The American Chestnut: An Environmental History by Donald Edward Davis

Previously best known for his environmental histories of Appalachia and the South, Donald Edward Davis here writes about the tree that has always most fascinated him and that he has researched most closely: the American chestnut. It is also the tree whose most dense habitat centered on Southern Appalachia and that had its greatest impact there. What a fascinating and stimulating book this is. The cast of captivating characters includes Presidents, poets, singers, and murderers. But the most amazing character is the chestnut tree itself and the way its story illuminates environmental and human issues both complex and scintillating including the current fierce competition that a few rare naturally blight-resistant American chestnuts face from both genetically engineered chestnuts and international hybrids. “Of the some 650 species of trees native to the United States, none has done more to shape America’s culture and landscape than Castanea dentata, the American chestnut. In compelling d