10 Climate Change Books to Read Right Now 

Heroes and villains, fertilizer and firebombs, soldiers and skeletons. Who would guess that a tale of phosphorus, a mineral both sustaining and lethal, would have such an astonishing story and such a rambunctious history? The Devil’s Element is a compelling alchemy of accessible science, history, policy, human drama and reportage from Dan Egan (The Death and Life of the Great Lakes).  

Bestselling author and journalist David Lipsky takes readers on a wild trip through the long progression of climate denialism, attempting to answer the question: “What the heck happened here?!” As entertaining as it is hair-raising, rife with absurdity, The Parrot & the Igloo, proves the value of knowing when, where, why and how the goalposts got moved, and Lipsky talks about why he decided to approach the topic in this manner and more on our Poured Over podcast.  

From disrupting every living organism’s circadian rhythm (including our own) to the way lights can starve and confuse nocturnal animals, Swedish conservationist Johan Eklöf provides an urgent look at the impact that light pollution has on our planet. This eye-opening book will leave you looking to embrace the darkness to the benefit of ourselves and the world. 

Never give up on a turtle. This motto of the Turtle Rescue League’s founders might have you asking: what is it about turtles that inspires such devotion? Bestselling author Sy Montgomery (The Soul of an Octopus) answers that question in this compassionate and curious blend of memoir and natural science — and get ready for even more answers when she joins us on our Poured Over podcast later this fall.

This Pulitzer Prize Winner will make you rethink what it means to be human as it sheds light on the predicted sixth extinction that threatens to be mankind’s lasting legacy. New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert’s moving account of the disappearances of species around us — some already gone and others facing extinction — is an enlightening and resolute report about the impact humans have on the world. 

Journalist Gloria Dickie takes us across the world to explore the stories of the eight remaining species of bears. From the Andes to the Arctic, the jungles of India to the backwoods of the Rocky Mountains, Dickie meets with modern conservationists and weaves together history, mythology, and her own observations from her travels in this warning about what we could lose if we don’t help protect the bears. 

If you saw the viral image of the octopus that showed up in a parking garage in Miami, then Rob Verchick’s book is for you. As he seeks to help people learn how to manage and adapt to the risks that are already at our doorsteps, he emphasizes the importance of climate resilience as a major part of our roadmap in moving forward. An empowering and accessible book, The Octopus in the Parking Garage is a frank yet hopeful look at the climate crisis and how we can move forward. 

A sobering, eloquent work — with a reserved splash of hope — ranging across memoir, history, science and literature, Annie Proulx’s Fen, Bog & Swamp opens our eyes to the history of our planet’s wetlands, humankind’s constant impulse to drain them away, and the dire consequences that could follow if we do not stop. 

We’re constantly hearing about record breaking temperatures, so it comes as no surprise that Jeff Goodell is warning the world about the effects of rising temperatures. A provocative book about the predatory nature of heatwaves and the dramatic impact extreme heat will make, The Heat Will Kill You First is meticulously reported and seeks to answer the big questions surrounding climate change. 

From the National Book Award-winning author of Arctic Dreams and Horizon comes a posthumously published collection of essays that range from memories of pain and wonder, the personal and political. As Barry Lopez ruminates on the cycle of life, the dangers of the current trajectory of the natural world and the people who taught him, Embrace Fearlessly the Burning is an honest and searching book about how we live, view and protect the world.