Evergreen

The Trees That Shaped America

By: Trent Preszler

Narrated by: Will Damron

A sweeping natural history of the most valuable trees on earth that have quietly transformed our economies, cultural traditions, and collective imagination for millennia.

Every December, homes, offices, and town squares around the world are adorned with lavishly decorated evergreens to ring in the holiday season. But how did this beloved tradition begin? And as the planet continues to warm and more people swap real trees for artificial ones, will Christmas trees still be here for future generations?

In Evergreen, Cornell University professor Trent Preszler takes us on a riveting journey through history, culture, and science, exploring America’s story through the lives of its most resilient and cherished trees. From the annual hunt for the perfect Rockefeller Center spruce, back to the earliest days when Ancestral Puebloan builders crafted remarkable dwellings from pine beams, Evergreen reveals surprising connections between past and present that fueled America’s rise to global prominence.

With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Preszler captures the enduring struggle between nature’s grandeur and humanity’s desire to control and consume it. At once expansive and intimate, Evergreen delivers a stirring reflection on what it means to live in a world where Christmas trees stand as silent witnesses to our restless ambition, challenging us to reconsider the delicate balance between commercial excess and our profound yearning for hope and immortality.

Critic reviews

“An expansive and unflinching tale about the vastness of America, its ambitions, and its contradictions—all told through the beauty and complexity of our greatest American resource: the mighty evergreens. Beautifully written and deeply researched, this book is filled with surprises, secrets, and unvarnished truths.”—Kevin O’Connor, host of This Old House

"A revelatory, confronting, and skillfully crafted natural history. At once a tribute to the wonder of trees, and a timely reminder of our urgent environmental responsibilities. Eloquent, elemental, and eye opening."—Callum Robinson, author of Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman

Over delivers

This book is so good. Like the untold history of Europe and North America. I listened to an interview with the author and it sounded really good and it was even better than my expectations.

Just a bunch of facts.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but unfortunately it felt more like a dry textbook than a compelling read. From start to finish, it delivered information in a flat, clinical way, page after page of facts with little to no narrative flow to tie them together. This might work better as a textbook than as an interesting read. If you’re looking for something readable, this book may leave you disappointed.