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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2024 • TIME’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 • New York Magazine’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 • Smithsonian’s 10 Best Science Books of the Year •  A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American,New York Public Library, Christian Science Monitor, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly • An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Year“A masterpiece of science writing.” –Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass“Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful.” –Ed Yong, author of An Immense World“Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!” –Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction “A brilliant must-read. This book shook and changed me.” –David George Haskell, author of Sounds Wild and Broken, The Songs of Trees, and The Forest UnseenAward-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom, “destabilizing not just how we see the green things of the world but also our place in the hierarchy of beings, and maybe the notion of that hierarchy itself.” (The New Yorker)It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close.What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is.We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for—if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants—and our own place—in the natural world. Read more

From a New York Times bestselling author, a wildlife ecology expert and environmental advocate provides readers with the next step in their ecological journey. In How Can I Help?, Tallamy tackles the questions commonly asked at his popular lectures and shares compelling and actionable answers that will help gardeners and homeowners take the next step in their ecological journey. Topics range from ecology, evolution, biodiversity and conservation to restoration, native plants, invasive species, pest control, and supporting wildlife at home. Tallamy keenly understands that most people want to take part in conservation efforts but often feel powerless to do so as individuals. But one person can make a difference, and How Can I Help? details  how. Whether by reducing your lawn, planting a handful of native species, or allowing leaves to sit untouched, you will be inspired and empowered to join millions of other like-minded people to become the future of backyard conservation. Read more

RETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOXCosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.Includes introductory music: "Heaven and Hell" by Vangelis from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage used with permission from Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.Praise for Cosmos“Magnificent... With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos often seems too good to be true.” - The Plain Dealer“Sagan is an astronomer with one eye on the stars, another on history, and a third - his mind’s - on the human condition.” - Newsday“Brilliant in its scope and provocative in its suggestions...shimmers with a sense of wonder.” - The Miami Herald“Sagan dazzles the mind with the miracle of our survival, framed by the stately galaxies of space.” - Cosmopolitan“Enticing...iridescent...imaginatively illustrated.” - The New York Times Book Review Read more

You can stockpile all the rice you like... but do you know how you're going to cook it if you're without power for months on end?Once upon a time, disaster preparedness was a fairly niche pastime. Today, it’s becoming mainstream… and you only have to look at the headlines to see why.Extreme weather events… global pandemics… growing unrest… All of these factors are in your consciousness all the time. It makes sense to be prepared for the worst… and with celebrities like Ryan Seacrest and Ronda Rousey joining the ranks, more and more people are beginning to understand why.But despite this growing trend, there’s one thing most people are missing.You’ve stocked your pantry; you have enough toilet roll to see you through the next few months; you have your bug out bag prepped… But have you thought about what you’re going to do if the grid goes down?If the power grid fails, it’s not just your lights that go out. It’s your water supply. It’s your heating and cooling system. It’s all your usual ways of cooking food or doing the laundry.Without the grid, life as we know it changes in an instant.Are you prepared for that?Don’t panic. If your emergency preparedness plan has a few holes in it just now, you’re in the right place.In Prepare Your Home for a Sudden Grid-Down Situation, you’ll discover:The most likely causes of a grid-down situation -- and how they’ll affect your familyEasy immediate short-term solutions to see you through the first few days of disasterGrid-down cooking options (you’ll be amazed by how many ways there are to feed your family a delicious hot meal without your cooker)A full range of emergency backup solutions you can fall back on if you’re currently totally reliant on the gridWhat to do when cash means nothing -- think outside the box to make sure your family thrivesThe ultimate guide to making sure your family has access to clean, safe water (no matter what’s going on outside)Exactly what you can do to stay healthy and well when the toilet won’t flush, the washing machine’s useless, and a long hot bath is out of the questionEverything you need to know about communicating with the outside world in a grid-down emergencyA clear breakdown of your off-grid power options -- so you can plan now for any unexpected eventEasy DIY projects you can work through right now to sharpen your skills and prepare for the worstAnd much more.If you thought your stash of canned beans and laundry supplies was enough to see you through an emergency, think again. It’s a great start… but have you thought about how you’re going to cook those beans? Do you know how you’re going to wash your clothes?Being prepared is about more than stocking up. It’s about thinking outside the box and learning essential survival skills.But don’t worry: These skills are accessible to anyone… and you’re about to discover them.If you want to make sure your family is safe, healthy, and protected no matter what happens, scroll up and click “Add to Cart” right now. Read more

A cataclysmic earthquake shatters the Cascadia Subduction Zone, triggering massive tremors, 100-foot tsunamis, and the collapse of entire cities.The destruction spirals across the West Coast and beyond, ripping open the San Andreas fault and other hidden fractures in the Earth's crust. Civilization unravels, leaving the once-thriving West Coast in ruins.But the true nightmare is just beginning.In Oregon, the ground refuses to settle. New and terrifying threats emerge as the survivors struggle to make sense of a world torn apart.Among them are Reed Walker, a battle-hardened EMT from Albany, and Chloe Cooper, a resilient high school biology teacher. Together, with children and dogs in tow, they must navigate a landscape of chaos and danger.But surviving the tremors is just the start. They must face obstacles beyond imagination, trust each other, and fight to escape before the earth swallows them whole.Wreckage Road—a relentless, high-stakes thriller where survival is just the beginning. Get ready for a wild ride! Read more

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “brilliant [and] entrancing” (The Guardian) journey into the hidden lives of fungi—the great connectors of the living world—and their astonishing and intimate roles in human life, with the power to heal our bodies, expand our minds, and help us address our most urgent environmental problems.“Grand and dizzying in how thoroughly it recalibrates our understanding of the natural world.”—Ed Yong, author of An Immense WorldONE OF PEOPLE’S BEST BOOKS OF THE 2020S • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, BBC Science Focus, The Daily Mail, Geographical, The Times, The Telegraph, New Statesman, London Evening Standard, Science FridayWhen we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.In the first edition of this mind-bending book, Sheldrake introduced us to this mysterious but massively diverse kingdom of life. This exquisitely designed volume, abridged from the original, features more than one hundred full-color images that bring the spectacular variety, strangeness, and beauty of fungi to life as never before.Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. By examining fungi on their own terms, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are changing our understanding of how life works.Winner of the Wainwright Prize, the Royal Society Science Book Prize, and the Guild of Food Writers Award • Shortlisted for the British Book Award • Longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize Read more

From the New York Times bestselling author of Bringing Nature Home comes an urgent and heartfelt call for a new approach to conservation—one that starts in every backyard. Douglas W. Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. Nature’s Best Hope shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. Even more important, it’s practical, effective, and easy—you will walk away with specific suggestions you can incorporate into your own yard. If you’re concerned about doing something good for the environment, Nature’s Best Hope is the blueprint you need. By acting now, you can help preserve our precious wildlife—and the planet—for future generations. “Tallamy lays out all you need to know to participate in one of the great conservation projects of our time. Read it and get started!” —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction  Read more

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The Light Died, leaving behind death and destruction for as far as the eye could see. After a cruel betrayal, Casey, Rachel, and Loopy found themselves out in the elements, and did the only thing they could—walk.With very few supplies, no plan, and nowhere to go, they encountered two sisters attempting to reach their parents, also walking. Should they try to do the right thing, or would they get screwed over again?Meanwhile, deep beneath Detroit in a salt mine, Casey's brother, Daryl, works in a high-tech facility restoring satellite communications. Life below grade isn’t exactly what Daryl or Beth thought it would be, either.Can both brothers navigate the treacherous new world—one facing the wilds above, the other the secrets below? Grab your copy to find out! Read more

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First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. “Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters” (Peter Matthiessen, for Time’s 100 Most Influential People of the Century). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson’s watershed book with a new introduction by the author and activist Terry Tempest Williams and a new afterword by the acclaimed Rachel Carson biographer Linda Lear, who tells the story of Carson’s courageous defense of her truths in the face of ruthless assault from the chemical industry in the year following the publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death in 1964. Read more

Take kids ages 3 to 5 on an exciting and educational weather adventure!Welcome to the wonderful world of weather! From the warm, balmy days of the summer climate to the cold, crisp nights of winter, kids will learn all about the four seasons, as well as how clouds form, why it rains, what causes a rainbow and storms, and so much more. Read along and wow your child with the story of the meteorological magic that's happening around them every day and has existed for all of history.Go beyond other weather books for kids with:A WHIRLWIND OF INFO MADE SIMPLE: Help toddlers and preschoolers understand how weather works through simple explanations.SUNNY ILLUSTRATIONS: Colorful and adorable images help kids better understand and engage with what they're learning.A RAIN OF FUN FACTS: Keep older readers interested with neat info, like the fact that wind can be used to create electricity.If you're looking for weather books for kids, this illustrated guide provides your tot with an extraordinary weather adventure! Read more

In Jared Diamond’s follow-up to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion, and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilization. Environmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of societies around the world, but some found solutions and persisted. As in Guns, Germs, and Steel, Diamond traces the fundamental pattern of catastrophe, and weaves an all-encompassing global thesis through a series of fascinating historical-cultural narratives. Collapse moves from the Polynesian cultures on Easter Island to the flourishing American civilizations of the Anasazi and the Maya and finally to the doomed Viking colony on Greenland. Similar problems face us today and have already brought disaster to Rwanda and Haiti, even as China and Australia are trying to cope in innovative ways. Despite our own society’s apparently inexhaustible wealth and unrivaled political power, ominous warning signs have begun to emerge even in ecologically robust areas like Montana. Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid committing ecological suicide? Read more

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology that radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492—from “a remarkably engaging writer” (The New York Times Book Review). Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew. Read more

From the bestselling author of The Devil in the White City, here is the true story of the deadliest hurricane in history.National BestsellerSeptember 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devastating personal tragedy.Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature. Read more

Living at the limits of our ordinary perception, mosses are a common but largely unnoticed element of the natural world. Gathering Moss is a beautifully written mix of science and personal reflection that invites readers to explore and learn from the elegantly simple lives of mosses.Robin Wall Kimmerer's book is not an identification guide, nor is it a scientific treatise. Rather, it is a series of linked personal essays that will lead general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings, from salmon and hummingbirds to redwoods and rednecks. Kimmerer clearly and artfully explains the biology of mosses, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us.Drawing on her diverse experiences as a scientist, mother, teacher, and writer of Native American heritage, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as in the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world.Gathering Moss will appeal to a wide range of readers, from bryologists to those interested in natural history and the environment, Native Americans, and contemporary nature and science writing. Read more

Celebrates and explains the astonishing range of habitats on Earth and the intricate balance of their animal and plant communitiesThis book is a beautiful visual reference to the world's natural habitats and the plants and animals that live there. It explores global habitat types, including desert, Arctic tundra, and tropical forest - and distinctive regional habitats, such as the windswept puna grasslands of the Andes or the dripping, fern-clad rainforests of New Zealand. Packed with fascinating illustrations, the book analyzes how each habitat works and examines its unique combination of plants and animals, along with the features that suit them to live there. It then goes deeper, telling stories about how the inhabitants relate to one another and interact. Stories are told using images and graphics, showing what is going on in the natural ecosystem. The stories include survival strategies and life cycles, how pollinators fertilize plants, and how animals distribute the seeds, how similar species divide up food or living space to avoid competition, and how some species cooperate in intimate partnerships.Earth's pristine wildernesses are dwindling, so the book includes national parks, wildlife reserves, and other protected areas, and the conservation efforts needed to preserve our precious biological diversity. Read more

“Kurlansky finds the world in a grain of salt.” - New York Times Book ReviewAn unlikely world history from the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the WorldBest-selling author Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions.  Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece. Read more

Understanding science has never been easier.Combining bold graphics with easy-to-understand text, Simply Science is the perfect introduction for those who are short on time but hungry for knowledge.The book covers not only the core sciences—physics, biology, and chemistry—but also Earth science and astronomy. Assuming no previous scientific knowledge, it covers more than 100 cornerstone ideas, ranging from photosynthesis to chemical reactions, the laws of motion, and the general theory of relativity. Pared-back entries each focus on a single concept and use a combination of clear text and simple graphics to explain it as directly and concisely as possible.Whether you are studying science in school or college, or simply want a jargon-free overview of the subject, this essential guide is packed with everything you need to understand the basics of science quickly and easily. Read more