{"product_id":"when-trees-testify-science-wisdom-history-and-americas-black-botanical-legacy-beronda-l-montgomery","title":"When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy \/\/\/ Beronda L. Montgomery \/\/\/ new","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhen Trees Testify\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCombining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBIO\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eBeronda L. Montgomery\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis an award-winning plant biologist and the author of the acclaimed \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLessons from Plants\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Harvard University Press, 2021). She has been named one of the journal \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eCell\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e’s 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America, and was awarded the 2021 Cynthia Westcott Science Writing Award and 2022 Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award for outstanding service to the science of plant biology. She was named a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University (2025-26), and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Academy of Microbiology.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEWS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Top 10 Title in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e’s Science Preview\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“A poignant and singular retelling of Black American history.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e-- \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Botanical knowledge, Montgomery argues persuasively, was intrinsic to Black people’s survival and sustenance before and after emancipation. A fresh perspective on Black history.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e-- \u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhen Trees Testify\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a beautiful journey through the imagination and intellect of one of our most important contemporary science writers. Montgomery is an inheritor of the Black ecological tradition, who brings her heart and knowledge to bear on the world around us, offering deep illumination and abundant wisdom.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e-- Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSouth to America\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBlack in Blues\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Beronda L. Montgomery draws on the experience of Black Americans, her memories of growing up in Arkansas, and her expertise as a plant scientist to reflect on the deep connections between botany and history. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhen Trees Testify\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis a fascinating, informative, and deeply moving book.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e-- \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eElizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Sixth Extinction\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eLife on a Little-Known Planet\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[H]  \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eHenry Holt \u0026amp; Company  \/  January 20, 2026\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1.0\" H x 8.25\" L x 5.38\" W (1.0 lbs) 320 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Macmillan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44856757387440,"sku":"9781250335166","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0515\/3832\/9776\/files\/WHENTREESTESTIFYT.jpg?v=1764077169","url":"https:\/\/checkout.bembrooklyn.com\/products\/when-trees-testify-science-wisdom-history-and-americas-black-botanical-legacy-beronda-l-montgomery","provider":"BEM | books \u0026 more (Online)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}