I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons - I lived the granular "how the sausage is made" detail of her experiences and experiments with tree science, and every time I see a canopy walk, I think about Meg Lowman and say a little thank you.

But more than the science, Lowman walks the fine line between articulating the truly horrific way that women have been and often are treated in the scientific community without every feeling whiny. This was a great book - a good pairing with Suzanne Simard (one looks at canopies, the other looks at roots!)

"The Arbornaut," by Meg Lowman, interested me because I enjoyed Hope Jahren's memoir "Lab Girl" and wanted another take on the subject. And though much of "The Arbornaut" covers similar ground as "Lab Girl"--a childhood spent in nature and the difficulties of being a woman botanist when there are so few women in that field--there's a certain negative, self-pitying tone in Lowman's book that I didn't really notice as much in Jahren's. Lowman's work as the first tree scientist to really explore and map the canopies of forests throughout the world is fascinating and certainly deserving of attention and acclaim, but I wish she had kept that groundbreaking work the focus of her memoir instead of constantly reverting to discussions of the gender inequities in her field. Still, this is a small quibble because when Lowman does give her scientific studies are in the spotlight, "The Arbornaut" soars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. For over forty years the author has been a foremost authority on the ‘eighth continent’. This is the study the treetops of the great forests of the world. Spanning from America, to Australia, through Africa and India, the Amazon and the Pacific Northwest. The author is a perfect guide as she takes us through her life as a student, a teacher, working in museums and so much more. Not only is she a leader in her field, but is also a divorced mother with two boys and constantly fights for more inclusivity in the sciences.

3.5/5. This is a detailled dive into the life of the "Real-Life Lorax," Meg Lowman- a tree scientist and conservationist who revolutionized ecological research, particularly through the study of tree canopies. This nature memoir provides an inside look into what inspired Meg from an early age and how she translated her love of trees into a lifelong and impactful scientific career working in treetops and travelling the world.

As someone who is also passionate about nature and environmental research, I enjoyed hearing about Meg's background and life's work. It was a very interesting and inspiring tale. The main setback for me was that I often found the writing so detailled that it significantly slowed down the book for me, and so it wasn't as gripping as I would've liked.

Overall, this is a thorough read into the life of an amazing field biologist and her groundbreaking work in the treetops.

An interesting take on a scientific biography. I loved the first chunk of this book, but got seriously muddied down during chapter 7, the citizen science chapter. It does pick back up, but that major lull for me made it a 3 star.

What a delight! The Abornaut was the book I didn't know I needed!! As a tree and forest lover, this was like an enchanting dessert to slowly indulge in. I loved Lowman's memior-esque paragraphs that I ever closely related to. I found myself nodding along as I read, occasionally saying, "Yes, I did that, too!" I felt I was in the forest while I read comfortably in my chair. Armchair traveling to my favorite place to be-The Woodlands. Her descriptions filled me with joyful green pictures moving across my brain. I will read this one over and over, as well as recommending it to my fellow Arbornauts! This one is perfect to add to anyone's library, whether they're an avid forest trekker or not!

Meg Lowman had an extraordinary life: full of adventures, travels all around the world, scientific discoveries and successes. In this book she describes it all but also shows a dark side: constant struggle to achieve recognition or at least respect as a woman (and a single mother) in the patriarchal world of academia. It is truly shocking how hard it can be, even in the rich West.

You can also learn a lot from this book about trees themselves and forest ecology. Parts of it were very interesting, parts would benefit from a harsher editor, but it is worth reading if you are into this topic.

Thanks to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book

“The easy solution, according to Hal, was to visit the local pubs with a slingshot and tell a few good tree-rigging yarns.”

As this quote attests, this is a humble memoir of understated accomplishment. As you learn about her work as a scientist, field biologist, educator, and conservationist, you also uncover not only the scientific challenges but the many gender-based obstacles she needed to overcome to progress in her career. And did she ever. Most people would declare a career successful with one of her discoveries or contributions, but not Dr. Lowman. (Yes, I am calling her Dr. Lowman because although ‘Canopy Meg’ seems very approachable, after reading her story, I believe she deserves as much respect as we can show including the use of her honorific.)

As Lowman systematically studies the world’s canopies, she must define the scientific questions, develop study methodology, design new equipment, deal with disrespectful faculty, raise a family, educate the masses, encourage young women to enter the sciences, improve access for the disabled, and tackle climate change. Why hasn’t this woman won a MacArthur Genius Grant?

