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The first book of a major new trilogy from artist-naturalist Obi Kaufmann.
"A call to action … full of beautiful watercolor renderings of both landscape and data."—Los Angeles Times
From the author of The California Field Atlas (#1 San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller) comes a major work that not only guides readers through the Golden State’s forested lands, but also presents a profoundly original vision of nature in the twenty-first century. The Forests of California features an abundance of Obi Kaufmann’s signature watercolor maps and trail paintings, weaving them into an expansive and accessible exploration of the biodiversity that defines California in the global imagination. Expanding on the style of the Field Atlas, Kaufmann tells an epic story that spans millions of years, nearly one hundred species of trees, and an astonishing richness of ecosystems. The Forests of California is the first volume in a planned trilogy of field atlases, with The Coasts of California and The Deserts of California to follow, and Kaufmann seeks to create nothing less than a new understanding of the more-than-human world. The lessons in this book extend well beyond California’s borders. If Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees and Richard Powers’s The Overstory opened readers’ eyes to the awesome power of arboreal life, The Forests of California gives readers a unique and unprecedented immersion in that power.
2021 Northern California Book Award nominee, General Nonfiction
"Masterful … The work that has gone into this book is simply astonishing; every page is a treasure trove of information and beauty." —San Francisco Book Review
"A call to action … full of beautiful watercolor renderings of both landscape and data."—Los Angeles Times
"[A] must-read. The Forests of California features an abundance of Kaufmann's signature watercolor maps and trail paintings, weaving them into an expansive and accessible exploration of the biodiversity that defines California in the global imagination."—7x7
"The Forests of California is a breathtaking object." —Berkeleyside
"One-of-a-kind." —Diablo Magazine
"Kaufmann’s expressive writing is matched by his creativity as an artist … [The Forests of California] is Audubon-esque in style and scope." —San Francisco Examiner
"Swirls research with poetry, the personal and human with the collective and ecological …" —Mother Jones
"[Kaufmann] lay[s] important groundwork to help people better understand the complex ecology of the state’s varied forests and why they are so important." —The Revelator
"Braiding colorful watercolors of local flora and fauna with expertly illustrated infographics and maps, Forests is a must-read for anyone who cranes their neck skyward in great groves of Sequoia; for those who wonder how mountains are shaped, how carbon is stored; how fires can replenish—or reduce to ash. The lush, illustrative tome offers an instant education in one of the West’s greatest assets. … Obi leaves no leaf unturned in his quest to capture the wonder and fragility of this important resource."—Sunset
INTRODUCTION: The Philosopher’s Stone
KEYS AND MEASURES
00.01 The Cenozoic
00.02 The Acre and the Foot
00.03 The Taxonomic Classifications of Life
00.04 Map Icons
01. THE FIELD ATLAS: Maps and meaning across California’s forests
02. THE ANCIENT FORESTS: California’s Holocene crescendo
03. EARTH, WATER, AIR, and FIRE: California’s defining forces
04. THE LIVING BODY: How forests thrive across California
05. STAND, GROVE, WOODLAND and FOREST: Vegetation alliances within arboreal California
06.01 ARBOREAL HABITATS OF CALIFORNIA: Distribution and conditions of wildlife systems
07. EXEMPLARY IN CHARACTER: Accessibility and impact
08. THE GIVING FORESTS: Beyond Value and Utility
09. THE FUTURE FORESTS: California’s next one hundred years and beyond