The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed

“The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed” is a newly released book by Vancouver author John Vaillant. The tale weaves the story of the people and circumstances leading to the 1997 felling of the golden spruce near Port Clements in the Queen Charlotte Islands, the disappearance of the man who cut down the tree and the repercussions in the local communities.

John Vaillant will be lecturing on the golden spruce and his book on Thursday, May 12 (7:30pm to 9pm) as part of UBC's Talk of the Town lecture series. The free public lectures are held at the UBC Robson Square campus in downtown Vancouver. Although the lecture is free, pre-registration is requested (604-822-5675 or info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca) to ensure that the audience can be properly accomodated.

A comprehensive set of links and the UBC Botanical Garden connection to the golden spruce can be read in the Botany Photo of the Day entry on Picea sitchensis 'Aurea'.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:21 AM on May 9, 2005