Anyone interested in science, the environment, innovative thinking, or women’s history will not only admire her grit but also enjoy her story.

I have read Dr. Lowman’s previous books, Life In the Treetops and It’s a Jungle Up There. If you have as well, you might recognize some of the narratives but this does not detract from this tale’s freshness. It might even give you the sense that you are visiting an old friend that you haven’t heard from in a while.

Dr. Lowman ends her memoir with a call to action regarding climate change. She knows that her beloved trees are threatened. As I write this, I cannot stop looking at the treetops outside my office window. I wonder about their health and what kind of insects reside within the crown. If Dr. Lowman intends to make us care about trees, I believe she has succeeded extraordinarily well.


Why you should not miss this one:
* No matter how well-versed you are in the subject of trees, you will effortlessly learn something new
* Dr. Lowman’s story is a masterclass in ingenuity, perseverance, and inclusiveness
* If you’d like to know what is likely to be the most common creature that lives in the tree canopy, you need to read the book. The answer may surprise you!

Thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and the author, Dr. Meg Lowman, for the opportunity to read a digital copy in exchange for this review.

#NetGalley #TheArbornaut @canopymeg

Also posted on Goodreads.

The Arbor bait by Meg Lowman is a present waiting to be read. It is a delightful book for anyone who loves trees, nature, or has environmental concerns. Ms. Lowman presents data in a very readable manner, and reading this made me look at our world in a different way. Hands down , it's one of the best scientific books I've read in some time, and made me miss the little I used to be when I would climb trees to see what's up there. Read it, you will.enjoy it.

An absolutely charming memoir of a scientist who radiates her enthusiasm for her lifelong study of trees and forests. Her career has taken her to all 7 continents and there is a lot to love about her story. But, the science does get very detailed and bogged down at times. But this book is a true nerd purr for fans of Lab Girl, or even those who loved the botany portions of The Martian.

The world would undoubtedly be a poorer place without Meg Lowman in it. The oldest author in this list, Dr Lowman became a scientist in the 1970s. The amount of misogyny she had to battle in the lab (and at home, when she married into an Australian farming family) genuinely made me swear out loud at times. But she overcame these obstacles again and again thanks to her love for the natural world and, most of all, trees.

An “arbonaut” is someone who climbs into trees, the canopies of which are called “the eighth continent” by Lowman and others. It’s thought that millions of species live in tree canopies that are not yet known to science. I vicariously experienced the author’s joy of discovery and her fascination with this aerial world. I also loved reading about her journey from child naturalist to fully-fledged scientist, and it made me appreciate anew how lucky students are these days to have the internet at our fingertips – no trawling through heaps of dusty journals for us.

Although it’s fairly long, there was not a boring moment in this book. Lowman has been all over the world for her work, taking us from her birthplace on the eastern coast of the USA, to the Scottish Highlands, to Ethiopian “church forests”, to rainforests in Australia, Malaysia, India, and Central and South America. A fair portion of the book also recounts her work to engage the public in citizen science and to involve more underrepresented groups in science, including young people in wheelchairs, and women in more culturally-conservative countries. I read pretty much the whole book in a state of awe at what a powerhouse Lowman is – but of course, she couldn’t finish the book without delivering stark warnings about the future of the Earth if we continue to destroy the forests that help to sustain our world.

(With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance e-book in exchange for an honest review)

It takes a dense book to contain the research, impact, and living legacy of Meg Lowman. Yet in approachable and endearing style her aptly named book, "The Arbornaut", not only accomplishes that but lays out a compelling case of what each of us can (and must) do to mitigate the devastation of our planet’s richest sanctuaries of biodiversity: our old-growth forests.

While I first approached this title with the anticipation of expanding my scientific understanding of forest ecology (and I did), I was hardly prepared for such an adventure with Meg across all 7 continents and up hundreds of feet into the canopies themselves. Detailing each forest within its context of geography, environment, regional economics, and unique climate-related challenges, I soon came face to face with the flora and fauna living in the heights well above the commotion of daily life. Sometimes sounding out the various genus and species she met in these upper reaches (and admittedly, sometimes not), I soon found myself captivated by their remarkable uniqueness and then seconds later, grieving for the precariousness of their survival. While she is not shy about demonstrating her command of the subject matter—which spans far beyond the trees themselves—she offers explanation and analogy that kept me engaged and in-tune with the significance of her observations.

If this were simply a compilation of species encountered and the research her work inspired, it’d be a great read.

