Congratulations to Jonathan Thomson (’63) whose book The Forest Fights Back was published on Friday 19 June 2026.

Jonathan left Oakham in July 1963 and lived and worked in the jungles of SE Asia for three years (Sarawak and Johore) where he saw the unique eco-system that is a tropical rain forest, with its animals, plants and trees, being systematically destroyed to be replaced by palm oil plantations. This haunted him somewhat so in 1975 he wrote a story about it which he then forgot about. Last year he dug it out and offered it to a publisher – it has now been published!

“As evidence grows of the hugely damaging effect that the destruction of the world’s forests is having, with global warming an ever-present threat, The Forest Fights Back looks at man’s unquenchable search for resources, notes his greed and readiness to bribe and corrupt, and asks the question: What if the creatures who live in these irreplaceable ecosystems were to get together and fight for their survival ?  Is such a thing possible?” A Grandfather, prompted by his young Grandson, attempts to find the answer to this question with some surprising results.

A brief trailer for it can be found here 

It’s currently being offered by Foyles, Waterstones and Amazon. The story is quite violent – it does tell about a war after all - but it attempts to look at a subject that may be increasingly important as we head towards a warmer world.