{"id":63406,"date":"2025-12-09T09:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=63406"},"modified":"2025-12-09T09:20:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:20:40","slug":"evergreens-preszler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/","title":{"rendered":"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the tradition of works like Salt<\/em>, Cod<\/em>, and Mauve<\/em>, the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early 1770s, American colonists furious over British meddling in their trade of a key agricultural product finally had enough, and rose up\u2014in an act of rebellion that would ultimately spark a revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was that historic event called again? The Boston Tea Party?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

In fact\u2014as Prof. Trent Preszler, MS \u201902, PhD \u201912, points out in his new book, Evergreen<\/em><\/a>\u2014it was the Pine Tree Riot, a bit of rural law-breaking by some New Hampshire residents that would inspire their citified Massachusetts brethren a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as it turns out, that\u2019s just one of myriad ways in which evergreens have played a transformative role in human history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preszler chronicles that impact in his nonfiction work\u2014which follows in the tradition of bestsellers like Salt<\/em>, Cod<\/em>, and Mauve<\/em> in exploring how something seemingly mundane has played a key role in society, the environment, and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Prof.
Prof. Trent Preszler, MS \u201902, PhD \u201912.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Preszler\u2019s well-researched and often poignant account is strewn with intriguing trivia,” says a Publishers Weekly<\/em> review. “History and nature buffs alike will find much to enjoy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book is subtitled The Trees That Shaped America<\/em>. But actually, it covers a much broader swath of our collective past\u2014going back to when people first figured out that wood could offer warmth, shelter, and a means of cooking food, and stretching to the present day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, Preszler teases out some surprising, and often deeply affecting, aspects of evergreen-related history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book is subtitled The Trees That Shaped America<\/em>. But actually, it covers a much broader swath of our collective past.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They include the trees\u2019 connection to slavery in the Deep South, where workers were forced to clear-cut land for cotton cultivation; how the timber industry offered an unlikely refuge for gay men in an era when homosexuality was criminalized; and the environmental toll of today\u2019s artificial Christmas trees, which he decries as yet another source of plastic waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like the courtroom drama that would unfold if you brought evergreens into the witness stand and swore them in,\u201d says Preszler, a professor of practice<\/a> in the Dyson School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey kept the receipts about everything, from world wars to religion to construction booms. I basically just wrote down everything that they\u2019ve been trying to tell us for 365 million years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>
\n

For example: why did Rome fall? As Preszler describes it, the main reason wasn\u2019t lead pipes or mad Caesars or military overreach: it was that it ran out of wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vast stands of Aleppo pines that once graced the Apennine Mountains were razed to fuel iron smelters and even heat bathhouses\u2014like Rome\u2019s famed Baths of Caracalla, which consumed an astonishing 10 tons of firewood daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Romans had to maraud through Europe and Northern Africa because they were desperate for more wood,\u201d Preszler says. \u201cThey needed more trees, and eventually it was their downfall.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And ancient Rome was hardly the last civilization to capitalize on its evergreens\u2014and then suffer for having (more or less literally) burned through them, or used them up for homebuilding and other purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is human folly,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the pattern that has repeated throughout history: we deplete our resources, then throw our hands in the air and ask, \u2018What are we going to do now?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where the Pine Tree Riot comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Preszler explains, a key impetus for Britain\u2019s expansion across the Atlantic was the quest for tall, straight trees to serve as masts for its naval ships, having exhausted the island nation\u2019s native supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

