Book Name : The Age of Wood
Author: Roland Ennos
Genre : Non-Fiction/ Wood
Book Post : 35
What is it about? : The book traces the relationship between mankind and forests esp. wood.
How I came to read it : I picked it up during casually going through the books at my local library.
Did I like it? : This was an average read for me. It does present remarkable facts and points that I never thought about but the way it is presented is a bit dull. One of the things that hinders a good reading experience is that the author assumes the reader is knowledgeable about many of the terms he uses. A lot of words are used specific to forests and woods without introducing them or at least mentioning their meaning at the bottom of the page maybe.
The book starts off with early humans and how we moved from forests to a land based animal. The facts presented are eye opening. It had much to do with trees and their characteristics. It then moves off to how wood began to be used for making tools then slowly shelters, then transport vehicles (including ships), then more complicated structures and finally to the modern era where its used in almost everything including paper, tissues, houses etc. The author is quite right in saying that even though wood has played such a fundamental role in the evolution of humankind we do not give it the recognition it deserves.