The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street (Signed!) [B1681]

2025 signed HCDJ 1st edition in excellent condition. A riveting and elegant story of climate change on one city street, full of surprises and true stories of human struggle and dying local trees - all against the national backdrop of 2023's record heat domes and raging wildfires and, simultaneously, rising hopes for clean energy. No book has told the story of climate change this way: hyper-local, full of surprises, full of true stories of life and death in one neighborhood. The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue is a harrowing and hopeful proxy for every street in America and every place on Earth.

In 2023, author and activist Mike Tidwell decided to keep a record for a full year of the growing impacts of climate change on his one urban block right on the border with Washington, DC. A love letter to the magnificent oaks and other trees dying from record heat waves and bizarre rain, Tidwell's story depicts the neighborhood's battle to save the trees and combat climate change: The midwife who builds a geothermal energy system on the block, the Congressman who battles cancer and climate change at the same time, and the Chinese-American climate scientist who wants to bury billions of the world's dying trees to store their carbon and help stabilize the atmosphere. The story goes beyond ailing trees as Tidwell chronicles people on his block coping with Lyme disease, a church with solar panels on its roof and floodwater in its basement, and young people anguishing over whether to have kids -all in the same neighborhood and all against the backdrop of 2023's record global temperatures and raging wildfires and hurricanes. Then there's Tidwell himself who explores the ethical and scientific questions surrounding the idea of "geoengineering" as a last-ditch way to save the world's trees - and human communities everywhere - by reflecting sunlight away from the planet. No book has told the story of climate change this way: hyper-local, full of surprises, full of true stories of life and death in one neighborhood. The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue is a harrowing and hopeful proxy for every street in America and every place on Earth.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Such a beautiful way to analyze climate change, through human experience and true stories about the author's neighbors and colleagues. This was the type of book that you can come back to and keep learning new things. I really liked that it felt like a mix between scientific non-fiction and memoir/storytelling - and between it all, Tidwell provided solutions to the very real climate crisis we face. I especially enjoyed the chapters about carbon sinks and the tree burials, as well as the changing landscape of Willow Avenue and what that means for the local ecosystem and community. If you're in the environmental field you will likely find ways that this story relates to your job and hopefully feel inspired."; "A beautifully written book about community ties that revolutionized my thinking about trees; everyone wants to plant them, few think about the benefits they offer after their lifespan ends."; " I'm glad I read it and it has re-galvanized me to action."