London Is A Forest

Exploring the rich diversity of London through a series of urban forest trails, this new, expanded edition of London is a Forest uncovers the fascinating stories and secrets the city holds. Through seven carefully devised paths, author Paul Wood explores the urban forest's geography, its past and future, and looks at the remarkable variety of life supported in this unique metropolitan ecosystem. For curious Londoners and anyone who’s fascinated by nature, a wealth of arboreal details, history, myth and anecdotes are revealed along the way. Complementing the trails, Wood looks in more detail at the fascinating stories of some of the iconic, and some of the less obvious species that define the urban forest. In London, 9 million people are crammed into just 600 square miles alongside 8.5 million trees. According to one UN definition, this makes the city a forest. The Forestry Commission agree, describing London as the world’s largest urban forest. And a particularly diverse and historic urban forest at that.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Rutherford brings England’s New Forest to life” (The Seattle Times) in this companion to the critically acclaimed Sarum From the time of the Norman Conquest to the present day, the New Forest, along England’s southern coast, has remained an almost mythical place. It is here that Saxon and Norman kings rode forth with their hunting parties, and where William the Conqueror’s son Rufus was mysteriously killed. The mighty oaks of the forest were used to build the ships for Admiral Nelson’s navy, and the fishermen who lived in Christchurch and Lymington helped Sir Francis Drake fight off the Spanish Armada. The New Forest is the perfect backdrop for the families who people this epic story. The feuds, wars, loyalties, and passions of many hundreds of years reach their climax in a crime that shatters the decorous society of Bath in the days of Jane Austen, whose family lived on the edge of the Forest. Edward Rutherfurd is a master storyteller whose sense of place and character—both fictional and historical—is at its most vibrant in The Forest. “As entertaining as Sarum and Rutherford’s other sweeping novel of British history, London.”—The Boston Globe

Dig deep into the unsolved murder of Jackie English and join the hunt for a serial killer Fifty years ago, a serial killer prowled the quiet city of London, Ontario, marking it as his hunting grounds. As young women and boys were abducted, raped, and murdered, residents of the area held their loved ones closer and closer, terrified of the monster — or monsters — stalking the streets. Homicide detective Dennis Alsop began hunting the killer in the 1960s, and he didn’t stop searching until his death 40 years later. For decades, detectives, actual and armchair, and the victims’ families and friends continued to ask questions: Who was the Forest City Killer? Was there more than one person, or did a depraved individual commit all of these crimes on his own? Combing through the files Detective Alsop left behind, researcher Vanessa Brown reopens the cases, revealing previously unpublished witness statements, details of evidence, and astonishing revelations. And through her investigation, Vanessa posits the unthinkable: is it possible that the Forest City Killer is still alive and, like the notorious Golden State Killer, a simple DNA test could bring him to justice?

“Out of the Woods is a brave and beautiful book, electrifying on sex and nature, religion and love. No one is writing quite like this.”— Olivia Lang, author of The Lonely City In this highly original work of nature writing and memoir, a young man explores his shifting sexual identity and troubled family history against the backdrop of a sprawling urban forest in London. In the wake of a significant breakup, Luke Turner is visited by familiar demons, including depression and guilt surrounding his bisexual identity, experiences of sexual abuse, and confusion brought on by an intensely religious upbringing. With nowhere to turn, Turner seeks refuge in London’s Epping Forest, where unexpected, elusive threats seem to have replaced its former comforts. No stranger to compulsion, Turner finds himself repeatedly drawn to the woods, eager to uncover its secrets and investigate an old family rumor of illicit behavior that once happened there. Away from a society that still cannot cope with the complexities of masculinity and sexuality, Turner finally begins to find acceptance among the trees as he reconciles external expectations with his own way of being.

A Walk in the Forest is a stunning invitation to discover the woods as a place for both imaginative play and contemplation: collect pinecones, feathers, or stones; follow the tracks of a deer; or listen to the chirping of birds and the whisper of trees. Build a shelter and play hide-and-seek. Pretend the woods are a jungle, or shout out loud to stir up the birds! The forest comes alive in all its mysterious glory in Maria Dek's charming watercolor images and poetic text.

A personal story detailing an illustrator's love affair with trees and his attempts at raising them in his back garden.

For readers of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler, a powerful, heartrending novel about a man on the run from himself, by Governor General's Award-winning author Kate Pullinger. On a rain-soaked Vancouver sidewalk in 1995, a homeless man fights for breath. Forest Green is the story of how he ended up there. Arthur Lunn is a golden boy who spends long summer days roaming the hills and swimming in the lakes of the Okanagan Valley. But the Great Depression is destroying lives, even in Art's remote and bucolic hometown. Soon, Art finds himself caught up in a battle between the town and the vagrants flowing through it, and before long the tension reaches a boiling point. A catastrophe follows--and changes everything. The trauma from this event shapes and haunts Art's life moving forward, from his experiences as a soldier in World War II to his reckless, nomadic working days in logging camps across British Columbia to his turbulent relationship with his one great love--a woman he cannot believe he deserves. Painful, poignant, yet full of hope, Forest Green explores how trauma can warp our lives while love can help us to mend.