Earth Day

Every April, we honor our planet on Earth Day with a selection of works celebrating the natural world. With titles ranging from stories of wilderness survival to nonfiction works about conservation and sustainability, this Collection features a broad spectrum of ideas regarding nature and our role within it.

The Grey Wolf

by Louise Penny

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Environment, Family, Teamwork, Community, Economics, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

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The Hidden Life of Trees

by Peter Wohlleben

Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Place, Objects & Materials

Tags Science & Nature

Peter Wohlleben’s 2015 book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World explores what modern science has learned—and has yet to find out—about trees and forests. Wohlleben’s book was named a best seller by the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal and won the Indie Choice Award for Best Nonfiction Book of the Year. Wohlleben, who has decades of experience working as a professional forester... Read The Hidden Life of Trees Summary

The Hot Zone

by Richard Preston

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Globalization, Community

Tags Science & Nature, Health, Horror & Suspense, World History

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston is a non-fiction thriller, published in 1994, two years after his article “Crisis in the Hot Zone” appeared in The New Yorker. Preston writes often on Ebola, bioweapons, and emerging viruses. The Hot Zone deals with the breaking of Ebola into the human species and a 1989 incident in which an Ebola-like virus, the Reston virus, sweeps through a monkey quarantine facility outside of Washington, DC. The book served... Read The Hot Zone Summary

The Human Web

by John Robert Mcneill, William H. Mcneill

Publication year 2003

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Climate, Environment, Food, Place, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Science & Nature, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government, World History, Sociology

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The Last Contract of Isako

by Fonda Lee

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Space, Apathy, Conflict, Guilt, Aging, Death, Future, Environment, Teamwork, Social Class, Economics, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy

Fonda Lee’s The Last Contract of Isako (2026) is a science-fiction novel from the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the acclaimed Green Bone Saga series, the first book of which is Jade City (2018). Combining cyberpunk, dystopian fiction, and corporate espionage, the story is set in the future on the planet Aquilo, where a hyper-capitalist corporation governs all life. The novel follows Isthmus Isako, a legendary 50-year-old contractor who operates within a rigid warrior ethos... Read The Last Contract of Isako Summary

The Log From The Sea of Cortez

by John Steinbeck

Publication year 1951

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Plants, Place, War, Science & Technology

Tags Science & Nature, Travel Literature

The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951) is a nonfiction work by John Steinbeck, which combines travel, memoir, scientific observations, and philosophical reflection. In the book, Steinbeck accompanies the marine biologist Ed Ricketts on a six-week expedition to the Gulf of California. Regarded as one of Steinbeck’s most significant nonfiction works, The Log from the Sea of Cortez also includes an Appendix which serves as a eulogy to Ricketts following his death in 1948... Read The Log From The Sea of Cortez Summary