The Age of Wood

Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization

By: Roland Ennos

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

A “smart and surprising” (Booklist) “expansive history” (Publishers Weekly) detailing the role that wood and trees have played in our global ecosystem—including human evolution and the rise and fall of empires—in the bestselling tradition of Yuval Harari’s Sapiens and Mark Kurlansky’s Salt.

As the dominant species on Earth, humans have made astonishing progress since our ancestors came down from the trees. But how did the descendants of small primates manage to walk upright, become top predators, and populate the world? How were humans able to develop civilizations and produce a globalized economy? Now, in The Age of Wood, Roland Ennos shows for the first time that the key to our success has been our relationship with wood.

“A lively history of biology, mechanics, and culture that stretches back 60 million years” (Nature) The Age of Wood reinterprets human history and shows how our ability to exploit wood’s unique properties has profoundly shaped our bodies and minds, societies, and lives. Ennos takes us on a sweeping journey from Southeast Asia and West Africa where great apes swing among the trees, build nests, and fashion tools; to East Africa where hunter gatherers collected their food; to the structural design of wooden temples in China and Japan; and to Northern England, where archaeologists trace how coal enabled humans to build an industrial world. Addressing the effects of industrialization—including the use of fossil fuels and other energy-intensive materials to replace timber—The Age of Wood not only shows the essential role that trees play in the history and evolution of human existence, but also argues that for the benefit of our planet we must return to more traditional ways of growing, using, and understanding trees.

A brilliant blend of recent research and existing scientific knowledge, this is an “excellent, thorough history in an age of our increasingly fraught relationships with natural resources” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

Critic reviews

"Narrator Dennis Boutsikaris, no stranger to nonfiction, performs a re-examination of human evolution that puts our arboreal origins at its hub. Boutsikaris takes on a conversational tone, which increases the accessibility of this well-researched audiobook by helping listeners connect with the importance of trees, not only for humankind's physical development but also for our sociocultural and technological advances. The treatise provides easy-to-understand context, uncovering the central role wood played in the development of tool use, shelter, and water transportation all the way up to the precipitating events of the U.S. Revolutionary War—and even everyday life in the 21st century. Boutsikaris's varied cadence keeps listeners engaged, and his thoughtful pacing allows time to think about the author's theories and novel concepts."

lots to learn from a scientist about wood!

this is a very knowledgeable author - a good read I can recommend to just about anyone

Important book for recovering our lost relationship to wood

This was a great book and the author makes a solid point at the end. It offered so many insights regarding how we got to where we are vis-a-vis wood as well as clear direction for how to restore this most important relationship to our planet

good "read"

it was interesting. very salt like in detail. the use of "one or ones" was a little weird throughout the book by a writer. very informative and well researched.

Excellent read/listen!

Well written and interesting blend of history and science. Easy voice to hear by the narrator as well, in my opinion. More from this author!

Well researched and presented

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Looking forward to listening to it a second time or buying it in print (a product of wood) ;-)