Focusing first on the basic life-cycle and habitat of some of the most common British varieties, such as oak, ash and beech, with shorter portraits of other familiar trees, this book then widens its scope to look at the history and study of trees in Britain, as well as record-breaking trees around the world. It addresses environmental issues, from tree-management to trees as part of the ecosystem, and discusses the non-scientific, popular dimension of trees, such as tree lore and folk beliefs, and trees as a source of inspiration to writers and artists. The book was originally published to tie in with an eight-part Channel 4 television series in the autumn of 1992.