Yew: A history

By Fred Hagender

Sutton Publishing 2007, £25 (hardback)

Review by Hawthorn

A beautiful book, not cheap at £25, but well worth having as it’s a marvellous work of reference and source of inspiration and joy on the topic of the yew. I learnt so much! In a way, there is more, much more, information here than I currently want to know, but I feel that it will be a book to come back to time and time again over the years as my interest and understanding deepens.

More of an encyclopaedia than “a history”, the book is divided into two broad sections – “nature” and “culture”.

The first section provides masses of information about the botany and physical existence of the tree. Each section is broken down into chapter-sized chunks with their own focus – such as roots, flower, seeds, fruit, parasites, and birds.

The second section was initially of greater interest to me, with its short articles on myths and culture as different as the Native American, Amazonian, Japanese, Greek, and European. But I actually found the depth of botanical information wondrous and fascinating, even if a little overwhelming at times – probably a reflection of my state of ignorance.

Beautifully illustrated with photos, I wished that some of them were bigger, but no doubt this would have acted to push the price of the book up further. A book to dip into for pleasure, and to return to again and again for reference purposes.

Strongly recommended for those with a connection to the yew.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

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