There's a Book for That: It's Spring!
Welcome to the first day of Spring! Our picks for the season reflect some of our most acclaimed and popular nature books. In a time of renewal, we pay tribute to the biodiversity and splendor of our planet and all that grows here. May your spring reading be in full bloom!
We live on a floral planet, yet flowers don’t get the credit they deserve. We admire them for their aesthetics, not their power. In this exquisite exploration of the role flowers played in creating the world we know today, David George Haskell observes, smells, and studies flowers such as magnolias, orchids, and roses, as well as fascinating but less celebrated flowers such as seagrasses and tea to show us what we’ve been missing.
A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, loss, and our relationship with the natural world, explored through the story of one woman’s unlikely friendship with a wild hare. Raising Hare chronicles their journey together while also taking a deep dive into the lives and nature of hares, and the way they have been viewed historically in art, literature, and folklore. We witness firsthand the joy at this extraordinary relationship between human and animal, which serves as a reminder that the best things, and most beautiful experiences, arise when we least expect them.
“Unexpected and spectacular” —Ann Patchett, best-selling author of These Precious Days
In 2016, Amy Tan grew overwhelmed by the state of the world: Hatred and misinformation became a daily presence on social media, and the country felt more divisive than ever. In search of peace, Tan turned toward the natural world just beyond her window and, specifically, the birds visiting her yard. But what began as an attempt to find solace turned into something far greater—an opportunity to savor quiet moments during a volatile time, connect to nature in a meaningful way, and imagine the intricate lives of the birds she admired.
WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL
In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile’s scaly face is as sensitive as a lover’s fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.
When 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.
In his late thirties, Jeff Chu left his job as a magazine writer and enrolled at Princeton Seminary’s “Farminary,” a 21-acre farm where students learn to work the earth while interrogating life’s biggest questions. Now he unfolds what he learned about creating good soil—both literally and figuratively—drawing lessons from the chickens, goats, and zinnias and the rhythms of growth, decay, and regeneration that define life on the land. In a series of reflections, Chu introduces us to the cast of characters, human and not, who became his teachers. From the egrets that visited the pond, to the worms that turned waste into fertile soil, to the Chinese long beans that got passed over in the farm’s CSA, Chu considers our relationship with the food on our plates, the belonging we seek, and the significance of his own roots, discovering what the earth is trying to tell us, if we’ll stop and listen.
A mind-expanding exploration of how trees learned to shape our world by manipulating the elements, plants, animals, and even humankind, possessing agency beyond anything we might have imagined.
Learn to identify animals, plants, and fungi wherever you go with this step-by-step guide for spotting and recording key traits and characteristics. This easy-to-follow guide empowers you to learn more about the species around you, then use what you know to preserve the world you love. And at a time when biodiversity is imperiled worldwide, nature needs more advocates than ever.
“It has given me much joy to reread this story.”—Wendell Berry
Chelsea Green published the first trade edition of The Man Who Planted Trees in 1987, and it has become a timeless eco-fable about what one person can do to restore the earth. The hero of the story, Elzéard Bouffier, spent his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence in the south of France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape-from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds, and fresh, flowing water.
The most comprehensive and authoritative guide to the wildflowers of North America, updated for the first time in decades to reflect the impact of climate change and the advancements in DNA studies that have radically altered the classification process. Whether preparing for a scenic hike or getting to know the flowers in the backyard, readers will come to rely on this work of remarkable breadth, depth, and elegance.
In this, her first book, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths–that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own.
Presented in a luxurious two-volume slip-cased set, this edition pairs timeless art with expert commentary in a format designed for reflection, appreciation, and beauty. The main volume showcases a selection of prints that capture Hanami (the appreciation of the fleeting wonder of spring): blossoming cherry trees, riverside picnics, moonlit gardens, and the quiet rituals of seasonal change.
Highlights include Hiroshige’s Plum Garden at Kameido and Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom at Arashiyama, Hokusai’s Viewing Cherry Blossoms by the Sumida River, and Yoshitoshi’s elegant Yayoi from the series Flowers of the Twelve Months. The works unfold in a striking accordion format, allowing readers to experience them as immersive, panoramic compositions.
For more on these and related books, visit the collection Nature in Spring
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