Trees are the most successful organisms in the history of life, and Richard Powers' novel tells their story through nine humans whose lives intertwine around the fate of forests. A farmer plants chestnuts that will outlive his family for generations. A paralyzed engineer creates virtual forests more perfect than any on Earth. A psychologist researching the limits of human perception discovers that trees communicate underground. An idealistic couple turns to radical environmentalism to save ancient redwoods. Powers, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel, brings his characteristic intellectual ambition to the lives of trees. He draws on the latest research showing that forests are not collections of individuals but communities sharing resources through fungal networks. Trees warn each other of pests, nurture their offspring, and remember droughts. The human characters in the novel struggle to perceive these vegetal realities and to act on what they learn. Some turn to protest, some to scholarship, some to despair. The novel stretches across decades and continents, following its characters from childhood enthusiasms through adult compromises to the varied forms of wisdom that age brings. Readers who care about environmental issues will find both information and inspiration; those who appreciate literary fiction will find Powers at the height of his powers.