Oak Origins

"“In this brilliant exploration, oaks emerge as jazz musicians, continually improvising, collaborating, and finding new living music over millions of years. We think of oaks as hard and unyielding, but Hipp’s compelling writing reveals them as supple and inventive, from genes, to physiology, to their ecologies.” -- David George Haskell, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Biology, Sewanee: The University of the South, and the author of ""Sounds Wild and Broken,"" ""The Songs of Trees,"" and ""The Forest Unseen"" ""Oaks are strong and sturdy, adaptable and beautiful, and the same can be said for Hipp’s joyful book Oak Origins. Hipp, director of the herbarium at the Morton Arboretum near Chicago, is a world expert on tree genetics and evolution, and with his new book, proves that he has science writing chops as well. In his meditation on oaks, he uses these familiar trees to explore the wonders of plants, ecosystems, evolution, and Earth history. I grew up amongst the oaks in Illinois. A few huge ones towered over our backyard, but I didn’t think much of them until one was felled by lightning, and all of a sudden, our home was less vibrant with birds and insects. After reading Hipp’s book, I understand why: oaks are the nexus of a hidden world of diversity and beauty, which we must preserve as climates and environments change rapidly around us."" -- Steve Brusatte, professor and paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and New York Times–bestselling author of “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs” “One of the premier naturalists and evolutionary biologists of our time, Hipp weaves together the deeply compelling origin story of the oaks―at once scientifically rigorous and accessible to all. Hipp pieces together botanical details of reproductive biology with the complex science of gene evolution, fossil data, and ecological observations to bring to life the incredible story of the northern hemisphere’s most adored and important tree genus. A literary accomplishment, illustrated with exquisite botanical drawings, Oak Origins will give the reader a profound appreciation of how the trees around us came to be here in such abundance. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever picked up an acorn and wondered how it could one day become one of the most iconic and revered standing giants in our midst.” -- Jeannine Cavender-Bares, director, Harvard University Herbaria “There is poetry, suspense, and humor in Andrew’s science, and in his writing. You can enter his story in many different ways, but, once you are in it, you will be captivated.” -- Béatrice Chassé, former president of the International Oak Society, from the foreword"