The Secret Network of Nature Book Review

​​Title: The Secret Network of Nature
Author: Peter Wohlleben
Genre: Nonfiction, Nature
Published: 2019 (English translation) 
Pages: 236
Goodreads Rating: 4.03
Rating: 4/10

“… the best way to protect nature is to ensure that people experience it.”
“Empathy is one of the strongest forces in conservation and can achieve more than any number of rules and regulations.” 

In The Secret Network of Nature, join Wohlleben on an exploration of fascinating relationships in nature. 

Pros:
Improved writing style
Compared to The Hidden Life of Trees, Wohlleben’s writing style is significantly better in The Secret Network of Nature. The chapters smoothly flow from one to the next and the overall content is organized in a way that is much easier to follow. 

Surprising facts
Some of the relationships covered were truly surprising! Two of my favorites include the relationship between salmon, bears, and trees as well as the relationship between wolves and ravens. 

Variety of symbiotic relationships
Wohlleben covers a good mix of the types of symbiotic relationships. Most of my favorites were the mutualistic relationships and I wish more were featured in the book! It’s fascinating to discover a relationship between two completely different species who have reached a mutual agreement so both can thrive. 

Cons:
Skimmable
This book could have been much shorter. There is quite a bit of content overlap with The Hidden Life of Trees and some chapters are long-winded. 

Unrelated chapters
Some of the chapters have very little to do with networks in nature. It felt like the author just wanted to be on his soapbox. The most obvious example is the chapter called The Stranger in Our Genes. 

The missing relationships
I’m a bit disappointed that some relationships were not included in the book. It would have been interesting to learn more about anemones’ relationships with clownfish and crabs as well as the relationship between drongos and meerkats. And there are many others that I think could have been more engrossing than some of the ones selected. 

Overall…
The Secret Network of Nature had an interesting foundational topic for a book. I just don’t think Wohlleben executed it well. Perhaps a forester wasn’t the best person to write about this broad topic.