Baobab

"Baobab is photographer Beth Moon’s tribute to the magnificent, threatened trees upon which cultures and ecosystems depend. . . In the face of such monumental losses, the photographs in Baobab amount to an 'act of defiance.'" —Foreword Reviews, starred reviewA spectacular oversize photo book celebrating Africa’s most majestic trees―which are now facing an unprecedented ecological threatBaobabs are one of Africa’s natural wonders: they can live more than 2,000 years, and their massive, water-storing trunks can grow to more than one hundred feet in circumference. They serve as a renewable source of food, fiber, and fuel, as well as a focus of spiritual life. But now, suddenly, the largest baobabs are dying off , literally collapsing under their own weight. Scientists believe these ancient giants are being dehydrated by drought and higher temperatures, likely the result of climate change.Photographer Beth Moon, already responsible for some of the most indelible images of Africa’s oldest and largest baobabs, has undertaken a new photographic pilgrimage to bear witness to this environmental catastrophe and document the baobabs that still survive. In this oversize volume, Moon presents breathtaking new duotone tree portraits of the baobabs of Madagascar, Botswana, South Africa, and Senegal. She recounts her eventful journey to visit these monumental trees in a moving diaristic text studded with color travel photos.This book also includes an essay by Adrian Patrut, leader of a research team that has studied Africa's largest baobabs and alerted the world to the threat these majestic trees are facing. Baobab is not only a compelling photo book and travel narrative, but also a timely ecological warning.

"Panoramic in proportions yet intimate in detail. . . [These] textured portraits glow with an inner luster, and Moon’s accompanying journals express a sense of wonder mixed with melancholy; these giants. . . may not survive another thousand years." - Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History, "Baobab is photographer Beth Moon’s tribute to the magnificent, threatened trees upon which cultures and ecosystems depend… In the face of such monumental losses, the photographs in Baobab amount to an 'act of defiance.'" - Rebecca Foster, Foreword Reviews, "In 2018, Bay Area photographer Beth Moon learned that Tsitakakoike, an enormous sacred baobab tree, had split and toppled in a forest in Madagascar. In short order, Ms. Moon flew to the African island nation and arranged to photograph some of its oldest baobabs, which are under siege from drought and climate change. The results can be seen in her new book “Baobab” (Abbeville Press)." - Peter Saenger, Wall Street Journal

Beth Moon, a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay area, has gained international recognition for her large-scale, richly toned platinum-palladium prints. Her other books include Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time; Ancient Skies, Ancient Trees; and Literary Chickens.