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The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed — John Vaillant
$23.00
Winner of the Governor General’s Award for Nonfiction · National Bestseller · A Modern Canadian Classic
In 1997, a rare golden Sitka spruce that had stood for centuries on the remote Haida Gwaii archipelago was cut down in the middle of the night. Revered by the Haida people and known around the world, the luminous tree was destroyed by a single man — Grant Hadwin — whose act shocked the country and sparked fierce debate.
In The Golden Spruce, John Vaillant investigates the life of the logger-turned-environmental zealot who felled the tree, tracing his descent from industry insider to radical critic. At the same time, Vaillant explores the deep history of logging in British Columbia, the cultural significance of the tree to the Haida Nation, and the larger tensions between environmental preservation and resource extraction.
Part investigative narrative, part ecological history, The Golden Spruce is a gripping account of one tree — and the forces of myth, identity, and power that surrounded it.
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