Rooted in one place, vulnerable to fungi, disease, natural disaster, and predation, trees developed a necessary survival adaptation: endless regeneration. Hired by a commission from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to care for and pollard 40 London Plane trees in front of the museum, arborist and naturalist William Bryant Logan travels around the globe to investigate the rich and intimate connection between trees and humans. On his way he explores coppicing (cutting near the base) and pollarding (cutting high along the trunk) techniques, the millennia-old practices of cutting and pruning the tree trunks to stimulate sprouting. Helps trees live longer and healthier than un-cut trees while providing human hay and trunks in making life sustaining materials. We know while trees have supported human life, humans, in turn, have cared for trees. This reciprocal relationship increases biodiversity. The book offers practical knowledge about how to live with trees to gain mutual benefit and a reminder of the generosity and persistence of trees.