Gayle Brandow Samuels

Background

Gayle Brandow Samuels was born on October 7, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Education

Gayle Samuels studied at the University of Pennsylvania where she received a Master of Liberal Arts degree in 1998.

Career

Gayle Samuels is an educator and author actively engaged in the studies of human interaction with the environment. She is a lecturer in environmental studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to her teaching, she is also known as the author of three books. In 1994 she wrote Women in the City of Brotherly Love...and Beyond: Tours and Detours in Delaware Valley Women's History with Lucienne Beard and Valencia Libby.

Samuels' 1999 book, Enduring Roots: Encounters with Trees, History and the American Landscape, explores both the history and folklore of specific trees, as well as the sociological impact of the arboreal influence, to reflect the collective role trees play in the reconciliation of nature and humanity. Through individual trees and species, Samuels also explores the historical role of managed nature in the United States.

In her book, Samuels begins with the "Charter Oak" in Hartford, Connecticut, a white oak whose trunk is hollow. Samuels also writes about California's 4,767-year-old bristlecone pine, aptly named "Methuselah," thought to be the oldest living organism on Earth. In writing of John Chapman ("Johnny Appleseed"), who planted thousands of European apple trees throughout Indiana and Ohio, Samuels explores Chapman's relationships to specific species and his role as a symbol of national identity.

Her most recent book is Becoming 70: 25 Women From 55 to 95 Discuss Aging (2015) which includes the real stories of women from 55 to 95 who tell about their life. Samuels is also the author of the preface to Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women and various magazine articles.

Achievements

• Gayle Samuels is known for her research on environmental studies. Her known book, Enduring Roots: Encounters with Trees, History, and the American Landscape, is considered to be an unusual investigation of the American cultural landscape. For this book, Gayle received the 2001 National Arbor Day Foundation Media Award.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Becoming 70: 25 Women From 55 to 95 Discuss Aging

    ("Becoming 70" offers a frank and open discussion of aging...)

    2015
  • Enduring Roots: Encounters with Trees, History, and the American Landscape

    (Trees are the grandest and most beautiful plant creations...)

    1999
  • Women in the City of Brotherly Love...and Beyond: Tours and Detours in Delaware Valley Women's History 1994