This is human folly. It\u2019s the pattern that has repeated throughout history: we deplete our resources, then throw our hands in the air and ask, \u2018What are we going to do now?\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After a brisk lumber trade grew up in the Colonies, Britain decreed that mast-worthy white pines\u2014those whose trunks were more than 24 inches wide\u2014were property of the Crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Royal surveyors would carve a special mark into the forbidden trees; naturally, the colonists would swiftly fell them for lumber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Britain doubled down, declaring that all<\/em> white pines were off limits, and even sending a sheriff to arrest some New Hampshire sawmill operators for illegal harvesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 14, 1772, that road-weary lawman stopped at a tavern for a drink of ale\u2014and was promptly ambushed by irate locals led by an anti-royalist sawyer, one Ebenezer Mudgett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA veteran of countless disputes with Crown officials, Mudgett and his friends dragged the hapless sheriff outside, held him upside down by his ankles, and whipped him mercilessly with pine boughs\u2014an ironic punishment delivered with savage glee,\u201d Preszler writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe humiliated sheriff fled on his horse past a gauntlet of jeering townsfolk. News of the brawl quickly spread throughout New England, galvanizing anti-Crown sentiment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Trent
Preszler’s research included touring logging sites.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why did Preszler decide to take a deep dive into evergreens?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part, it\u2019s connected to his first book, Little and Often<\/em><\/a>, a memoir in which he processed the grief of his father\u2019s death by handmaking a wooden canoe using his dad\u2019s tools; while crafting it, Preszler often wondered about the wood\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And his academic bona fides\u2014he holds a master\u2019s in agricultural economics and a doctorate in horticultural biology, both from CALS\u2014make him particularly well suited to the subject matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for Preszler, it really started with some oddly colored Christmas trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preszler’s academic bona fides\u2014he holds a master\u2019s in agricultural economics and a doctorate in horticultural biology\u2014make him particularly well suited to the subject matter.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A few Decembers ago, when he was living on Long Island, he went shopping at his local tree farm\u2014and encountered specimens sprayed outlandish shades not found in nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing both a botanist and an economist, I was fascinated by the fact that we took the most natural thing in the world\u2014probably our most renewable resource\u2014a tree, and it still wasn\u2019t good enough; we had to spray paint it gold and pink and blue,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd they were the best sellers. People were driving off with them, and I was in awe at how commercial the whole entire enterprise had become. That sparked curiosity: if I followed this story, where would it go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Brightly
The alarmingly hued Christmas trees that started it all.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The answer was: quite a lot of places. Preszler delved into the essential role that spruces played in aircraft construction during World War I. He learned about traditional Native American forestry practices, including controlled burns\u2014and the environmental catastrophes that ensued when Europeans quashed those traditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid countless tales of trees being voraciously consumed, he explored a prominent case of when too many cause serious harm: with junipers no longer kept in check by Indigenous burns and grazing buffalo, he writes, they\u2019re taking over precious grasslands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most striking story he encountered, though, was the role of logging in LGBTQ history of the 19th and early 20th centuries\u2014something that Preszler, himself a gay man, had never heard of before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn that era, logging was the most dangerous profession on Earth,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey used axes to cut down trees that were 30 feet wide. If you worked a 10-year career as a lumberjack in the late 1800s, you stood about a 50-50 chance of being crushed to death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most striking story he encountered was the role of logging in LGBTQ history of the 19th and early 20th centuries\u2014something that Preszler, himself a gay man, had never heard of before.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At that time, Preszler notes, the word \u201chomosexuality\u201d didn\u2019t exist in English; sex between men was punishable by incarceration, institutionalization, and even forced sterilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis ostracized subculture of men with no other options in life\u2014destitute and poor and sad\u2014turned to the forests,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the timber barons of the time were eager to hire a labor force that was expendable and invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, he says, from around the 1849 California Gold Rush through World War I, the majority of timber-cutters were queer men\u2014a population also heavily represented in the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was shocked to find archival photos of men in lumber camps holding hands, having \u2018bachelor weddings,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cIt turns out that it was a whole culture; the forest became their refuge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Top: Forest photo by Ganesh Rijal via Wikimedia Commons. All other images provided.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published December 9, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the tradition of works like Salt<\/em>, Cod<\/em>, and Mauve<\/em>, the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":63403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[29602,11172,44437],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-63406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\nTrees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the tradition of works like "Salt," "Cod," and "Mauve," the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens - Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the tradition of works like "Salt," "Cod," and "Mauve," the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-09T14:05:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-09T14:20:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"headline\":\"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-09T14:05:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-09T14:20:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\"},\"wordCount\":1438,\"commentCount\":3,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\",\"name\":\"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens - Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-09T14:05:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-09T14:20:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"description\":\"In the tradition of works like \\\"Salt,\\\" \\\"Cod,\\\" and \\\"Mauve,\\\" the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"An evergreen forest\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/\",\"name\":\"Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"description\":\"Cornell's alumni publication\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\",\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beth Saulnier\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/author\/ess8\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens - Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"In the tradition of works like \"Salt,\" \"Cod,\" and \"Mauve,\" the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens - Cornellians | Cornell University","og_description":"In the tradition of works like \"Salt,\" \"Cod,\" and \"Mauve,\" the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history","og_url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/","og_site_name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians","article_published_time":"2025-12-09T14:05:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-09T14:20:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beth Saulnier","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WeCornellians","twitter_site":"@WeCornellians","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beth Saulnier","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/"},"author":{"name":"Beth Saulnier","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"headline":"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens","datePublished":"2025-12-09T14:05:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-09T14:20:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/"},"wordCount":1438,"commentCount":3,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg","articleSection":["Alumni"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/","name":"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens - Cornellians | Cornell University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-09T14:05:16+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-09T14:20:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"description":"In the tradition of works like \"Salt,\" \"Cod,\" and \"Mauve,\" the Cornell prof charts how something seemingly mundane altered human history","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/HERO-Forest_Layer_Rijal.ganesh77_wikimedia_commons-A.jpg","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":"An evergreen forest"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/evergreens-preszler\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trees of Life: Book by PhD Alum Takes a Deep Dive into Evergreens"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/","name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"Cornell's alumni publication","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100","name":"Beth Saulnier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beth Saulnier"},"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/author\/ess8\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET","POST","PUT","PATCH","DELETE"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63406"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63437,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63406\/revisions\/63437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63406"},{"taxonomy":"cornell_year_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cornell_year_post?post=63406"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=63406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}