“Ennos, a professor at the University of Hull in England and a specialist in the mechanical properties of trees, shares his insatiable curiosity with us. He applies his sharp eye for details, and he does so entertainingly.” —Washington Post

“Ennos’s special love and concern is for things made from trees...The principles of every significant technology, from tree-felling and carpentry to shipbuilding and papermaking, are described with a precise, almost mesmerizing detail.” —New York Times Book Review

“[Ennos] takes a fresh look at the familiar substance, wielding it like a wedge to pry open our past, examine our present and even glimpse our future.” —Wall Street Journal

“A lively history of biology, mechanics and culture that stretches back 60 million years… A specialist in the mechanics of wood, Ennos has a fierce love for his topic.” —Nature

“Nearly the whole of human history deserves a different title: the Age of Wood.” —The New Republic

“An excellent, thorough history in an age of our increasingly fraught relationships with natural resources.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This engaging natural history will draw in fans of Mark Kurlansky’s Cod and Vince Beiser’s The World in a Grain. It does a fantastic job of elevating humble wood to its rightful place alongside stone, bronze, and iron as a key resource in leading humanity to its dazzling achievements.” —Library Journal

“This expansive history will give readers a newfound appreciation for one of the world’s most ubiquitous yet overlooked materials.” —Publishers Weekly

“Smart and surprising, Ennos' inquiry proves that there is much we still need to learn about wood and how it has shaped our past and present.” —Booklist

“This fascinating book is an eye-opening history of wood... From how trees, and our interactions with trees, have shaped ecosystems, to how wood itself has been incorporated into societies, to how wood functions as a material, it gives a rundown like no other.” —BookMarks