black cat: Review of OAK by William Bryant Logan

One of the most useful and informative books I have discovered for my research has been reviewed on Wilson Web(a site well worth signing up to ).

Oak: The Frame of Civilization by William Bryant Logan

Oak trees are not champions, they hold no special records. They are not the largest, strongest, oldest or fastest growing tree. But the genus Quercus has the broadest geographical range of any tree species. These trees are found all over the world and unlike other species that require very specific conditions, such as altitude, specific temperatures or humidity to flourish, the oak is spread around the world throughout all the temperate zones. But the question is: could a single genus of tree be responsible for the spread of civilization? Could it be that man followed the edible acorns of the oak forests, and not migrating animals, and, in turn, spread civilization across expanses of the planet? William Bryant Logan believes there is a possibility and he explores this theory as well as scientific and historic facts in the book Oak: The Frame of Civilization.

This book offers a perspective of world history seen through the lens of a single tree. Here we learn how intrinsic oak was to civilization. Oak provided food and shelter and the stuff big sailing ships were made from. Oak tells history in its rings and has been discovered to indicate historic events dating back as far as 10 millennia more accurately than radiocarbon dating. Oak recorded history in other ways in the form of charcoal and ink from oak galls. Humans ate the highly nutritious acorns for centuries before they were fed to pigs. Oak is also crucial to the history of drink, as it was the stuff of barrels and bottle corks. According to Logan the age of oak ended in 1862 when the material’s use in building was replaced by metal, oil and coal.

Oak: The Frame of Civilization by William Bryant Logan

Oak trees are not champions, they hold no special records. They are not the largest, strongest, oldest or fastest growing tree. But the genus Quercus has the broadest geographical range of any tree species. These trees are found all over the world and unlike other species that require very specific conditions, such as altitude, specific temperatures or humidity to flourish, the oak is spread around the world throughout all the temperate zones. But the question is: could a single genus of tree be responsible for the spread of civilization? Could it be that man followed the edible acorns of the oak forests, and not migrating animals, and, in turn, spread civilization across expanses of the planet? William Bryant Logan believes there is a possibility and he explores this theory as well as scientific and historic facts in the book Oak: The Frame of Civilization.

This book offers a perspective of world history seen through the lens of a single tree. Here we learn how intrinsic oak was to civilization. Oak provided food and shelter and the stuff big sailing ships were made from. Oak tells history in its rings and has been discovered to indicate historic events dating back as far as 10 millennia more accurately than radiocarbon dating. Oak recorded history in other ways in the form of charcoal and ink from oak galls. Humans ate the highly nutritious acorns for centuries before they were fed to pigs. Oak is also crucial to the history of drink, as it was the stuff of barrels and bottle corks. According to Logan the age of oak ended in 1862 when the material’s use in building was replaced by metal, oil and coal.

OAK FACTS:

Oak trees generally do not produce acorns until they are at least 20 years old although some individuals do not produce acorns until they are as old as 50 years.
Only one out of 10,000 acorns will germinate into a tree.
Balanophage means "acorn eaters."
The largest oak tree in the United States is the Linden Oak in North Bethesda, Maryland.
Poison Oak is not really an oak, it is a plant.
The lumber from a Black Oak is either red or white and sold as such. There is no Black Oak lumber.
Ink made from oak trees was used by Leonardo da Vinci, Johann Sebastian Bach and the Roman Historian Pliny.