The Secret Wisdom of Nature, Peter Wohlleben
The Secret Wisdom of Nature, Peter Wohlleben
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The Secret Wisdom of Nature
Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living Things; Stories from Science and Observation

Author: Peter Wohlleben, Jane Billinghurst

Narrator: Sean Barrett

Unabridged: 6 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/19/2019

Synopsis

The final book in the Mysteries of Nature trilogy by the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter WohllebenNature is full of surprises—deciduous trees affect the rotation of the Earth, cranes sabotage the production of Iberian ham, and coniferous forests can make it rain—but what are the processes that drive these incredible phenomena? And why do they matter?In The Secret Wisdom of Nature, master storyteller and international sensation Peter Wohlleben takes listeners on a thought-provoking exploration of the vast natural systems that make life on Earth possible. In this tour of an almost unfathomable world, Wohlleben describes the fascinating interplay between animals and plants and answers such questions as, How do they influence each other? Do lifeforms communicate across species boundaries? What happens when this finely tuned system gets out of sync?By introducing us to the latest scientific discoveries and recounting his own insights from decades of observing nature, one of the world’s most famous foresters shows us how to recapture our sense of awe so we can see the world around us with completely new eyes.

About Peter Wohlleben

Peter Wohlleben is the acclaimed author of the international bestsellers The Hidden Life of Trees and The Inner Life of Animals. He spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ecological ideas into practice. Today he manages a forest academy and an environmentally friendly woodland in Germany, where he is working for the return of primeval forests.

About Jane Billinghurst

Jane Billinghurst’s career has been in book publishing as an editor, publisher, writer, and translator in the United Kingdom, the United Sates, and Canada. She is the translator of the international bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees by German forester Peter Wohlleben.

About Sean Barrett

Sean Barrett has won over twenty Earphones Awards and two prestigious Audie Awards for his audiobook narrations. He started acting professionally at the age of twelve and has since appeared on television and in film in Minder, Brush Strokes, War and Peace, Sons and Lovers, and Return to Oz. His stage credits include performing in the West End with Noël Coward in his Suite in Three Keys. He has worked extensively on BBC Radio and has also narrated several television series, including People’s Century and Crash.

Reviews

Goodreads review by H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov on May 12, 2021

This is a series of essays on elements of life on Earth. The topics are fascinating. I wanted to go with the flow of Peter Wohlleben’s enthusiasm, but every time that urge got me going, I was hit by the fact that he so effortlessly shifts from science to his personal enthusiasms. This would be fine......more

Goodreads review by L.G. on June 03, 2021

[Review revised Jun. 3, 2021 when I put it up on my website] With all the hot buttons being pushed in scientific research papers, and distracting spin media, trying to sort out what is happening to our little blue canoe can be frustrating. There are, of course, major human proclivities we know of tha......more

Goodreads review by Howard on February 13, 2023

3 Stars for The Secret Wisdom of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of all Living Things (audiobook) by Peter Wohlleben translated by Jane Billinghurst read by Sean Barrett. I enjoyed The Hidden Life of Trees more. It seemed like most of the examples mentioned in this book were in......more

Goodreads review by Tonstant on January 29, 2019

The Secret Wisdom of Nature focuses on the relationships between the flora and fauna of nature, things like how some plants, insects, birds, or animals interact with other plants, insects, or animals to survive, thrive, and multiply. Many of the relationships are fascinating and this book is full of......more

Goodreads review by Ray on February 29, 2020

This is the second book in Wohlleben's trilogy...his first was the excellent The Hidden Life of Trees (I guarantee you that you will never walk through a forest the same as you did after you read that book). This book extends his inquiry to all of nature...it's quite comprehensive, though a bit too......more

Quotes

“Wohlleben’s curiosity about the natural world, his sense of wonder at its complexity and beauty, and his clear and compelling writing have combined in this book.” Jane Goodall, primatologist, anthropologist, and New York Times bestselling author

“With an eye for the memorable anecdote…Wohlleben writes with authority but avoids the temptation of appearing to have all the answers.” Wall Street Journal

“By the end of the book, it’s clear that it’s we humans who are extraordinary, in ways awful and awesome.” New York Times

“Narrator Sean Barrett’s warm baritone is perfect…Barrett’s positively seductive voice will cause you to forget the bread crumbs as you follow him oh-so-willingly into the woods. His clear enunciation enables you not to miss anything, and his pacing allows time for you to say, ‘Oh whoa!’ To quote Wohlleben, ‘Let’s be amazed together.’ Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile

“Wohlleben uses the latest scientific discoveries and his own decades of experience as a forester to present some fascinating revelations.” Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)

“[The] Mysteries of Nature trilogy—The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Life of Animals, and his latest…taps into a very human instinct: pattern recognition.” The Guardian (London)

“Wohlleben presents scientific evidence with the exuberant wonder of your favorite high school teacher.” Mindful Magazine

“Fruitful reading for students of the environment and of environmental literature, of which this is a fine specimen indeed.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Wohlleben is right to ask what we actually mean by nature: the visual and ecological beauty of a few special places or the underlying system which makes the planet habitable. Humans, he thinks, can’t live in one place and store nature elsewhere, and of course he’s right.” Evening Standard (London)

“An absorbing and constantly surprising look at the unexpected connections that make the world work.” William Bryant Logan, author of Dirt and Oak

Awards

  • AudioFile Earphones Award
  • National Outdoor Book Award
  • AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year
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