The Oak and the Larch A Forest History of Russia and its Empires

"Strikingly original [...] a clever way to retell Russian history from a new and revealing perspective"
– The Times

"Fascinating [...] the book makes a compelling argument for the forest as a prism through which to understand Russia – including the former Soviet space – and its peoples"
– Guardian

"An expansive, often absorbing study of the role of the wilderness in the Russian imagination [...] Pinkham is at her sharpest when examining the Soviet era and its aftermath [...] There is some striking nature writing here – Pinkham’s reporting on self-taught wolf researchers who live in pristine isolation near the Russian-Finnish border is especially vivid"
– New York Times

"To tell Russia's story through its forests, from the ent-like leshy of medieval folklore to the way Ukraine's forests became bastions of defence against Putin's invasion, is a glorious act of imagination, and Sophie Pinkham's wonderful book is packed with insight to match"
– Mark Galeotti, author of A Short History of Russia

"For Sophie Pinkham, Russia’s forests contain everything: animals and spirits, legends and fairytales, seeds of the world’s greatest novels, whole histories of political repression and revolution, and hope for a radically post-national future. The Oak and the Larch is a towering achievement, a work of remarkable synthesis and sensitive storytelling"
– Merve Emre, author of The Personality Brokers

"Perceptive, wide-ranging, and gracefully written, The Oak and the Larch is a momentous chronicle of Russia’s vast and vital woodlands and their agency in a human history that touches us all. The lessons we follow from this sylvan past – and this book – will determine our future on Earth"
– Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf