Earth Day Essentials: Must-Read Books

Updated April 15, 2025
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A field guide to the stars and planets.
Pasachoff, Jay M.
Paper Book
Filled with the latest images from NASA, this collection of star maps, charts, tables, and diagrams tells what is visible in the sky anywhere, anytime, and when and where to see unusual astrological phenomena.
The story of Earth : the first 4.5 billion years, from stardust to living planet
Hazen, Robert M.
Paper Book
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth's biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national bestselling author Robert M. Hazen...
In the shadow of the moon : the science, magic, and mystery of solar eclipses
Aveni, Anthony F.
Paper Book
In anticipation of solar eclipses visible in 2017 and 2024, an exploration of the scientific and cultural significance of this mesmerizing cosmic display Since the first humans looked up and saw the sun swallowed by darkness, our species has been captivated by...
The story of more : how we got to climate change and where to go from here
Jahren, Hope
Paper Book
The essential pocket primer on climate change that will leave an indelible impact on everyone who reads it. * "Jahren asks the central question of our time: how can we learn to live on a finite planet?" --Elizabeth Kolbert, New York Times bestselling author of The Sixth Extinction...
The climate book
Thunberg, Greta
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER We still have time to change the world. From climate activist Greta Thunberg, comes the essential handbook for making it happen. You might think it's an impossible task: secure a safe future for life on Earth, at a scale and speed...
This changes everything : capitalism vs. the climate
Klein, Naomi
Paper Book
The most important book yet from the author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, a brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core "free market" ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems.
Slow burn : the hidden costs of a warming world
Park, R. Jisung
Paper Book
How the subtle but significant consequences of a hotter planet have already begun--from lower test scores to higher crime rates--and how we might tackle them today It's hard not to feel anxious about the problem of climate change, especially if we think of it as an impending...
Physics in the 20th century
Suplee, Curt.
Paper Book
Explains and illustrates the flowering of physics in the 20th century, with spectacular color photos. Shows how theories about properties of matter were confirmed by ingenious experiments, which in turn spawned practical devices that transformed technology. Achievements of many of this century's...
The encyclopedia of Earth : a complete visual guide
Allaby, Michael.
Paper Book
This sumptuously illustrated, beautifully written encyclopedia, the best book available on the topic, presents the most up-to-date information about planet Earth in a style and format that will appeal to an extremely wide range of readers. With thousands of photographs, illustrations, diagrams,...
Encyclopedia of hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones
Longshore, David.
Paper Book
This work provides scholarly accounts of all major storm systems ever recorded. For many of the storms described, the author provides maps of their course, detailed chronologies of their progress, photographs of their aftermath, and comments about them from first-hand observers.
The fragile earth : writing from the New Yorker on climate change
Remnick, David
Paper Book
A New York Times New & Noteworthy Book One of the Daily Beast's 5 Essential Books to Read Before the Election A collection of the New Yorker's groundbreaking reporting from the front lines of climate change--including writing from Bill McKibben, Elizabeth Kolbert, Ian...

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