The Word for World is Forest

by Ursula K Le Guin

This is a book in the Hainish series.

Editions:

• The Word for World is Forest, Berkley, New York, 1976
• The Word for World is Forest, US Edition, New York: Berkley, 1982, ISBN 0-425-05185-4, Paperback (cover)
  
• There is also a version on audio cassettes.

International Editions:

• Sweden: Där världen kallas skog ("Where the world is called forest"), In Swedish, Lindfors, Köping, Sweden, 1979
• Finland: Maailma, vihreä metsä

See also:

• Encyclopedia excerpts for The Word for World is Forest
• A Guide to Athshe

Reviews

Reviewed by Fredrik Petersson

The athsheans are small, green, furry, and a peaceful people. Their planet consists of basically two things: water, and forest. Here they live, hunt, love and dream. They slip gently from dreamtime to realtime; their reality is not always as ours. Then the Terrans arrive. They don't particularly care about the natives, but they want the forest. With huge machines, the level the forest for mile wide strips, using the natives as slave labour. But then one of the athsheans learn something from the conquerors: how to hate - and how to use it to fight for freedom.

This is a powerful, beautiful but tragic story of how the hunt for profit and narrowmindness blend into a horrible mix. It also tells us a well-known fact: innocense, once lost, can never be regained.

Awards

The Word for World is Forest was awarded a Hugo in 1973.

The Word for World is Forest, Berkley 1982 (cover image)