Thanks, Peter. I think there is _some_ value in the photos,
which are well done and show some Chinese-style trees that aren't
commonly seen in other bonsai books. Whether there's $25.00
worth of value or not is another question.

However, if we have to link bonsai to the Lord of the Rings as
"hobbit trees" the spot is in bad trouble. At any rate, I don't
recall much nesting in the roots in the movies -- and in the
"Fellowship" it's mean Old Man Willow who tries to do away with
Frodo and crew (and would have, but for Tom Bombadill).

There are "better" trees to pattern a bonsai after. :-)



Chye Tan: The Spirit of Bonsai Design - Combine the power of Zen
and nature.
London: Collins and Brown. 2003.
ISBN: 1-84340-021-9
$24.95 US $38.95 CAN £18.99

Reading this book was sheer agony as I knew that several people
were
expecting a review on the IBC forum. I have agonized over whether
to follow
through with my original plan to write an article worthy of the
New York
Review of Books or have compassion on the author and fellow IBC
members, and
be quick and to the point. I have decided to have mercy and
selected the
second option.

snip
..

In closing I am taking the liberty of quoting a paragraph, a good
practice
for reviewers: "In contrast to the normal bonsai convention of
cultivating
soilhugging surface roots, Hobbit style tree roots are
deliberately exposed
to create hollows, as in the film The Lord of the Rings where the
hobbits
took refuge in the roots of the trees. ......The cavern-like
holes that form
beneath the trunks have a mysterious look. Unusually, this
intriguing Zen
aspect focuses on one of the least dominant features of a
bonsai." (Page 98)
If this paragraph makes sense to you or appeals to you, I
recommend that you
read the book. Otherwise save your money.

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