Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life, Andrew L. Hipp, 2024

Abstract

Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and the Tree of Life, published in December 2024, is Andrew Hipp's most recent book. Portraying oaks as a doorway to understanding the rest of organisms and using data on their history, present and future, he guides us to comprehend evolutionary mechanisms at all levels, lean out on the surprising interconnections of the web of life and, ultimately, to have a glimpse of our own -human beings- future. Combining rigorously written science with a sensory imagination, Hipp makes you feel immersed, witnessing events, places and ages in total wonder and delight. Through these journeys, the scientific interested in evolution, genomics, phylogeny, systematics or ecology becomes one with the passionate naturalist in all of us. The book is illustrated by the fine art of Rachel D. Davis with 43 mid-tones watercolor and opens through a charming foreword by Béatrice Chassé. Enjoyable from the first to the last sentence, this is already a jewel of the science popularization in Biology.