World Environment Day

World Environment Day (5 June) is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by the United Nations Environment Programme, and held annually since 1973, it has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach. This year's theme focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience, a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world.

Here is a list of environmental books written with passion, eloquence and strong grounding in science, reminding us of our connection to nature and of our responsibility to save and protect it.

Updated May 24, 2024
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When the Sahara was green : how our greatest desert came to be
Williams, Martin
Paper Book
The little-known history of how the Sahara was transformed from a green and fertile land into the largest hot desert in the world The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world, equal in size to China or the United States. Yet, this arid expanse was once a verdant, pleasant...
The book of vanishing species : illustrated lives
Forshall, Beatrice
Paper Book
__________________Our Earth is more beautiful and more diverse than we can possibly conceive of. The Book of Vanishing Species is a stunning homage to the planet's most mysterious, bizarre and wondrous creatures and plants. Their stories are captivating,...
The book of hope :
Goodall, Jane,
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope? Looking at the headlines--the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval--it can be hard to feel...
A life on our planet :
Attenborough, David,
Paper Book
In this scientifically informed account of the changes in nature over the last century, award-winning broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough shares a lifetime of wisdom and a hopeful vision for the future.   *Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best...
Regenesis :
Monbiot, George,
Paper Book
Winner of the 2022 Orwell Prize for Journalism | A Sunday Times (London) Bestseller | Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation "George Monbiot is one of the most fearless and important voices in the global climate movement today." --Greta Thunberg...
Not the end of the world :
Ritchie, Hannah,
Paper Book
This "eye-opening and essential" book (Bill Gates) will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems--and explains how we can solve them. It's become common to tell kids that they're going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines...
The treeline :
Rawlence, Ben,
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism "Original and readable." ―Financial Times' Best Environmental Books of 2022 "Superb, inspiring." ―Winner, National Academies of Science Schmidt Awards for Excellence in...
No one is too small to make a difference /
Thunberg, Greta,
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times bestseller by Time's 2019 Person of the Year "Greta Thunberg is already one of our planet's greatest advocates." --Barack Obama The groundbreaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist who has...
How to avoid a climate disaster : the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need
Gates, Bill
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade...
On fire :
Klein, Naomi,
Paper Book
#1 international and New York Times bestselling author Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything, makes the case for a Green New Deal--explaining how bold climate action can be a blueprint for a just and thriving society. For more...
The uninhabitable earth :
Wallace-Wells, David,
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical prose about our pending Armageddon."--Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY...
The songs of trees : stories from nature's great connectors
Haskell, David George
Paper Book
In THE SONGS OF TREES, award-winning nature writer David Haskell repeatedly visits a dozen trees around the world, exploring the trees' connections with webs of fungi, bacterial communities, cooperative and destructive animals, and other plants. In doing this he shows that every living being is not...

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