Joan Maloof is a scientist, writer, and the founder and director of the Old-Growth Forest network, a nonprofit organization creating a network of forests across the U.S. that will remain forever unlogged and open to the public. She studied plant science at the University of Delaware, environmental science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and ecology at the University of Maryland College Park. She is the author of Teaching the Trees and Among the Ancients.

In a winning combination of fine-art photography and short, lyrical essays, The Living Forest reveals the top-to-bottom mystery, beauty, and interconnectedness of the forest.