A. B. (Alonzo Beecher) Brooks

Born in French Creek, West Virginia, in 1873, A. B. Brooks was a naturalist, educator, and conservation leader whose writing grew out of years spent studying the state's forests and wildlife. He worked as a surveyor and teacher before earning a degree in agriculture from West Virginia University, and he went on to become an important public voice for forestry and nature education in West Virginia.

Brooks is especially remembered for West Virginia Trees and for his wider work explaining the state's forests, wood industries, and bird life in plain, useful language. He also served as West Virginia's first chief game protector and later became closely associated with Oglebay Park in Wheeling, where he led nature walks and helped make outdoor learning popular with adults and children alike.

He died in 1944, but his influence lasted well beyond his lifetime. Brooks stands out as the kind of author who wrote not just to inform, but to help ordinary readers look at the natural world with more care, curiosity, and affection.