Author(s): HAY ASHLEY

Natural History and Environment

No matter where you look in Australia you're more than likely to see a eucalyptus tree. Scrawny or majestic, smooth as pearl or rough as a pub brawl, they have defined a continent for thousands of years, and still shape our imagination. This is the story of the explorers, poets, painters, foresters, conservationists and scientists who have been obsessed by them, championing their powers. Gum trees have promised to cure malaria, solve the drainage problems that had defeated the Roman emperors, forest the Sahara and divine gold. "Gum" is a book about a magical, mythical, medicinal tree. But more than that, it's the story of new worlds, strange people and big ideas.