The Man Who Planted Trees

For the Media

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jon-Mikel Gates, Publicity Assistant, 802-295-6300 x111,
jgates@chelseagreen.com

Nobel Peace Laureate Lends Voice to Classic Environmental Fable

"Jean Giono’s story of a man's generosity to nature—and through nature, to other humans—surely belongs among the most moving and endearing statements of our hope."

—Wendell Berry

Jean Giono's timeless classic The Man Who Planted Trees, which has sold over a quarter of a million copies and inspired people around the world to plant trees, will be released on National Arbor Day (April 29, 2005) in a special 20th-anniversary edition. With a new foreword by Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, and a new "Call for Action" afterword by Andy Lipkis, founder of the Los-Angeles- based TreePeople, Giono’s tale will show new generations of readers the power of trees to change lives and Earth herself. The book, along with the Paul Winter Consort's CD of Giono's tale read by Robert J. Lurtsema, will inspire and inform Arbor Day celebrations across the country.

In this unforgettable story, Elzéard Bouffier, a tireless shepherd, plants one hundred acorns a day over thirty years, and not only transforms the countryside, but also revitalizes his community, teaching us about hope, humanity, and our own ability to create change in the world. First published in 1954 by Vogue magazine, this eco-fable is more relevant today than it was fifty years ago.

Wangari Maathai embodies the ideals in Giono’s tale. An advocate of reforestation and founder of the Greenbelt Movement, the Kenyan-born Maathai, like Giono, sees hope in trees. She started the Greenbelt Movement in response to the needs of rural Kenyan women. "I came to understand," Maathai said in her Nobel Prize acceptance speech, "that when the environment is destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine our quality of life and that of future generations." Planting trees was a natural first step to improving the quality of life for these women and their families. "Together, we have planted over 30 million trees that provide fuel, food, shelter, and income to support their children’s education and household needs," she said.

Chelsea Green is joining with TreePeople of Los Angeles to launch this twentieth-anniversary edition. Founded by Lipkis in 1973, TreePeople has been at the forefront of urban tree planting and care for more than thirty years.

Book available, April 29, 2005 | Hardcover | $17.50 | 1-931498-72-5 | 7 x 10 | 96 pages

CD available now | $16.00 | 1-930031-76-8 | 60 minutes

Book and CD set available April 29, 2005 | $25.00 | Hardcover and CD | 1-931498-81-4

For more information For excerpts from the book, audio samples from the CD, or author bios please visit www.chelseagreen.com/2004/media/mwpt20.