But overshadowing the science is the story of a budding pioneer with unstoppable curiosity, courage, and determination to study the whole tree and not just its “big toe”—its trunk—as traditionally done in decades before her. Rigging a series of ropes and pulleys into branches overhead and “after a lot of thought and some trial and error”, Lowman hoists herself into the 8th continent. It’s 1978, and the world she discovers spawns decades of new research, educational outreach, eco-tourism, and global conservation efforts. To portray any of those achievements adequately requires (at least) its own paragraph. It is truly remarkable what Lowman has accomplished in her lifetime and continues accomplishing in her sixth decade.

No impact of this significance comes without its hardship, though. As a "shy" female breaking into a male-dominated discipline, she encounters condescension, opposition, disapproval, and multiple setbacks. She shares these disappointments openly and without bitterness. In her own humble and practical way, she works around these temporary roadblocks much like she accommodates uncomfortable living and research conditions all throughout her career: she simply pushes on.

As I reflect back on the nearly 8 hours we have spent together (the time it took me to read her book), “The Arbornaut” inspired me on a number of different levels: first, by Lowman’s personal sacrifice (any mom can attest to the emotional, physical, and oftentimes financial drain of balancing professional and family life—how many juggle this on a global scale?); by the integrity and meticulousness of her research style (no wonder it yielded such great discoveries); her results (which impact individual lives and scale to school districts, communities, forests, and countries). Finally, by being true to her highest calling, she’s created awareness, interest, and urgency for conservation efforts worldwide. There’s only one Meg Lowman, and readers, she’s done her part. It’s time to do ours!

This is a must-read for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of the impacts of climate change, those who teach science or seek to inspire kids in science, those who enjoy science, and those who just need a dose of inspiration of a life fully lived.

My sincerest thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for allowing this review.

I loved so much about this book. The author takes us into the fascinating world of field biology, teaching us about the flora and fauna she studied as well as the sexism she encountered in her rise through the field.

I enjoyed reading about the plants and animals that the author studied around the world. I never knew the extent to which field biologists go—foregoing comforts such as indoor plumbing and hot food—to complete their research. The book moved through the numerous countries where the author researched plants and wildlife. She also explores international conservation partnerships.

Throughout the book the author weaves in her experiences of sexism in biology. She illustrates how the tall poppy gets cut first—a bias that encourages women to hold back instead of excel due to unsupportive professional environments.

One area where I wish the author had given us more was her effort to elevate women of color in science in the US. She talked about efforts to elevate women overall, but women of color face special barriers that need to be addressed.

Still, I could not put this fascinating book down and highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Before the review, I'm a tree hugger and a member of the American Conifer Society (https://conifersociety.org) and also North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) (https://www.nargs.org). And a female who recently retired after working over 30 years in a very male dominated field. And would have been happy to have continued going to college forever.

So ... this review may be (is!) biased. This book was perfect for me and I really enjoyed it. Would everybody like this book? Probably not. (But in my opinion, everybody should take the time to understand how biodiversity and trees impact the world around them. Or at least check out some of her webpages, www.treefoundation.org )

The version reviewed was an advance read pdf version courtesy of NetGalley and was 769 pages; GoodReads indicates that the book is 368 pages. I'm not confident that the version reviewed is the final version; I'm suspecting that there will be some editing for the final version.

The reviewed book contained quite a bit about family dynamics while married in Australia and then she brought her two young sons back to America so that she could continue with the research and work with trees and biodiversity that she is so impassioned. And then there is very little included about her sons until very late in the book. I thought it was odd that there was so much information about the boys and her life in Australia; and then once she was in America she jetted off from one country to another country to study biodiversity with little mention of her boys.

It seems that Meg's efforts have taken her to nearly every region of the globe that has trees. It is all very fascinating; and she has been constantly discovering new creatures in the upper canopies of trees. She developed a method of climbing trees using a slingshot. She has championed walkways through the upper canopies of trees so that people can understand the importance of trees in their community and the world. She has also reached out to those who have limited mobility and found a way for them to also get into the treetops. Additionally she spent extra effort to bring women into the this field. I'm really in awe of Meg Lowman and everything that she has accomplished. At the end of the book she said that her boys would call her an ArborNUT! I would agree. LOL.

The title of this book is a bit misleading. There is a great bit of detail about biodiversity in Ethiopia, the Amazon, India. I can't even count the number of countries mentioned.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and the author (Meg Lowman) for the opportunity to review the advance read copy of The Arbornaut in exchange for an honest review.