A fascinating book about forests in Britain, and how temperate rainforests still persist in parts of the country. ( )

Nice mix of nature, history and even myth ( )

When I read the title of this book, I thought, "New England must have some lost rainforests." I haven't carefully researched this question yet, although I know that some places in New England surpass the 1,300mm of rainfall a year, 10% or more in the summer months threshold, via one definition. I also am aware of a few sites not on any old-growth maps that display old-growth indicators (such as the bark being absolutely blanketed in bryophytes, with many orchids in the understory).

One striking statistic from the book: tropical rainforests cover about 12% the earth's surface, while temperate rainforests only cover about 1.2% (although this number used to be much larger).

I've only traveled once across England and Wales, and I can see how and why someone would become enchanted with the quest to rediscover, preserve, and regenerate such places.

The book is a little haunting, in that the story of the loss of Britains rainforests mirrors a lot of the ecosystem destruction that New England faces (and has lived through). Currently New England is 70% forested (that said, all but a few percent of these have been clear cut at least three times in the last few centuries). We're a forested place, and our rainfall is reliant, in part, on this fact.

There are currently a number of development pressures on New England's forests. The New England Food Vision aims for the expansion of tilled agricultural lands (at the expense of forests) to increase regional food security (overlooking the potential of agroforestry and silviculture). Rising fuel prices and "green energy" commitments have resulted in a the increases utilization of New England's forests for firewood, and then for biomass for the American and European energy markets. Increasingly I see forests being logged only to be chipped directly into eighteen wheeler trailers.

I will admit, I burn wood myself, to heat my sauna and my home. That said, we also use heat pumps. As a phenomenologist, I think the aesthetic experience of fire is an important aspect of human culture. Sometimes I use wood that I've cut myself from trees we've either had to take down because they're endangering structures, or trees that have fallen across paths, etc. Sometimes we buy from local firewood suppliers.

As an aside, I'd like to plug Mark Krawczyk's "Coppice Agroferestry," which documents a wide variety of coppice methods to intensively utilize specific kinds of woodlots (which, when combined with conservation of wild places, could result in both meeting our needs for wood, while not trying to pull wood out of large swaths of healthy or regenerating ecosystems).

But to come back to the book again: Shubsole takes an interdisciplinary approach. Want to learn about the import of rainforests in the mythology of Britain? He's on it. Want to learn more about their ecology? Check. What about regenerative agriculture? There's a bit on that.

I do take issue with a few points in the book. I disagree that Britain needs to spend £1 billion to eradicate "invasive" rhododendron. I wish Shrubsole had read Tao Orion's "Beyond the War on Invasive Species" as part of his research. He also should have spoken more with Commons scholars in his research, such as David Bollier, to point him to examples of well-functioning agroecological commons. And although the book is an implicit appeal to the somatic allure we can feel with forests, this window into truth never came into full maturity in the book.

Overall though, it is a beautiful, enjoyable, and informative book. Whether you live near temperate rainforests, or anywhere else, this book should inspire you. ( )