The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed.

JOHN VAILLANT

The golden spruce was a 165-foot-tall mutant that survived 300 years and was revered by the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia. Other locals loved it as well, and even the logging companies treated the unique specimen with respect. But it took just one night for Grant Hadwin, a logger turned environmental terrorist, to chainsaw away enough of the tree to kill it. Hadwin, whose life was threatened by several people for this act, soon disappeared, and months later his kayak and camping gear washed ashore on a remote Alaskan island. First-time author Vaillant chronicles the history of this tree, from how the Haida Indians made it an integral part of their mythology to the story of the loggers who have the dangerous and controversial job of cutting down the old-growth forests of British Columbia. Vaillant discusses environmentalism from the points of view of the loggers, the Indians, and the environmentalists. This book will appeal to anyone interested in the Pacific Northwest, environmentalism, or a gripping real-life mystery. W.W. Norton & Company, 2005, 256 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $24.95.