News Environment 10 Must-Read Environmental Books Our eco-reading list explores conservation and the climate crisis from scientific, social, political, and personal perspectives. By Gabriella Sotelo Gabriella Sotelo Writer New York University As a journalist, Gabriella Sotelo covers the environment, climate change, and agriculture. She has a bachelor's in Journalism/Environmental Studies from NYU. Learn about our editorial process Published August 15, 2023 11:44AM EDT krisanapong detraphiphat / Getty Images News Environment Business & Policy Science Animals Home & Design Current Events Treehugger Voices News Archive In This Article Expand Braiding Sweetgrass Merchants of Doubt The End of Nature Silent Spring The Sixth Extinction The Uninhabitable Earth Losing Earth Eating Animals An Inconvenient Truth No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference Our recommended list of environmental books covers a broad range of topics, from climate disinformation to individual initiatives that have led to global change. Spanning different genres and perspectives on conservation issues, these 10 must-read environmental books are sure to spark the interest of the greenest bookworms. Braiding Sweetgrass "Braiding Sweetgrass," by Indigenous author Robin Wall Kimmer, looks at the relationship between humans and the land. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmer ties lessons she learned from her culture and history to Western society's view of plants and aims to reveal the importance plants and animals have in our world. Milkweed Editions The book also explores the lessons we may learn from plants and animals and how they relate to certain stories, like the creation story. In doing so, Kimmer hopes to widen the reader's ecological consciousness. "Braiding Sweetgrass" won the 2014 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award. Merchants of Doubt This non-fiction book by science historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway explores the parallels between the global warming "controversy" and the "controversies" surrounding tobacco, acid rain, and DDT. Bloomsbury Publishing "Merchants of Doubt" details how high-level scientists influenced by political connections ran disinformation campaigns against established science, delaying progress and policy implementation on those issues as well as global warming and the ozone hole. According to former Vice President Al Gore, “anyone concerned about the state of democracy in America should read this book." The End of Nature Published in 1989, "The End of Nature" describes the relationship between nature and humans. It expresses the idea that nature was previously independent of humans but has now been affected by them in every way. According to author Bill McKibben, the idea of wilderness is lost, and nature is no longer intact. Penguin Random House The book focuses on the concepts of nature and wilderness and the value they have lost. McKibben argues that true change will require a fundamental shift in how we view and interact with nature. Silent Spring Written by Rachel Carson, "Silent Spring" has been described as a landmark work of environmental writing and is credited with bringing the environmental movement into mainstream focus. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt The book highlights the effects of pesticides on the environment, especially DDT, which was a very popular insecticide until it was finally banned in 1972. The book eventually led to a reversal in the United States’ pesticide policy and contributed to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History "The Sixth Extinction," by Elizabeth Kolbert, describes previous mass extinction events and connects them to the many extinctions currently taking place. Henry Holt and Company Kolbert studies the relationships humans have with the environment and finds that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction, this one caused by humans. The book looks at studies and research covering things such as the disappearance of the Panamanian golden frog and the effect of ocean acidification on corals. "The Sixth Extinction" won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and the 2015 Massachusetts Book Award (Non-Fiction). The Uninhabitable Earth This book by David Wallace Wells provides a detailed look at how we treat the Earth and how our actions will affect us and the planet's future. Tim Duggan Books "The Uninhabitable Earth" argues that current actions will not be enough to prevent the effects of climate change. The author examines the disasters that have already occurred and looks ahead to the year 2100 and what climate change will do if we continue on our current path. Its opening line is incredibly telling: "It is worse, much worse, than you think." Losing Earth “Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change,” is the alternate title for the book, a rather appropriate observation, as the work examines the decade when we understood global warming and the ensuing climate denialism that led us to our current state. Macmillan Publishers The story by Nathaniel Rich reveals how the fossil fuel industry arranged misinformation campaigns in an attempt to stop climate policies. The book also contemplates the efforts of scientists and important figures who advocated for climate policy and solutions, such as former Vice President Al Gore and James Hansen. "Losing Earth" won the Society of American Journalists Award and the American Institute of Physics, Science, and Communication Award. Eating Animals "Eating Animals" is an examination of farming, vegetarianism, veganism, and the ethics of food. From a philosophical standpoint, author Jonathan Safran Foer establishes a relationship between what we choose to eat and our ethical values. Little, Brown and Company The book is part investigative reporting and part memoir, as he looks into the consumption of meat and its possible implications. Instead of stating that eating meat is "bad," Foer looks at the greater context of meat consumption, including industrial farming and direct environmental destruction. Though Foer is not directly trying to convince readers to switch diets, he pushes them to question their choices. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It Written by former Vice President Al Gore, "An Inconvenient Truth" explores the topic of global warming by intertwining personal anecdotes with scientific information, highlighting the political, social, and human perspectives of climate change. Rodale Press Gore highlights the urgent need for global action to address climate change and its detrimental effects on our planet's ecosystems and future. A film was released at the same time as the book in 2006. No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference This book collects 11 speeches made by climate activist Greta Thunberg before audiences, such as the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Economic Forum. Photo from Penguin Random House Greta Thunberg was 15 when she started the School Strike for Climate, also known as Fridays for Future. She inspired protests worldwide, highlighting the issue of climate change and its impact on future generations.