Science and Nature

Discover new and trending science and nature titles.
Updated March 24, 2025
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When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
Riley Black
Paper Book
NOW A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! Winner, A Friend of Darwin Award, 2024 A gorgeously composed look at the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth Fossils plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from...
The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science
Dava Sobel
Paper Book
The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Galileo's Daughter crafts a luminous chronicle of the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science, and the untold story of the many young women trained in her laboratory who...
Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life
Ferris Jabr
Paper Book
A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life. "Glorious . . . full of achingly beautiful passages, mind-bending conceptual...
The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Amy Tan
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A gorgeous, witty account of birding, nature, and the beauty around us that hides in plain sight, written and illustrated by the best-selling author of The Joy Luck Club * With a foreword by David Allen Sibley "Unexpected...
Ends of the Earth: Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and Our Future
Neil Shubin
Paper Book
The bestselling author of Your Inner Fish takes readers on an epic adventure to the North and South Poles to reveal the secrets locked in the ice about life, the cosmos, and our planet's future. "Urgent [and] prescient...The book captures Shubin's reverence for both the beauty...
Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence
Sara Imari Walker
Paper Book
An intriguing new scientific theory that explains what life is and how it emerges. What is life? This is among the most difficult open problems in science, right up there with the nature of consciousness and the existence of matter. All the definitions we have fall short. None...
The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean's Most Fearsome Predators
John Long
Paper Book
From ancient megalodons to fearsome Great Whites, this book tells the complete, untold story of how sharks emerged as Earth's ultimate survivors, by world-leading paleontologist John Long. "Will keep you on the edge of your seat from its first page to its last page."--Jared...
The Lost World of the Dinosaurs: Uncovering the Secrets of the Prehistoric Age
Armin Schmitt
Paper Book
*A Library Journal Best Book of 2024* "An insightful and informative meander through the evolution of dinosaurs and other extinct species, with a touch of personal flair."--Steve Brusatte, professor and paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh and New York Times...
Atlas Obscura: Wild Life: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Living Wonders
Cara Giaimo
Paper Book
From the bestselling authors of Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura comes a nature book like no other--a dazzling, over-the-top collection of the world's most extraordinary wild species that takes you to all seven continents and beyond. It's more than a field...
Secrets of the Octopus
Sy Montgomery
Paper Book
Take an illuminating journey into the life of the octopus, one of nature's most intelligent and complex animals. Learn from an international bestselling author, the world's brightest octopus researchers, and vivid National Geographic photography to come closer than ever to these...
The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession
Amy Stewart
Paper Book
Fifty vignettes of remarkable people whose lives have been transformed by their obsessive passion for trees--written and charmingly illustrated by the New York Times bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist "I love everything Amy Stewart has ever created, but...
The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist's Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life
Nathalie A. Cabrol
Paper Book
One ofScientific American's Best Books of 2024 One of the world's leading astrobiologists takes us on an awe-inspiring journey across the cosmos to investigate some of humanity's most profound questions: Are we alone in the universe? And how did life on Earth begin? ...
Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks
Marcia Bjornerud
Paper Book
Earth is vibrantly alive and full of wisdom for those who learn to listen. Earth has been reinventing itself for more than four billion years, keeping a record of its experiments in the form of rocks. Yet most of us live our lives on the planet with no idea of its...
The Birds That Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness
Kenn Kaufman
Paper Book
Renowned naturalist Kenn Kaufman examines the scientific discoveries of John James Audubon and his artistic and ornithologist peers in this fascinating "blend of history, science, art, biography, and memoir" (Booklist, starred review) that is "a bird lovers' delight" (Kirkus Reviews...
Pillars of Creation: How the James Webb Telescope Unlocked the Secrets of the Cosmos
Richard Panek
Paper Book
The James Webb Space Telescope is transforming the universe right before our eyes--and here, for the first time, is the inside account of how the mission originated, how it performs its miracles of science, and what its revolutionary images are revealing. Pillars...
The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi
Boyce Upholt
Paper Book
Over thousands of years, the Mississippi watershed was home to millions of Indigenous people who regarded "the great river" with awe and respect, adorning its banks with astonishing spiritual earthworks. But European settlers and American pioneers had a different vision: the river was a foe to...
The Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature
Alan Lightman
Paper Book
A gorgeously illustrated exploration of the science behind the universe's most stunning natural phenomena--from atoms and parameciums to rainbows, snowflakes, spider webs, the rings of Saturn, galaxies, and more Nature is capable of extraordinary phenomena. Standing in awe of...
