The History Trees

The ultimate photographic collection of the most historic trees on the planet.

Uncover remarkable trees from around the world, many of which have borne witness to key moments in history or reached a scale and age that have allowed them to become a part of history themselves.

First meet ‘Methuselah’, a bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, believed to be 4,900 years old. Learn about trees which have inspired great events, such as the Isaac Newton apple tree in Lincolnshire, where the famous scientist observed an apple falling from a tree (which still stands in the family garden). Other flora has withstood historic events such as in Japan, where the Hibaku jumoku still grows as a survivor tree from the Hiroshima bombing and the 9/11 Survivor Tree in New York City.

Many trees continue to inspire our world today including the long avenue of beech trees in Northern Ireland known as the Dark Hedges which Game of Thrones fans will instantly recognise as the road to Kings Landing, the Robin Hood’s oak in the Sherwood Forest or the J. R. R. Tolkien trees in Avebury, which inspired the Ents in The Lord of the Rings.

Rest a while beside the oldest trunks and witness the enthralling stories nestled within the branches of these gentle giants.

Author Biography

Colin Salter is a prolific author of literary history. For Batsford he has written 100 Books that Changed the World, 100 Letters that Changed the World and 100 Children’s Books that Inspire our World. He is the author of a biography of Mark Twain and is currently working on a history of the books in one family’s threehundred-year-old library. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, dog and bicycle.