Oak

Peter Young is an independent scholar who lives in Crawley, West Sussex. He is author of Person to Person (1992), a social history of the telephone,Tortoise (2003) and Swan (2007), both published by Reaktion.

This slim volume is literally a romp in the park full of painters, novelists and historians. Oak establishes its credentials very quickly, then dashes along. The illustrations are marvellous . . . part of an attractive, lavishly illustrated new series, perfect for house gifts if you're visiting someone who'll welcome you with clean towels and a trowel. - New York Times Book ReviewEvery page is crammed with well-researched facts and vignettes, not a boring one among them. It is not Peter Young's purpose to range across the huge and varied oak family rather, he describes the oak in the context of the natural world and how it has served and influenced man from the Stone Age up to the present day . . . His story of oak both the tree and the versatile timber is uplifting: a pity, I thought, to end with the gloomy and familiar refrain about climate change. But that is a small quibble I still want to own this book, not just as a work of reference but also for the enjoyment it gives. - House and GardenYoung's carte blanche sends him off in all kinds of colourful and diverting by-ways . . . Young writes with great verve and what appears to be a genuine love of oak trees. The illustrations are equally wide-ranging and, in some cases, quite surprising. Lets hope that future titles in this series succeed with similar brilliance. - HortusWhether you're a hard-core gardener or simply have a curiosity about plants, [a] new title from London-based Reaktion Books [is] sure to command your attention . . . Young explores the history of the oak and its origins, habitats and place in civilization. The oak has been integral in religious rites, he tells us, dating to the Druids. Geoffrey Chaucer, Frank Lloyd Wright and Harry Truman all drift through Young's narrative. He also explains the threats the oak faces today and informs us that the first electric chair, first used in 1890, was constructed of oak. - Chicago TribuneReaktion Books publishes handsomely designed and beautifully written volumes on subjects you might not think you're interested in . . . The best thing about Geranium and Oak, the first two volumes in a new botanical series, is the focus on cultural history - Boston Globea wonderfully researched book with elegant photographs and illustrations . . . it is factual as well as decorative and amusing . . . The pictures of the oak tree as a thing of beauty and friend of mankind are well chosen and informative . . . dipping in is addictive. - Living Woods Magazine