The Man Who Planted Trees

Twenty years ago Chelsea Green published the first trade edition of The Man Who Planted Trees, a timeless eco-fable about what one person can do to restore the earth. The hero of the story, Elzéard Bouffier, spent his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence in the south of France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape-from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds, and fresh, flowing water.

Since our first publication, the book has sold over a quarter of a million copies and inspired countless numbers of people around the world to take action and plant trees. On National Arbor Day, April 29, 2005, Chelsea Green is releasing a special twentieth anniversary edition with a new foreword by Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the African Green Belt Movement.

About the Authors

Jean Giono

Jean Giono, the only son of a cobbler and a laundress, was one of France's greatest writers. His prodigious literary output included stories, essays, poetry, plays, film scripts, translations and over thirty novels, many of which have been translated into English. Giono was a pacifist, and was twice imprisoned in France at the outset and conclusion of World War II. He remained tied to Provence and Manosque, the little city where he was born in 1895 and, in 1970, died.

Giono was awarded the Prix Bretano, the Prix de Monaco (for the most outstanding collected work by ...

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Michael McCurdy

Michael McCurdy is one of America’s outstanding wood engravers. He has illustrated nearly 200 books for trade publications and as special fine-press editions. His prints and drawings are also shown in galleries throughout the country and at www.michaelmccurdy.com. McCurdy lives in Springfield, Mass. ...

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Andy Lipkis

Andy Lipkis began planting trees to rehabilitate smog and fire damaged areas when he was 15 years old. He founded TreePeople and has served as President since 1973. TreePeople has been an international guiding light for the Citizen Forestry movement. Andy's programs include airlifting bare-root fruit trees to Africa, inspiring the planting of one million trees ...

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