The Remarkable Baobab

Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2004. First Printing . Hard Back. Near Fine/Near Fine. 7 1/2" X 8 3/4. 142 Pages Indexed. Black boards with silver spine lettering. No defects noted. Introduction is titled The Wooden Elephant. Dust jacket price 19.95 is unclipped. Pakenham records his personal encounters with these mysterious giants, tracing their mythologies, their natural grandeur, and their origins, as well as their chances of survival in an uncertain environment. As Pakenharn notes, the baobab may indeed be one of the oldest life forms on the planet, and many of the specimens still standing today have been alive for well over a thousand years. Standing tall on the savannahs of Africa and the sunburned plains of Australia, they arc tremendous in size and have provided food, medicine, and places of refuge and worship to many, even serving as prisons, tombs, and ossuaries on occasion. Over the last one thousand years they have gained mythical status among many peoples, due in no small part to their appearance-without leaves, the branches of the trees look like roots growing into the sky. The Remarkahlc Baobab also includes a special section devoted to two famous baobabs in North America --- one which is now over 20 feet in girth and is planted on a private Florida estate, the other a breathtaking specimen on the campus of the University of Arizona that was brought to the United States by smugglers. Contents in Four Chapters: They Sailed From Here, The Upside Down Tree, Wizards of Oz, and In Captivity. Plus Acknowledgements, Bibliography, Distribution of Baobabs and Illustration Credits. Illustrated with 60 color photographs.