford is a journalist which perhaps explains the overblown, almost purple prose of the early chapters particularly. Which is a shame, as the story is interesting enough in itself. To take an example, particularly when trying to establish characters, the work is littered with phrases such as "He also judges people by the level of regard they hold for these remarkable little trees" - description which do the subjects no favours and give the whole work a strange aftertaste. However. once the work gets down to the detail of the science and the complex issues involved yn the management and consevation of these treesin the wild, it improves. ( )