Category Five: Superstorms and the Warming Oceans That Feed Them
Porter Fox
Paper Book
Superstorms, hurricanes, typhoons, and spiraling freak weather: the fallout of global warming is a real-life natural thriller, as captured in Porter Fox's urgent and stunning story of chasing the world's most devastating storms. Here is the story of the largest...
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World
Edward Dolnick
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of The Clockwork Universe and The Writing of the Gods, an "utterly delightful...hugely entertaining" (Air Mail) book about the eccentric Victorians who discovered dinosaur bones, leading to a whole new understanding of human history.
Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe
Carl Zimmer
Paper Book
The fascinating, untold story of the air we breathe, the hidden life it contains, and invisible dangers that can turn the world upside down Every day we draw in two thousand gallons of air--and thousands of living things. From the ground to the stratosphere, the air teems...
What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . "With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions...
When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous History and Perilous Future
Paul Bierman
Paper Book
In 2018, frozen soil from the bottom of the world's first deep ice core, lost for decades, reappeared in Denmark. When geologist Paul Bierman and his team analyzed this material, it led them to a startling discovery: Greenland's ice sheet melted naturally 400,000 years ago. That meant the ice was...
How to Kill an Asteroid: The Real Science of Planetary Defense
Robin George Andrews
Paper Book
There are approximately 25,000 "city killer" asteroids in near-Earth orbit--and most are yet to be found. Small enough to evade detection, they are capable of large-scale destruction, and represent our greatest cosmic threat. But in September 2022, against all odds, NASA's Double Asteroid...
Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos
Dr. Kelsey Johnson
Paper Book
A leading astronomer and gifted teacher takes readers on a wondrous tour--"perfect for anyone who enjoyed Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" (Publishers Weekly)--of how science confronts the big questions about the origins, destiny, and fundamental nature of our universe...
The Courage of Birds: And the Often Surprising Ways They Survive Winter
Pete Dunne
Paper Book
From our own backyards to the rim of the Arctic ice, countless birds have adapted to meet the challenges of the winter season. This is their remarkable story, told by award-winning birder and acclaimed writer Pete Dunne, accompanied by illustrations from renowned artist and birder David Sibley.<...
Treekeepers: The Race for a Forested Future
Lauren E. Oakes
Paper Book
"A frank, probing, but ultimately hopeful book" (Elizabeth Kolbert) that shows how the path from climate change to a habitable future winds through the world's forests In recent years, planting a tree has become a catchall to represent "doing something good for the...
What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World’s Ocean
Helen Scales
Paper Book
The acclaimed marine biologist and author of The Brilliant Abyss examines the existential threats the world's ocean will face in the coming decades and offers cautious optimism for much of the abundant life within in No matter where we live, "we are all ocean people," Helen...
Adventures in Volcanoland: What Volcanoes Tell Us About the World and Ourselves
Tamsin Mather
Paper Book
*A Library Journal Best Book of 2024* A mix of memoir, travel and popular science, charting journeys across deserts, through jungles and up ice caps, to some of the most important volcanoes around the world In this captivating book from one of...
Beyond the Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands
David Strayer
Paper Book
An exciting foray into Earth's inland waters, the remarkable species they contain, and the conservation challenges of protecting them. When we call Earth "the blue planet" we immediately envision the vast oceans that cover most of its surface. But seas aren't the only bodies of...
Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War
Tom Steyer
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller * Financial Times Best Books of 2024 Climate investor and activist Tom Steyer shows us how we can win the war on climate--and why fighting for a sustainable future can help bring meaning and prosperity to our lives. The...
Frog Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Amphibian Lives (Earth Day)
Marty Crump
Paper Book
An illustrated hourly guide that follows twenty-four frogs as they eat, find mates, care for their young, and survive our harsh and changing planet.   In this short book, celebrated biologist Marty Crump leads readers on a worldwide field trip in search of frogs...
Deep Water: The World in the Ocean
James Bradley
Paper Book
"Deep Water is a major achievement....Bradley's skills both as novelist and essayist converge here to create this wise, compassionate and urgent book, characterized throughout by a clarity of prose and a bracing moral gaze that searches water, self and reader." --ROBERT MACFARLANE, bestselling...
Accidental Astronomy: How Random Discoveries Shape the Science of Space
Chris Lintott
Paper Book
A "riveting real-life Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (The Telegraph), told "with an engaging voice, a diverting sense of humor, and a humble awe for the wonders of the universe" (Wall Street Journal), shows why so much of astronomy comes down to looking up and...
Metamorphosis: How Insects Are Changing Our World
Erica McAlister
Paper Book
An accessible, beautifully illustrated celebration of insects--and their extraordinary contributions to humankind--from the hosts of the BBC Radio's Metamorphosis Insects outnumber humans 200 million to one, and their impact on people and the planet boasts a similar...

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