Deirdre @ Lake Forest Park Archive.

Did you know there are giant trees that have reached a height of over 370 feet, growing in the coastal forests of northern California? In the 1980s, tree enthusiasts began measuring supertall trees in a quest to discover the tallest trees on earth. It turns out that most of these are California redwoods. In The Wild Trees: a Story of Passion and DaringRichard Preston (The Hot Zone, The Demon In the Freezer) weaves an absorbing tale of how they were discovered and explored.

No one knows how old the oldest trees are, but botanists estimate they may be somewhere around two to three thousand years old, dating back to the time of the Parthenon. Before California was settled in the 1850s, two million acres of virgin old-growth forest existed, but after decades of logging, only a fraction (4%) remains. These ancient groves harbor an incredible amount of biodiversity in their towering treetops.

In 1987, Steve Sillett, a Reed College student, began climbing redwoods near Crescent City along the northern California coast. Despite his fear of heights, he grew so fascinated with supertall trees that he earned his Ph.D. in botany and became a leading expert in tall tree ecosystems. At the same time, Michael Taylor, who had been obsessed with redwood trees since childhood, began seriously searching for the tallest trees in the North Coast redwood groves. Michael was intensely afraid of heights and developed instruments for measuring trees from the ground. Eventually Steve and Michael met, recruited other enthusiasts, and with one measuring and the other climbing, discovered many giant trees. The tallest, in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, is the Stratosphere Giant, measured at over 370 feet.

Climbing supertall trees is a highly hazardous endeavor, to say the least. Preston describes in detail how Sillett and others figured out methods and equipment for climbing trees as safely as possible, minimizing the danger of falling to death from hundreds of feet above the earth. Using a system of ropes, knots, harnesses, and pulleys, they "skywalk" through trees in a graceful and athletic ascent. In passages I couldn't put down, the author paints an intimate picture of these daring explorers, their loves and losses, as they devote their lives to this "final frontier" of the unexplored worlds above us.

As intermission ends at Teatro la Fenice, the third gong strikes.  The opera goers return to their seats, eagerly awaiting the final act of La Traviata.  But the orchestra does not begin to play.  Suddenly, from behind the curtain, the artistic director steps out, announcing that Maestro Wellauer is unable to conduct, and the assistant director will finish the performance.  Wellauer will never conduct again.  The police are called, and when they arrive (by boat, as this is Venice), Commissario Guido Brunetti enters the dressing room and finds the body. Maestro Helmut Wellauer, the most famous conductor in Europe, lies contorted by the effect of cyanide in the coffee he'd begun to drink.  Who could have wanted the esteemed maestro dead?

In  Death at La Fenice, it's Brunetti's task to find out, and he's an expert at detection.  At first there appears to be no possible motive, but as the investigation deepens, an array of secrets, rivalries, and intrigue is uncovered.  Was it the assistant director, hoping to eliminate a rival?  Or the soprano, who's hiding a secret only Wellauer knew, that could destroy her career?   It couldn't be his young and beautiful wife, apparently devastated by his death.  And what about the rumors that Wellauer, a German, was a Nazi sympathizer during WWII, a strong motivation for revenge?

As Brunetti investigates, we meet a unique cast of characters:  his vain, insufferable boss, Vice Questore Patta; faded opera star Santina, now living in cruel poverty; his lovely wife Paola, a daughter of Venice's aristocracy.  We come to know his family, and savor the delectable extended meals they share at mid-day.  But the most distinctive character is Venice.  As Brunetti prowls the canals, calles, piazzas, and cafes of his native town, we acquaint ourselves with this ancient and mysterious floating city.

Donna Leon has woven together a fascinating tale that's sure to please lovers of opera, Italian life, and detective fiction. This is the first novel of the Guido Brunetti mysteries; her most recent installment, About Face, is 18th in the series.  Throughout these novels, Commissario Brunetti exposes the seamier side of life in Venice, battling corruption as he brings the truth to light.