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Nature and Science October 2026 |
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| It Could Be Otherwise: Science in the Age of Uncertainty by Stuart FiresteinNeuroscience professor Stuart Firestein argues against those who criticize science for not providing fixed, definitive answers to big questions. On the contrary, Firestein posits that this uncertainty is science’s greatest strength. Any theory that can be formulated may one day be superseded, a fact that points to the resilience and dynamism of the scientific method, and hints at how much remains to be discovered. This book is a great choice for readers “prepared to grapple with complexity” (Library Journal). |
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| The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness by Cal FlynJournalist Cal Flyn proposes the ironic notion that the very concept of “wilderness” is manufactured by humans, since we tend to define it by the areas where people aren’t. The author travels to wild landscapes in her native Scotland, Brazil, Uganda, and Antarctica, marveling at the sights while referencing mythology, philosophy, and literature to examine the meaning that humans have invested in wild places. If you enjoy this, try Flyn’s last book, Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape. |
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| Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex by Perrin Roosevelt IrelandReaders curious about sex throughout the animal kingdom will devour environmentalist Perrin Roosevelt Ireland’s Poking the Squid, a deep dive into all kinds of animal sex in graphic novel form and illustrated by the author. Ireland’s lively and colorful panels bring frankness, humor, and insight to the reproduction and sex lives of animals as diverse as seahorses, hyenas, and albatrosses while highlighting the nuances of gender and sexuality that biologists of Darwin’s era missed. |
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| The Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America's Eastern Wilderness by Andrew MooreAfter three centuries of urbanization and subdivision, many areas of the Eastern United States are finally undergoing habitat restoration, claims environmental writer Andrew Moore. His hopeful and captivating survey of wild lands east of the Mississippi features re-introduced bison, elk, and eastern red wolves. While Moore’s tone is optimistic, he cautions that while megafauna make headlines, full restoration requires efforts toward habitat integration and biodiversity. Try this next: Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals by Christopher J. Preston. |
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| I Eat the Stars: How to Live Fully and Beautifully in a Collapsing World by Sarah WilsonIn Australian journalist Sarah Wilson’s meditation on living through an era of environmental and societal collapse, the author consults with her podcast guests -- mainly scientists, philosophers, and spiritualists -- in an attempt to grasp an idea “more useful” than hope. Wilson prefers truth (grim as it seems), enlivened by interpersonal and spiritual connectedness, and a life lived with purpose and love. Readers will find her “philosophical grappling with hard questions” (Kirkus Reviews) to be a balm for fraught times. |
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| Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander ClappA journalist based in Greece travels far and wide to uncover the filthy secrets of the garbage business. Alexander Clapp’s exposé reveals the eco-conscious “recycling” programs of wealthy northern hemisphere nations to be something a bit shadier: e-waste, plastics, and other disposables are often exported to countries in the Global South, where toxic waste poisons ecosystems and local labor is exploited. |
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| Discarded: How Technofossils Will Be Our Ultimate Legacy by Sarah Gabbott & Jan ZalasiewiczPaleontologist Sarah Gabbott and geologist Jan Zalasiewicz examine the garbage conundrum from the perspective of someone in the distant future encountering all our fossilized stuff. Not just trash, but building materials, infrastructure, and electronics are explored using materials science to speculate just what future archaeologists would make of our time. It’s a sobering read, but also an “engaging thought experiment” (Library Journal). |
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| Trash Talk: An Eye-Opening Exploration of Our Planet's Dirtiest Problem by Iris GottliebWriter and illustrator Iris Gottlieb shares their fascination with trash by examining our relationship with it throughout history. Today, the trash industry is designed to keep our waste isolated from wealthier segments of society, so that many people never have to give it much thought. Gottlieb contrasts this with pre-industrial civilizations, in which people lived in proximity to waste sites and repaired many of the items that we dispose of today. Packed with the author’s illustrations, Trash Talk will have readers looking at trash in an entirely new way. |
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| Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World by Edward HumesPulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edward Humes reveals the wasteful habits of modern life and offers numerous examples of communities pursuing more sustainable futures in this thought-provoking and ultimately hopeful book. In the follow-up to his 2012 book Garbology, Humes gives detailed breakdowns of multiple categories of waste and suggestions for converting our economy into a circular model that recycles more of what it produces. |
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| Year of No Garbage: Recycling Lies, Plastic Problems, and One Woman's Trashy Journey... by Eve O. SchaubMemoirist Eve O. Schaub (Year of No Clutter) provides a detailed account of her family’s attempt to produce nothing that will end up in a landfill for an entire year. The fact that the year coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic added complicated wrinkles, like the necessity of medical waste. Schaub’s candid and occasionally funny book offers useful tips for reducing (if not eliminating) household waste alongside thoughtful explorations of consumerism and civic responsibility. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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