Tristan Gooley (Tristan Gooley – The Natural Navigator) is an author and naturalist. He set up his natural navigation school in 2008 and is the author of award-winning books, including The Natural Navigator (2010), The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs (2014), How to Read Water (2016), The Secret World of Weather (2021), The Hidden Seasons (2025), some of the world’s only books covering natural navigation. His books have sold millions of copies and been translated into 20 languages. This Sherlock Holmes of the natural world has spent decades hunting for clues and signs in nature across the globe.
‘How to Read a Tree: Clues & Patterns from Roots to Leaves‘ (2023) is a pleasure to read. Each tree we meet is filled with signs that reveal secrets about its life and the surrounding the landscape. Gooley alerts us to the clues that are easy to spot when you know what to look for, but largely remain invisible otherwise.
The author explains the simple principles that govern the shapes and patterns of trees and what they mean. The reader will learn rare skills that can be applied every time a tree is encountered, whether in town or a wilder spot.
Gooley’s skill as an author is in finding apt analogies from the human world to explain the strategies trees use for survival. His tone is that of a fireside chat whilst managing to convey a deal of scientific knowledge in a digestible form. For example, trees ‘cast a net’ of branches and leaves to harvest the sunlight that powers their growth.
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First published 2023
312 pages in Sceptre
ISBN 978152933959-8
Tristan Gooley