The Golden Spruce

February 14, 2005
The felling of a celebrated giant golden spruce tree in British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands takes on a potent symbolism in this probing study of an unprecedented act of eco-vandalism. First-time author Vaillant, who originally wrote about the death of the spruce for the New Yorker
, profiles the culprit, an ex-logger turned messianic environmentalist who toppled the famous tree—the only one of its kind—to protest the destruction of British Columbia's old-growth forest, then soon vanished mysteriously. Vaillant also explores the culture and history of the Haida Indians who revered the tree, and of the logging industry that often expresses an elegiac awe for the ancient trees it is busily clear-cutting. Writing in a vigorous, evocative style, Vaillant portrays the Pacific Northwest as a region of conflict and violence, from the battles between Europeans and Indians over the 18th-century sea otter trade to the hard-bitten, macho milieu of the logging camps, where grisly death is an occupational hazard. It is also, in his telling, a land of virtually infinite natural resources overmatched by an even greater human rapaciousness. Through this archetypal story of "people fail to see the forest for the tree," Vaillant paints a haunting portrait of man's vexed relationship with nature. Photos. Agent, Stuart Krichevsky.
8-city author tour.

January 1, 2005
Vaillant covers a real mystery: why logger-turned-activist Grant Hadwin chainsawed a gorgeous Sitka spruce that stood 165 feet tall-and then disappeared.

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2005
For more than 300 years, a most unusual and revered Sitka spruce tree, with golden rather than green needles, grew on the western coast of British Columbia. But in 1997, a former logger named Grant Hadwin caused a public outcry when he surreptitiously cut down the tree, which was more than 20 feet around and 16 stories tall. Vaillant, who first wrote about the tree's death in "The New Yorker", delves into the story behind this defiant act of protest by a one-time lumberjack who realized that the voracious timber industry was causing irreparable damage to the forests he loved. After providing a history of the resident Haida Indians before white men arrived, Vaillant discusses the timber industry's encroachment, the loggers' perilous work, and Hadwin's eventual transformation into an environmentalist. Because the golden spruce was sacred to the Haida and so special to the local people, Hadwin was threatened and arrested, and his strange disappearance before his trial became the subject of much speculation. Filled with interesting characters and fascinating details, Vaillant's engrossing account is recommended for public and academic libraries, especially those with Pacific Northwest or environmental collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ "1/05.] -Ilse Heidmann, Washington State Lib., Olympia

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2005
This powerful and vexing man-versus-nature tale is set in an extraordinary place, Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands, and features two legendary individuals: a uniquely golden 300-year-old Sitka spruce and Grant Hadwin, a logger turned champion of old-growth forests who ultimately destroys what he loves. With a firm grasp of every confounding aspect of this suspenseful and disturbing story and a flair for creating arresting allegories and metaphors, Vaillant conveys a wealth of complex biological, cultural, historical, and economic information within an incisive interpretation of the essential role trees have played in human civilization. Breathtaking evocations of this oceanic realm of giant trees and epic rains give way to a homage to its ghosts, for this is the sight of a holocaust, where the creative and dauntless Haida were nearly decimated by Europeans who also clear-cut the mighty forests. It is this legacy of greed and loss that rendered the immense golden spruce, a miraculous survivor, sacred, and that drove Hadwin to cut it down. This tragic tale goes right to the heart of the conflicts among loggers, native rights activists, and environmentalists, and induces us to more deeply consider the consequences of our habits of destruction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)