I read this back in February putting a blog post review up on March 1 – https://mybecky.blog/2024/03/01/natures-temples-by-joan-maloof/ but I only gave it a rating of 8.5 and that’s because it’s not in Audible format which is much easier for me to read. Okay fine – I had the Kindle. The second reading was much better as usual and here I give it a 10.

Nature’s Temples: 
A Natural History of Old Growth Forests  
by Joan Maloof
Kindle 2016,  216 pages 
Rating 10 / forest conservation 

This time I was impressed by several things – I don’t usually care for nature books which are heavily poetic – trying to convey to me the sense of wonder the author had when observing. Otoh, I don’t have the background for many of the more scientific books. It’s very nice when an author is able to meet my level –

Maloof’s book was a bit over my head in some places – but I googled a few times and on the second reading I understood more readily.

As I said in my first review the organization is great. The unfortunate thing about it – for me anyway – is that the best chapters are towards the end! LOL! Oh well –

Some little things are still unclear –

pg 239: “Two trees provide enough oxygen for one person to breathe over the course of a year. On average, each tree removes 4.3 pounds of air pollutants while producing this oxygen. In a single year trees filter 17.4 million tons of air pollution in the US, preventing 850 deaths and 670,000 cases of acute respiratory symptoms.” –

“Does that mean two trees” (in one year or in their lifetimes?) “provide enough oxygen for one person to breathe in one year.” I’m going with two trees in one year provide enough oxygen in one year for one person but …? I have a couple small but mature maple trees outside my kitchen window – will that do it for me? It doesn’t seem like enough. (I have other trees, oaks and elms) along the front and side of my house.)

I loved the chapters about worms and fungi the worms chapter was all new material and I read about fungi in Entangled Life by Mervin Sheldrake – I mentioned that in my first review, too. (The term “review” is sometimes used very loosely in this blog – lol) –

In Chapter 14 Maloof gets to “Humans and the Forest” where she addresses aesthetics of old forests vs younger forests and it appears that according to her research humans see old forests as being more beautiful. (And I’ve seen other scientific studies about how humans address and appreciate “measure”? beauty. (We are sensing something – how is our body responding?)