Should be required reading for all British Columbians. Offers a concise, well researched, thumbnail history of this geographical region, it's people, and resources. Also uncovers the facts and motivations behind the events when the Golden Spruce was cut down.

An unusual book but worth a read. It tells the story of a tree on Haida Gwai, cut down in 1997 as a protest, although about what is unclear, by a man who subsequently disappeared. It is a little too pro-logging and is padded with too much biology.

I am not a big NF fan, but I was actually able to finish this one with some skimming. The thread of the main story kept my intrigued enough to stick with it. I am glad I finished this book as I had no knowledge of the golden spruce and it's mysterious demise.

This is a book about a tree. I never thought that a book about a tree could be so interesting. Really, I never thought a book about a tree (in this sense) could exist. But exist it does, and it was an excellent book. The Golden Spruce is the story of, well, of the Golden Spruce; a tree that happened by chance. It was a normal Sitka Spruce, but with one genetic mutation, this tree had golden needles. It was revered by the Haida people of Haida Gwaai on the northwest coast of British Columbia, and it was respected by loggers. The Golden Spruce is also the story of Grant Hadwin. Hadwin was a logger turned environmentalist. He was enraged with the clear-cutting practices occurring in Northwest BC, and decided to take action. Instead of organizing protests, or anything of that sort, he made an example of the Golden Spruce. In a showing of how people care more about one tree than they do the whole forest, he destroyed the tree. Vaillant’s description of both Hadwin and the Golden Spruce are interwoven with information about the logging industry, both in the past and present, as well as information about the Haida people. He tells so many stories at one time while still managing to keep them separate. A very interesting and compelling book, I look forward to reading The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival.

A good, true story about a man, Grant Hadwin, who cuts down a 300 year old golden Sitka spruce on the Queen Charlotte Islands( Haida Gwai).A revered and spiritual tree( by the indigenous natives) which was one of a kind because of the golden needles. The book also explores the history of logging on the west coast, esp. old growth forests - a sad sad tale of commerce trumping a unique part of nature( 300 - 800 year old trees cut for the wood)

The first book I read by this author was "The Tiger", of which I was so impressed I immediately went to the library and loaned "The Golden Spruce". A tree may not appear to be as glamorous a subject as the Siberian Tiger but under the creative mind of Mr. Vaillant, it soon becomes another in the genre of "cannot put it down." He is an excellent story teller and will keep you spellbound.

excellent book......intense, suspenseful, lots of info about early logging in BC....loved it