If there was any silver lining to 2020’s lockdowns, it was the rediscovery of nature. There's something uniquely rejuvenating about being outside, feeling bare feet on grass, touching bark, tasting ocean spray. Whatever your preferred landscape, the books in this list will inspire and reinvigorate, intertwining drama and self-discovery with the howling call of the natural world. Like the iridescent, rainbow-like slime mold referenced by Lucy Jones in Creatures That Don't Conform, the green spaces that surround us are carpeted in mysterious and powerful things that create a living web. If you're the type of person who can't resist the urge to jump in a creek or chase a hare in the pale moonlight–or wish you did this more–this list of five of the best nonfiction books about the magic of nature is for you.
The memoir for those looking for a mix of science and storytelling, Suzanne Simard's Finding the Mother Tree tells of the author's childhood spent cataloging trees in the deepest forests of British Columbia. Readers can practically feel the wet soil as Simard describes her adventures among the fungi, trees, and wildlife. Alongside her adventures in the woods are stories from her narrative, encompassing the joys and heartbreak of family and the sexism she faced in the forestry industry. Of course, the main drama of this book is the secret lives of trees, which Simard discovers. The sophisticated and "human" behavior of trees that cooperate to form intricate ecological networks that ultimately sustain the forest and all of its living creatures.
Have you ever suspected that plants and animals are actually our greatest teachers? If so, Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass is a book that will confirm many of your innate hunches about the hidden kinship between humans and the living, breathing natural world all around us. Kimmerer brings readers on a journey of awakening ecological consciousness that draws from her identity as a mother, scientist, and indigenous woman. The book reveals the natural reciprocity that is the true currency of the planet. Braiding Sweetgrass gently leads the reader to confront their own relationship with the consumption and consumerism that, too often shout over the delicate voice of the planet.
This read is for science-minded readers interested in diving into the world of mycology. But science-averse readers take note: Sheldrake's groundbreaking book will inspire and amaze, highlighting the massive hidden kingdoms of mushrooms that make life on Earth possible. Readers soon learn the role played by fungi in shaping how we all think, behave, live, and heal. This beautifully written, mind-bending book is the winner of the Wainwright Prize and Royal Society Science Book Prize.
Hyped as a must-read book by Oprah Daily, Reader's Digest, the Chicago Public Library, and many more, "An Immense World" is a bestselling book that invites the reader to escape the confines of their own sensory experiences to tap into the sounds, sights, textures, vibrations, and magnetic fields that cover every inch of the Earth. Serving as the high school biology class that would have inspired us all to be scientists, this book reveals secrets of what animals like turtles, bats, whales, and bees actually see and hear in their ultra-connected states. Yong also dives into natural mysteries that prove that our planet is still very much an enigma to the human race.
This 2025 memoir by a British political advisor and speechwriter shows the magic of what happens when a busy Londoner is forced to slow down in the English countryside during lockdown. After rescuing a hare that's been chased down by a dog, Dalton discovers just how difficult the task of keeping something vulnerable alive can be. The deep bond Dalton forms with the rabbit leads her to reconsider her habits, her dwelling, and her relationship to nature, forcing her to confront unfamiliar dilemmas.. How much should she interfere with her constant companion’s life? What about if its life is in danger? In a real-life lesson of setting free what we love, Dalton and her hare experience a deep connection that invites the reader into the natural lives of hares juxtaposed against the human concepts of ownership and love.
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