Cedar, beech and sequoia unite in a sad fate. They once formed huge forests. But over the past few centuries they have almost completely disappeared from the earth. Man’s progress and his greed for wood and land were their death sentence. Only a small remnant of the once gigantic holdings still exists today. Dominique Roques grew up around trees as the son of a lumberjack. He knows their diverse smells and is an expert on scents in perfumery. In his book he tells the history of trees and forests and takes the reader on a journey around the world: from the cedar forests in Lebanon to the beech forests of Europe and the sequoias of North America to the tropical rainforests of Borneo and South America, which are now subject to overexploitation but play an important role in the fight against climate change.
The Frenchman looks into exciting chapters of cultural history, reports on his travels and experiences and provides interesting insights into the use of trees as scent dispensers. He advocates a middle ground between the sensible use of forests and their protection. His book, which connects history with the present and future, is a declaration of love for this treasure, for which there is still a spark of hope in the face of various protection projects and committed tree lovers. An enlightening and sensual read. Constanze Matthes
Dominique Roques
The scent of the forests
Publisher HarperCollins, 224 pages, €22
ISBN 978-3-365-00816-4