Middle Earth Ranger Forum

About a year ago I was walking in a New England forest, and a friend mentioned that he'd heard of a book that described how to read the history of the land. It was full of little clues to look for to puzzle out whether it was once pasture or farmland, old growth or logged - and how long ago. A book written by the "Sherlock Holmes" of forests.

Unfortunately, he couldn't remember the author or the title.

Last month I finally found it -

"Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England" by Tom Wessels

That work is more of a coffee table book. It's in "mystery" format, starting with a composite line drawing of a composite New England forest and working through the clues one by one to build the story. Responding to reader demand, he then produced a smaller fieldguide with real photos and checklists -

"Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape" by Tom Wessels


A few clues speak to regional history - waves of cultivation and pasturing - that's only relevant to New England.

However, the bulk of the work comes from natural succession patterns and species mix, so anyone in the eastern US and probably Europe could get at least some use out of it. If nothing else, it really sharpens your eye to seeing the story of the woods around you, rather than perceiving them as an environment flat in time.

Highly recommended.


(edit - fair warning. It will make you a better woodsman, but might break your immersion if you're dreaming of ancient Mirkwood while patrolling Vermont or similar. On the other hand, wasn't much of Third Age Middle Earth overgrown from more settled earlier ages itself? )

It sounds fascinating. And as to pristine Mirkwood, well, yes, I guess that's the price one pays. However, Tolkien made his Middle Earth a post-apocalyptic land littered with the ruins of a great (Numenorean) civilization much like Dark Ages England was with Roman ruins.