Swamplands

America was built on white pine. From the 1600s through the Civil War and beyond, it was used to build the nation’sships and houses, barns, and bridges. It became a symbol of independence, adorning the Americans’ flag at Bunker Hill,and an economic engine, generating three times more wealth than the California gold rush. Yet this popularity came at acost: by the end of the 19th century, clear cutting had decimated much of America’s white pine forests. In White Pine: TheNatural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree, ecologist and writer John Pastor takes readers on walk throughhistory, connecting the white pine forests that remain today to a legacy of destruction and renewal.Since the clear-cutting era, naturalists, foresters, and scientists have taken up the quest to restore the great white pineforests. White Pine follows this centuries-long endeavor, illuminating how the efforts shaped Americans’ understanding ofkey scientific ideas, from forest succession to the importance of fire. With his keen naturalist’s eye, Pastor shows us whyrestoring the vitality of these forests has not been simple: a host of other creatures depend on white pine and white pinedepends on them. In weaving together cultural and natural history, White Pine celebrates the way humans are connectedto the forest—and to the larger natural world.Today, white pine forests have begun to recover, but face the growing threat of climate change. White Pine shows us thathope for healthy forests lies in understanding the lessons of history, so that iconic species survive as a touchstone forfuture generations.