Why people recommend it
Our Oaken Bones by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison is an evocative and unconventional book that chronicles the ecological restoration of a landscape through the reestablishment of a temperate rainforest alongside personal family history. On an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience recorded in November 2025, guest Russell Crowe enthusiastically recommended the title while chatting with the host. Crowe struggled to recall the author's name initially before having it looked up live on air, praising it as an unusual and compelling read. He explained that the narrative initially prompts readers to question how the deliberate reestablishment of a temperate rainforest could possibly work, before the author brilliantly ties the ecological experiment together with deeper themes and family context. Crowe's endorsement highlighted the book's unique ability to merge environmentalism, land management, and storytelling into a cohesive narrative that challenges conventional ideas about conservation and nature recovery in modern times, offering a fascinating perspective on ecological stewardship.
Who recommended it
- Russell Crowe Recommended
Russell Crowe — 1 mention
“There's a book, I forget it. If you could look it up for me, Jamie. Merlin Hanbury-Tenison. It really is. It's it's it's unusual read. Like you're sort of reading it and you think, okay, it's like the reestablishment of a temperate rainforest, how can this be good? But then when he ties it in to the life journey of”