| The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed | |
| Author: | John Vaillant |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | Kiidk'yaas |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Pub Date: | May 17, 2005 |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Isbn: | 978-0393058871 |
| Oclc: | 66145134 |
| Followed By: | The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival |
The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed is a book by American author John Vaillant.[1] It was his first book, published in May 2005.[2] [3]
The book is based on a 2002 article Vaillant wrote for The New Yorker.[4]
While researching the book, Vaillant learned that the oral tradition surrounding The Golden Spruce is considered the property of various clans throughout the Pacific Northwest and requires permission to retell.[5] Speaking about the challenge of writing a book where principal characters are absent or dead, Vaillant said, "Virtually everyone leaves a trail behind them in the form of tracks, objects, relationships, official documents, and the memories of others."[6]
The book tells the story of Kiidk'yaas, or The Golden Spruce, which was a Sitka Spruce tree venerated by the Haida people. The tree itself contained a genetic mutation causing it to appear golden in color.[7] It was felled in Haida Gwaii by forest engineer Grant Hadwin.[8] [9]
From Publishers Weekly:
"The felling of a celebrated giant golden spruce tree in British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands takes on a potent symbolism in this probing study of an unprecedented act of eco-vandalism...It is also, in his telling, a land of virtually infinite natural resources overmatched by an even greater human rapaciousness."[10]
The Golden Spruce won the 2005 Governor General's Awards for non-fiction.[11]
The Sydney Morning Herald described the book as, "A deep-reaching account of the clash between wilderness values, the voracious logging industry, white settlers, and first nations people."[12] The New York Times said the book, "explore[s] the relationship between man and nature with lush language and page-turning suspense." It has drawn comparisons to Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald and Flash Boys by Michael Lewis.[13] [14]
In 2016, the book was adapted into a feature-length documentary titled Hadwin’s Judgement by filmmaker Sasha Snow. It was the second collaboration between Snow and Vaillant; Snow's 2006 documentary Conflict Tiger was the source of inspiration for Vaillant's 2010 book The Tiger. The film premiered at The Globe Theater in Calgary, Alberta on 22 January 2016.[15]