A biologist reveals the secret world hidden in a single square meter of forest. In this wholly original book, biologist David Haskell uses a one- square-meter patch of old-growth Tennessee forest as a window onto the entire natural world. Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature's path through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life. Each of this book's short chapters begins with a simple observation: a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter; the first blossom of spring wildflowers. From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands- sometimes millions-of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants that call it home. Written with remarkable grace and empathy, "The Forest Unseen" is a grand tour of nature in all its profundity. Haskell is a perfect guide into the world that exists beneath our feet and beyond our backyards.
戴维•哈斯凯尔的研究与教学工作主要涉及生物进化和动物保护，尤其是对栖息于森林里的鸟类和无脊椎动物的保护。除了发表许多科研文章外，他还发表了数篇关于科学与自然的随笔和诗歌。哈斯凯尔因其创造性地将科学探索、冥想练习和社区行动结合起来而获得了全国关注。2009年，卡耐基基金会、凯斯基金会将他命名为田纳西年度教授，该奖项只授予获得国家荣誉或对大学教育做出突出贡献的大学教授。“牛津美国”将他列入2011年美国南部最具创意的老师。他现在是南方大学的生物教授，生物学系主任，美国南部大学联盟环保研究员。