~ Trade Paperback
~ Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novella - 1973
On the densely forested planet Athshe, twenty-seven light-years from Earth, the word for world and forest is the same as the two are inseparable. A matriarchal society where elders are respected and conflicts are resolved through music, the people live off the land and have no concept of war, but when 'Yumens' (humans) arrive with their machines and attempt to harvest wood for themselves, the harmony once enjoyed by the Athsheans ceases to exist . . .
An alternate history that feels palpably realistic, The Word for World if Forest examines the heavy-handed and extreme measures a group may go to exploit others.
“Le Guin writes in quiet, straightforward sentences about people who feel they are being torn apart by massive forces in society (technological, political, economic) and who fight courageously to remain whole.” -- The New York Times Book Review