LibraryAware October 2025

Recent Releases

Cloud warriors : deadly storms, climate chaos--and the pioneers creating a revolution in weather forecasting
by Thomas E. Weber

An inside look at the scientists and innovators using AI, satellites and drones to improve weather forecasting, providing life-saving warnings against extreme events like hurricanes and tornadoes while exploring how better predictions can help mitigate climate change.

Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines
by Matthew Gavin Frank

Folded into author Matthew Gavin Frank’s thought-provoking survey of humankind’s urge to explore the ocean depths from deep-water submersibles lies a much darker obsession -- the “strong undercurrent of violence and misogyny” (Kirkus Reviews) running through the amateur sub community that arguably led to the 2017 murder of journalist Kim Wall. Readers who want more adventures beneath the waves can try The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey.

The Martians : the true story of an alien craze that captured turn-of-the-century America
by David Baron

Recounts early twentieth-century Mars mania, following Percival Lowell's rise and fall as he championed the belief in intelligent Martians, revealing how scientific speculation, public fascination, and cultural projection transformed the red planet into both a symbol of hope and a mirror of human ambition.

The call of the honeyguide : what science tells us about how to live well with the rest of life
by Rob Dunn

How rethinking our relationships with other species can help us reimagine the future of humankind. In the woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa, a bird called out, not to warn others of human presence, but to call attention to herself. Having found a beehive, that bird-a honeyguide-sought human aid to break in. The behavior can seem almost miraculous: How would a bird come to think that people could help her? Isn't life simply bloodier than that? Nature is red in tooth and claw, but in equal measure, life works together. Cells host even smaller life, wrapped in a web of mutual interdependence. Ants might go to war, but they also tend fungi, aphids, and even trees. Ecologists call these beneficial relationships mutualisms. And they might be the most important forces in the evolution of life. We humans often act as though we are all alone, independent from the rest of life. As The Call of the Honeyguide shows, we are not. It is a call to action for a more beneficent, less lonely future.

The Wild Dark : Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light
by Craig Childs

At a time when most people on Earth live in regions of acute light pollution, Craig Childs takes us on a journey to rediscover the awesome power of night itself. Seeking not the absence of light, but the presence of the universe, master storyteller Craig Childs sets out to bike from the blinding lights of the Las Vegas Strip to one of the darkest spots in North America. A fearless explorer of both the natural world and the human imagination, Childs guides us on a quest to rediscover the heavens and to ask: "What does it do to us to not see the night sky?" The Wild Dark is at once an adventure story, a field guide, and a celebration of the awesome power of night itself, inviting us to look up and to look inward, eyes wide and sparkling with stars.

The story of CO2 is the story of everything : how carbon dioxide made our world
by Peter Brannen

Traces carbon dioxide's role from the origins of life to today's climate crisis, revealing how it has shaped Earth's habitability, influenced mass extinctions, and impacted human development, while arguing that understanding its deep history is key to confronting our planetary emergency. Illustrations.

Urban Ecology

Shade : the promise of a forgotten natural resource
by Sam Bloch

Studies the overlooked importance of shade in urban environments, tracing its historical role in city design, examining how its absence contributes to health and social disparities, and highlighting efforts by planners and innovators to reintroduce shade as a vital tool for climate resilience.

Close to Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door
by Thor Hanson

Conservation biologist Thor Hanson empowers readers to observe their environment with new eyes, showing us that poking around literally just outside one’s door (city or country, no matter) reveals a surprising diversity of wildlife waiting to be discovered. Hanson gives clues as to where to look while pushing the idea of “citizen science.” If you like this, try Never Home Alone by Rob Dunn.

Survival gardening : grow your own emergency food supply from seed to root cellar
by Sam Coffman

A survival skills expert provides practical strategies for growing your own food supply to enhance resilience against global crises and supply chain disruptions, covering topics such as selecting valuable crops, emergency food cultivation, perennial planting, mushroom growth, backyard foraging, and long-term food storage techniques.

Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto
by Kōhei Saitō; translated by Brian Bergstrom

University of Tokyo philosopher Kōhei Saitō tackles climate change from both scientific and political angles. According to Saitō, any capitalistic model for combatting climate change is inherently flawed, and he calls instead for a halt to urban development, scaling back industrial manufacturing to focus on quality rather than quantity, and an emphasis on local economies to curb greenhouse emissions and allow nature to heal itself. It’s an unusual yet persuasive idea that Saitō supports with a “conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone” (Kirkus Reviews).

Contact your librarian for more great books!