Comments (23)

The Golden Spruce

a True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed
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Sep 17, 2023Willow_47 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I’m a fan of the writer, but I felt the book was too critical of BC logging. He took a broad brush approach to clear cut logging that I felt was incorrect. Clear cut logging is a correct system for many areas in the Interior as it mimics…
Jun 05, 2023Fireicemma rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Loved it, having tree planted back in the 90s on the Queen Charlotte Islands the story and history of logging and the Golden Spruce really resonated with me. John really did a great job researching and giving a portrayal of Hadwin.…
spudwil
Aug 26, 2021spudwil rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It’s about a lot more than just the tree. Every high school student should read this. Lots of insight into the BC logging industry, the Haida nation, etc.
May 09, 2021ruthdelagiroday rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Only at about 35% of the book will you begin hearing about the actual title. The first third of the book is BC logging history & a very white, colonial, settler perspective at that. Extremely in depth, and not related to the title at all.
Nov 12, 2019
Rec by Dan??
Sep 09, 2018pokano rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Fascinating book centered around the cutting down of the famous Golden Spruce in the Queen Charlotte Islands by a white anti-logging fanatic who most likely was mentally ill and made most of what money he had by brilliantly designing…
Feb 28, 2018bcjones14 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This nonfiction book is dense and belabors details about logging that make it difficult to get through at times. I was expecting more of an exciting read about Grant Hadwin and the Golden Spruce but it does not feature prominently. Instead…
Jul 21, 2017ladyparasol rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. I learned about the Haida people and logging. Also what happens when someone with such good intentions goes off the deep end and does something so wrong. I found Grant Hadwin quite fascinating. I also watched the…
Feb 13, 2017mclarjh rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Much ado about nothing. Journalistic style writing.
Aug 14, 2016mlharr rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This was a really unique and interesting nonfiction, recommended to me by my aunt! The blurb on the book compared it to a Krakauer book, and I'd mostly agree with that. It certainly brought the temperate rainforests of British Columbia…
Jun 28, 2016ehallvan rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Well told story, but I would have liked the author to give more details about Hadwin's writings...I can't find any copies of his manifestos.
Dec 05, 2014rusty_13 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a fascinating true story about a lumberjack gone rogue. Besides being entertaining, I feel I learned a lot about the history of the timber industry in the Pacific Northwest.
Jul 04, 2013Bjreader rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The Golden Spruce is truly a story of myth, madness and greed. It gave so much information and at times I felt that it was a manifesto about the destruction of our forests and not pointing out what we are doing to our world and the…
Sep 11, 2012wimsey4u rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
My son and I read this aloud to each other while visiting Haida Gwaii. It gave a depth to our own experience, kept us thinking both sides of the issues faced by our resource extraction society. Highly recommended by us as a well written,…
Jul 24, 2012StuDick rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Amazing true story, thoughtfully set in a context of resource exploitation and personal responsibility. I still can't decide if what he did was morally right or wrong.
Jun 26, 2012spacecat rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The politics of logging in B.C. has a long history. This man was skilled, knowledgeable, and like a lot of woods people, a bit crazy on a good day. The book explains the possible motive behind an unbelievable act of environmental protest…
Jun 22, 2012Kate13Liz rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Good telling - true Canadian Mystery. Nice details about life in some of the tribes of the West Coast and of the West Coast loggers.
May 15, 2012
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…
May 01, 2012uncommonreader rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
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…
Dec 01, 2011MsLit rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
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…
csbryant
Jun 12, 2011csbryant rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
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…
Jun 09, 2011
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…
Jul 26, 2009nipper rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
excellent book......intense, suspenseful, lots of info about early logging in BC....loved it