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Nature and Science October 2025 |
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The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World by Peter BrannenWhat it's about: This book 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.
Line from the book: "CO2 had been known to be a greenhouse gas since the 1850s, and by 1896, the Swedish physicist Svante Arrhenius even estimated that doubling the CO2 in the air would result in about 5 degrees of warming - a value still on the outer range of our best understanding Earth's climate sensitivity." - Peter Brannen
Further reading: Rob Dunn's "A Natural History of the Future," Nathaniel Rich's "Losing Earth," and Robert Hazen's "Symphony in C."
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Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Natureby Patricia Ononiwu KaishianWhat it is: A queer, neurodivergent scientist shows how fungi, amphibians and other overlooked organisms challenge rigid norms, celebrate diversity and offer profound lessons about identity, acceptance and the natural world's hidden complexities.
You'll learn: Just how nonbinary and unusual natural really is.
You may also like: "A Naturalist at Large" by Bernd Heinrich, "The Tree Collectors" by Amy Stewart, and "World of Wonders" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
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Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie by Dave HageContains: The North American prairie is an ecological marvel. One cubic yard of prairie sod contains so many organisms that it rivals the tropical rainforest for biological diversity. "Sea of Grass" is a vivid portrait of a miraculous ecosystem that makes clear why the future of this region is of essential concern far beyond the heartland.
What reviews say: “Prior to the explosion of industrialized farming, America’s breadbasket was one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Two journalists explain what this staggering loss of grasslands means for the world at large, and what we can do to fix it.” - New York Times Book Review
Similar reads: Leila Philip's "Beaverland," Amy Gamerman's "The Crazies," and David Owen's "Where the Water Goes."
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Ocean: Earth's Last Wildernessby David AttenboroughWhat's inside: Through personal stories, history and cutting-edge science, "Ocean" uncovers the mystery, the wonder, and the frailty of the most unexplored habitat on our planet—the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate, and creates the air we breathe.
Did you know?: The humpback whale can spout water into the air at speeds of 373 miles per hour.
For readers of: "The Brilliant Abyss" by Helen Scales, "The Underworld" by Susan Casey, and "Deep Water" by James Bradley.
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The Trouble With Ancient DNA: Telling Stories of the Past With Genomic Science by Anna KällénWhat it's about: Anna Källén explores how the parameters of genetic science influence the stories we tell about our ancient ancestors, questioning what narratives we can and should take at face value.
Why you might like it: Anyone interested in science or history loves to hear about DNA results that uncover new information about the past. What we all need to learn is how sensationalism and storytelling can skew the scientific results in our minds.
Try these next: Lydia Pyne's "Seven Skeletons," Sang-Hee Lee's "Close Encounters With Humankind," and Kermit Pattison's "Fossil Men."
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Read if for: Beautifully written and philosophically hard-hitting, "A Natural History of Empty Lots" offers a new lens on human disruption and nature, offering a sense of hope among the edgelands.
Further Reading: "Crossings" by Ben Goldfarb, "Unseen City" by Nathanael Johnson, and "Fen, Bog & Swamp" by Annie Proulx. |
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| Close to Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door by Thor HansonWhat's inside: 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." Did you know?: That during COVID lockdown, the environment had a positive response. Smog cleared, fish returned to Venice, wild flowers sprouted, and animals returned to urban areas.
Try these next: Rob Dunn's "Never Home Alone," Hanna Bjørgaas's "Secret Life of the City," and Peter Wohlleben's "The Hidden Life of Trees." |
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Urban Jungle: The History and Future of Nature in the Cityby Ben WilsonWhat it is: A look to the fraught relationship between nature and the city for clues to how the planet can survive in an age of climate crisis.
About the Author: Ben Wilson is the author of five previous books, and received the Somerset Maugham Award for his book "What Price Liberty?" He has consulted for various TV history programs and appeared on TV and on national radio in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland.
You might also like: "The 99% Invisible City" by Roman Mars, "The Source" by Martin Doyle, "Unseen City" by Nathanael Johnson, and "Urban Forests" by Jill Jonnes.
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| Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kōhei Saitō; translated by Brian BergstromWhat it's about: Saitō advocates for degrowth and deceleration, which he conceives as the slowing of economic activity through the democratic reform of labor and production. What reviews say: "Saitō makes a significant and timely contribution to the ongoing conversation about sustainable living... Readers interested in environmental activism, economic reform, and social justice will find Saitō’s insights enlightening." - Maileen Hamto, Portland Book Review
Similar reads: Hannah Ritchie's "Not the End of the World," Mike Berners-Lee's "The Carbon Footprint of Everything," and Bill Gates' "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster." |
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The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Citiesby Peter S. AlagonaWhat's inside: Why have so many cities—the most artificial and human-dominated of all Earth’s ecosystems—grown rich with wildlife, even as wildlife has declined in most of the rest of the world? And what does this paradox mean for people, wildlife, and nature on our increasingly urban planet? Line from the book: "Even as wildlife populations inside cities have thrived, outside cities many have collapsed. Since 1970, global wildlife populations have declined by an average of 60%. North America has lost 30% of its birds."
For readers of: "The End of Eden" by Adam Welz, "Islands of Abandonment " by Cal Flyn, and "Ice Walker" by James Raffan. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Forsyth County Public Library
660 W. Fifth St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336-703-2665forsythlibrary.org |
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