Resilient and tenacious, pine trees deserve our admiration. Despite their dark and gloomy reputation they have been the subjects of artists for centuries, particularly in China and Japan where they symbolize wisdom and longevity, and are admired for their shapes. Pine symbolism runs deep in many cultures from East to West, from antiquity to the present, such as pine cone staffs carried by the worshippers of Bacchus in the classical world or pine trees used in the movement to establish national parks in nineteenth-century North America. The natural history of pine trees underlines their ability to survive in difficult environments, and their botany still puzzles and intrigues. In good condition, wear to the book edges and blunting to the corners.