The Tree of Travel

Name: The Tree of Travel
ISBN: 9787559809513

星野道夫 / 曹逸冰Guangxi Normal University Press · ChinaApr 2021

4.4

Word count: 84K words
Chapters: 38
ISBN: 9787559809513

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Summary

Kodō Hoshino, known for documenting Alaska—the beautiful yet harsh far north—is not only an ecological photographer but also a travel writer. *The Tree of Travel* selects 33 essays Hoshino wrote between 1993 and 1995. Published at the start of his rise to fame, these 33 travel notes are also 33 stories, 33 encounters. For the author, he always wanted to understand what kind of map the people met on a journey would draw in the rest of one's life. Through travel, he found answers, quietly and meaningfully recorded them, and turned them into a book—a "report on happiness." Hoshino's writing has the gentleness peculiar to someone who has "said goodbye to a certain kind of life"; this book lets us see many landscapes alongside him.

Editor's review

*The Tree of Travel* collects 33 essays Kodō Hoshino wrote between 1993 and 1995—travel notes from the beginning of his fame. As both an ecological photographer and a travel writer, he records the landscapes and encounters of Alaska's far north. The prose is quiet and gentle, carrying the calm temperament of someone who has "said goodbye to a certain kind of life." The book's value lies not in practical guides or geographical knowledge but in its presentation of a slow, restrained way of seeing through encounters between people and land: how the people met on a journey draw maps in one's life, and how the author turned the process of seeking answers into a "report on happiness." It suits slow reading on quiet nights or between stages of a journey—one or two essays at a time, letting the words slowly converse with one's own experience. It is not a sensational polar adventure narrative, nor does it pursue plot momentum; readers need to be willing to slow down and accept the white space and aftertaste of the essay form. For readers who love nature writing, photographic essays, and travel literature, this is a book to revisit, one that lets one understand "setting out" and "staying" anew.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love nature writing and travel literature and enjoy quiet, restrained narration
Readers interested in Alaska's ecology and far-northern landscapes
Readers who prefer short essays and slow reading in fragmented time
Readers who appreciate the combination of photography and text and care about the human-nature relationship

Not a good fit for

Practical travelers expecting detailed travel guides or route information
Readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced narratives
Readers seeking systematic knowledge of Alaska's history and geography

Reading tips

Read one or two essays at a time, pausing afterward to compare the words with your own travel experience.
Read in the order the essays were written and notice subtle shifts in the author's perspective between 1993 and 1995.
Read while traveling or on quiet nights, and use a map to locate the places mentioned to strengthen the sense of space.
Jot down passages that move you and build your own understanding of the human-nature relationship.

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

版权信息
第一编
新的旅程
红崖海湾
北国之秋
春天的脚步声
狼
加拉帕戈斯的落日
老渡鸦
写在萨尔茨堡
阿米什人
第二编
聊聊坂本直行先生
岁月
海流
第三编
白夜
早春
鲁斯冰川
另一种时间
寻觅图腾柱
我与阿拉斯加的邂逅
利图亚湾
基斯卡岛
无人区飞行员之死
旅行之木
十六岁时
生活在阿拉斯加
与生俱来的洪流
驯鹿汤
海狸的子民
一家人的旅程
爱斯基摩奥运会
锡特卡
夜航
万烟谷
勿忘我
后记

FAQ

Is this book an Alaska travel guide?

No. It is 33 essays Kodō Hoshino wrote between 1993 and 1995, recording landscapes and encounters from his travels. It belongs to travel literature and nature writing and does not provide practical information such as routes or accommodation.

Can I read this directly without having read other works by Kodō Hoshino?

Yes. These essays were published at the beginning of the author's rise to fame; each stands alone and does not depend on prior works. Readers can enter his Alaska directly and experience his quiet, gentle narrative style.

Is it suitable to read all at once?

Not really. As an essay collection, the 33 pieces have a slow pace and considerable white space; reading them all at once easily loses the room for aftertaste. It is better to read one or two at a time in a quiet setting, letting the words slowly converse with your own experience.

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About the author

星野道夫 Author

Hoshino Michio is a Japanese nature writer relatively well known to Chinese readers, and his works are often classified under travel and literary essays. The library currently holds two of his books, Traveling Wood and The Language of Magic, whose titles are also often seen as representative entry points into his writing. Because public information is limited, details of his life, nationality, and dates of birth and death are unconfirmed in the library records, so they are not elaborated here. Judging from the available works, Hoshino Michio's writing centers on travel observations and nature, in a plain style with an essayistic, lyrical quality. He is good at capturing details between walking and gazing, weaving distant landscapes together with inner feelings. This blend of reportage and personal essay makes his books suitable both as travel literature and as quiet reading that lets readers sense the subtle tremors of human beings living with nature. For readers who enjoy nature writing and literary essays, his works offer an unassuming yet rewarding reading experience.

曹逸冰 Author

Cao Yibing is a Chinese author with a notably wide range of subjects; the library holds 45 of her works. Judging from the available titles, her writing and editorial work span several fields. On one hand, she engages with Japanese folk craft and craft culture, contributing to works such as The Beauty of Japanese Folk Craft: The Collected Works of Yanagi Soetsu (4 volumes), Forty Years of Folk Craft, and Craft Culture. On the other hand, she touches on travel and food writing, as seen in A Tree of Travel and the Vegetable Classroom series. She also ventures into mystery and detective fiction, such as the Countdown to the Statute of Limitations, along with essay collections and foreign literature like The Language of Magic. Her works commonly fall under culture, travel, food, mystery and detective fiction, essays, and foreign literature, reflecting a cross-disciplinary curiosity and editorial perspective. Public information about her nationality, dates, education, and personal background is limited; the above is based only on the library's holdings.