THE FOREST UNSEEN

In this wholly original book, biologist David Haskell uses a one-square-meter patch of old-growth Tennessee forest as a window onto the entire natural world.

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have written major pieces about the book and are very much in agreement with E.O. Wilson's evaluation: "David Haskell leads the reader into a new genre of nature writing, located between science and poetry, in which the invisible appear, the small grow large, and the immense complexity and beauty of life are more clearly revealed." Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature's path through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life. Each of this book's short chapters begins with a simple observation: a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter; the first blossom of spring ephemerals. From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals, and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands sometimes millions of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature, as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants who call it home. Written with remarkable grace and empathy, THE FOREST UNSEEN is a grand tour of nature in all its profundity. Haskell is a perfect guide into the world that exists beneath our feet and beyond our backyards. David Haskell is a professor of biology at the University of the South, and was named the Carnegie-CASE professor of the year in Tennessee in 2009. In addition to his scholarly work, he has published essays and poetry. He lives with his wife in Sewanee, TN.