“With this book Elaine Dewar challenges us to understand complex scientific developments that pose potential dangers to all of us in the near future. It is written with exceptional grace and energy, and belongs among the very few books that can be described as mandatory reading for all Canadians. Elaine Dewar is every reader's advocate as she fearlessly explores the frontiers of biological science and reproductive and genetic technologies. Her findings are often astonishing; her grasp of the most difficult subjects, and her ability to clarify them for the reader, are impressive. She asks all the right questions, and when she doesn't get satisfying answers, she just keeps asking, always searching for signs of wisdom that will shed light on the ethical and moral dilemmas at the core of this rapidly evolving science. The author distinguishes herself as a passionate journalist and as a questing human being on all our behalfs in The Second Tree.” – 2004 Writers’ Trust Nonfiction Prize Jury (Moira Farr, Jake MacDonald, and John Bentley Mays)