A fascinating book written by a German who spent 20 years managing a forest and whose observations about the mycelia web that underlies forests proved to be a sentinel event in our understanding of trees and forests.  Wohlleben moves beyond science to speculate about how trees might think, feel, have memory and in other ways be eligible for the extension of human consideration that has recently moved to include farm animals and other members of the animal community.  Much of this work seemed a bit extreme, but the book provided an endless array of data and facts about trees:  a beech produces 1.8 million seeds over its 400 year life and only one will become a successor beech tree; a mature beech tree can send 130 gallons of water/day through its branches and leaves into the atmosphere; a mycelium in Oregon is estimated to be 2400 years old, weigh 660 tons, and cover 2000 acres; beeches capture 97% of sunlight in their crowns; the oldest spruce is 9500 years old and grows in Sweden; erosion is the major enemy of the forest carrying away up to 2900 tons of soil per square mile per year or as little as 1-14 tons depending on whether the forest has been disturbed by man; a tree over its lifetime can store up to 22 tons of carbon dioxide; for every square yard of forest, the crowns blanket 27 square yards and release 8500 cubic yards of water per square mile through transpiration; a mature beech can have as much as 1200 square yards of leaf surface.  All in all, a fascinating and readable book for the tree-lover.