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Oaks

The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top.

There are a number of pages covering books about British trees:

Identification guides
Urban trees
Hedgerows

More pages will be added as time allows.

For books about some specific families or species of trees see:

Ash
Elm
Hazel
Lime
Oak
Poplar
Rowan
Willow
Yew

Ancient Oaks In the English Landscape

Aljos Farjon

2017

"In this book Aljos Farjon combines history with science and tells the story of how ancient oaks have shaped the English landscape over the past 1000 years. The two native species of oak, pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and sessile oak (Q. petraea) are among the longest living trees in England. And using data made available by `citizen science' (data gathered by volunteers across the country) Aljos explains this remarkable situation by giving detailed evidence, enhanced with beautiful images of these stunning oaks as well as graphs and maps."

The British Oak

Archie Miles

2013

"The British Oak is a comprehensive overview of everything that the iconic oak tree signifies to Britain and its people. Archie Miles explores the rise of oak woods since the last Ice Age, placing the tree in its biological, cultural and economic context. We still speak of the 'heart of oak' that built the British Empire, such is its importance in industry, architecture and shipbuilding, while the oak's role in myth, art and literature took root in early civilisation and remains a rich imaginative resource."

Oak

Peter Young

Reaktion Books

2012

"In Oak, Peter Young illuminates and examines this magnificent and ubiquitous tree, tracing its biological history in its many manifestations, natural and cultural. Much-loved internationally, the oak is to be found in works of art, folk-tales, poems and songs. Oak narrates the biography of the tree that since time immemorial has been a symbol of loyalty and strength, generosity and renewal."

Oak

Stephen Taylor

2011

"Is painting the same oak tree in a field in Essex, England dozens of times over a period of three years in extremes of weathe rand light an act of artistic obsession, or an exercise in truly learning to see, to understand nature in its greatest detail, or just plain nuts? This is one of the many questions raised by Oak, a collection of paintings painstakingly created by British artist Stephen Taylor, whose single-minded pursuit was made famous in Alain de Botton's book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (Pantheon, 2009). Other than gallery shows in Cambridge and London, two small selfpublished catalogs, and a website, these exquisitely detailed paintings have never been collected in book format. The result is a book that is both a meditation on nature and a tour-de-force of artistic technique."

British Oaks: A Concise Guide

Michael Tyler

2008

"For decades the oak has been one of Britain's most loved and revered trees. Notwithstanding this, there has been a dearth of comprehensive publications about them and most books have tended to concentrate on specific areas of study. This detailed and wide-ranging guide is essential reading for all those who have an interest in all aspects of British oaks as well as students of forestry and arboriculture, and those who work in tree-related professions."

Oak: The Frame of Civilization

William B. Logan

2005 (h/b) / 2006 (p/b)

"The oak tree is found throughout the temperate zones of the world; knowing how to use it has made an astonishing difference to human history. Acorn-eating has sustained humans and animals; oak has been central to religious rites, heating, homemaking and travel by land and sea; the ink from oak galls advanced the written word; oak casks have made possible food and drink storage and transport; oak ships have fought the dramatic naval battles that determined political and economic history. William Briant Logan combines science, philosophy, spirituality and history with a quirky curiosity about why the natural world works the way it does. In lively literary prose, he narrates the biography of the tree that since time immemorial has been a symbol of loyalty and strength, generosity and renewal."

Aig An Oir / At The Edge: The Society of Wildlife Artists Visit Scotland's Atlantic Oakwoods

Robert Burton

Langford Press

2005

"The Aig An Oir project is a collaboration between the Society of Wildlife Artists, Forest Enterprise Scotland and Hi-Arts. This is a celebration of the magical but little-known Atlantic Oakwoods of the west coast of Scotland. Robert Burton's informative and easy-going text describes some of the restoration work being carried out in the Oakwoods. Lying not just on the edge of Scotland but at the very edge of Europe, these lush, temperate rainforests are an internationally important habitat for plants and wildlife."

Oak: A British History

Esmond Harris, Jeanette Harris and N.D.G. James

2003

"In this book the authors reclaim the disappearing forestry and carpentry skills of our ancestors and show how, in an era of climate change, oak can continue to enrich our future as a key element in an ecologically rich countryside'. This book explores how people managed and exploited oakwoods since Neolithic times, and the skills required in the use of timbers for ship-building, furniture and constructing houses. The appendix contains a list of historic and named oak trees in Britain compiled from 18th and 19th century sources and drawing on the work of N D G James."

The Natural History of the Oak Tree

Richard Lewington and David Streeter

1993

Subtitled: "An Intricate Visual Exploration of the Oak and Its Environment"

The Secret Life of an Oak Wood: A Photographic Essay

Stephen Dalton with Jill Bailey

New Edition

1991

"Includes photographs of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and plants in an oakwood which is now managed as a nature reserve. This book looks at an oakwood which hides a startling number of habitats whose interlinked complexities mirror the delicate balance of our increasingly threatened wildlife heritage. The images are accompanied by informative captions, essays on each of the four seasons, and an introduction on the history and ecology of English oakwods."

The Secret Life of an Oak Wood: A Photographic Essay

Stephen Dalton with Jill Bailey

1986

Oak & Company

Richard Mabey

Illustrations: Clare Roberts

1983

"Follows an oak tree and its company of plants and animals from its beginning as an acorn to its death 282 years later."