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Nature, conservation and Earth science

Environment and Energy

Nature writing, ecology, conservation, pollution, and the history of the Earth and its ice ages.

32 books on Nature, conservation and Earth science, recommended by 16 people including Patrick Collison and Mohnish Pabrai.

32 books · 17 experts

Start here

  1. The Outlaw OceanIan Urbina, 2019
  2. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural HistoryElizabeth Kolbert, 2014
  3. The Hidden Life of TreesPeter Wohlleben, 2015
  4. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the ForestSuzanne Simard
  5. Silent SpringRachel Carson

The best books on Nature, conservation and Earth science 32

The Outlaw OceanThe Outlaw Ocean
T2 The Outlaw Ocean
Ian Urbina · 2019
Flags of convenience, crew abuse and jurisdictional voids at sea.
Open Library
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural HistoryThe Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
T3 The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Elizabeth Kolbert · 2014
Kolbert spent years reporting alongside biologists watching species disappear in real time. The book's argument is that we are in the middle of a sixth mass extinction — and it makes that claim through fieldwork, not abstraction. The best entry point into climate science for readers who trust narrative over data.
Open Library
Recommended byBill Gates
The Hidden Life of TreesThe Hidden Life of Trees
T3 The Hidden Life of Trees
Peter Wohlleben · 2015
Forest ecology as a connected system; background for timberland owners
Open Library
Recommended byMorgan HouselPatrick O'Shaughnessy
Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the WisFinding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
T3 Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
Suzanne Simard
A novel, not nonfiction, but Powers does something none of the other books here accomplish: he makes the timescale of trees felt as an emotional experience. The result is that you finish it reading the other books differently — with a less human-centric sense of what time and loss mean.
unverified
“Obama picked Powers's Pulitzer-winning novel for his 2019 list. Nine Americans are drawn together through their connections to trees; the book works as both literary fiction and as an argument about environmental time scales that dwarf human attention spans.”Barack Obama
Recommended byBarack Obama
Silent SpringSilent Spring
T3 Silent Spring
Rachel Carson
Carson's 1962 account of pesticide contamination is the founding text of environmental science writing. It matters here not only as history but as methodology: a demonstration that making an invisible industrial threat visible and specific can, in fact, change policy. Every climate communicator is still working in her shadow.
unverified
“Rachel Carson's 1962 indictment of pesticide use is the book that made ecology a political issue. Brand came of age with it; his environmentalism has always been shaped by her empirical approach — show the data, name the mechanism, then let the implication land.”Stewart Brand
Recommended byStewart Brand
The Outermost HouseThe Outermost House
T4 The Outermost House
Henry Beston, Robert Finch · 1928
Open Library
Recommended byRichard Branson
Desert SolitaireDesert Solitaire
T4 Desert Solitaire
Edward Abbey · 1968
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
Last Chance to SeeLast Chance to See
T4 Last Chance to See
Douglas Adams · 1990
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick O'Shaughnessy
Ice Age Earth: Late Quaternary Geology and CIce Age Earth: Late Quaternary Geology and Climate (Physical Environment)
T4 Ice Age Earth: Late Quaternary Geology and Climate (Physical Environment)
Alastair G. Dawson · 1991
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and PRefuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
T4 Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
Terry Tempest Williams, Dan Frank · 1991
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
The Rain Forests of Home: Profile Of A NorthThe Rain Forests of Home: Profile Of A North American Bioregion
T4 The Rain Forests of Home: Profile Of A North American Bioregion
Peter K. Schoonmaker, Bettina Von Hagen, Edward C. Wolf · 1997
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Ice AgeIce Age
T4 Ice Age
John Gribbin, Mary Gribbin · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byCharlie Munger
The Earth's BiosphereThe Earth's Biosphere
T4 The Earth's Biosphere
Vaclav Smil · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byBill Gates
The Future of LifeThe Future of Life
T4 The Future of Life
Edward O. Wilson · 2002
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish PabraiStewart Brand
DirtDirt
T4 Dirt
David R. Montgomery · 2007
Open Library
Recommended byStewart Brand
The World Without UsThe World Without Us
T4 The World Without Us
Alan Weisman · 2007
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick CollisonRichard Branson
The Ocean of LifeThe Ocean of Life
T4 The Ocean of Life
Callum Roberts · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byPatrick Collison
The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion YeThe Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
T4 The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
Robert M. Hazen · 2012
Open Library
Recommended byMohnish Pabrai
Harvesting the Biosphere
T4 Harvesting the Biosphere
Vaclav Smil · 2013
Open Library
Recommended byBill Gates
The Serengeti RulesThe Serengeti Rules
T4 The Serengeti Rules
Sean B. Carroll · 2016
Open Library
Recommended byRay Dalio
The Ends of the WorldThe Ends of the World
T4 The Ends of the World
Peter Brannen · 2017
Open Library
Recommended byJake Knapp
A Sand County Almanac—and Sketches Here and A Sand County Almanac—and Sketches Here and There
T4 A Sand County Almanac—and Sketches Here and There
Aldo Leopold
unverified
Recommended byTim Ferriss
A Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk ThrA Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk Through Gorongosa National Park
T4 A Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk Through Gorongosa National Park
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Antarctica: What Everyone Needs to KnowAntarctica: What Everyone Needs to Know
T4 Antarctica: What Everyone Needs to Know
David Day
unverified
Recommended byMatt Mullenweg
Arctica
T4 Arctica
Sebastian Copeland
unverified
Recommended byRichard Branson
Count DownCount Down
T4 Count Down
Shanna H. Swan and Stacey Colino
unverified
Recommended byNat Eliason
Forest Bathing
T4 Forest Bathing
Dr Qing Li
unverified
Recommended byKevin Rose
Gaia: A New Look at Life on EarthGaia: A New Look at Life on Earth
T4 Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth
James Lovelock
unverified
Recommended byStewart Brand
Technological Nature: Adaptation and the Fut
T4 Technological Nature: Adaptation and the Future of Human Life
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
The Golden SpruceThe Golden Spruce
T4 The Golden Spruce
John Vaillant
unverified
Recommended byRyan Holiday
The National Parks: America's Best IdeaThe National Parks: America's Best Idea
T4 The National Parks: America's Best Idea
unverified
Recommended byPatrick Collison
Walking (Annotated Edition)Walking (Annotated Edition)
T4 Walking (Annotated Edition)
Henry David Thoreau
unverified
Recommended byPatrick O'Shaughnessy

Experts 17

The people who wrote this page's books, and the people who recommend them.

Authors 1

Vaclav Smilwrote 2 books here

Recommenders 16

Patrick Collisonrecommends 6 books here
MP
Mohnish Pabrairecommends 5 books hereStewart Brandrecommends 4 books hereBill Gatesrecommends 3 books here
PO
Patrick O'Shaughnessyrecommends 3 books hereRichard Bransonrecommends 3 books hereCharlie Mungerrecommends 1 book hereRay Daliorecommends 1 book here
MH
Morgan Houselrecommends 1 book hereRyan Holidayrecommends 1 book hereBarack Obamarecommends 1 book here
JK
Jake Knapprecommends 1 book here
Show all 16
Kevin Roserecommends 1 book hereMatt Mullenwegrecommends 1 book here
NE
Nat Eliasonrecommends 1 book hereTim Ferrissrecommends 1 book here
See all 17 in the Experts tab →

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