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Reading List

Books for readers thinking deeply about our planet

By Ideas Editor

These books for readers who are thinking about the future of the planet include: Naomi Oreskes on why we must trust science; Jedediah Purdy on how the land we share divides us, but could unite us, from the coalfields of Appalachia to the public lands of the American West; Astronomer Royal Martin Rees on why humanity’s prospects depend on our planning seriously for the future; Marcia Bjornerud on why thinking like a geologist can give us the perspective we need for a more sustainable future; ecologist Nick Haddad offering a vivid and personal narrative about the race against time to reverse the decline of the world’s rarest butterflies; evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro on the incredible science of de-extinction; an insider’s account–from Mark Serreze, Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center –of how scientists first came to understand the melting of the Arctic; and philosopher Susan Schneider’s  exploration of the limits, and ethics, of AI.

Why Trust Science?

Why Trust Science?

 

This Land is Our Land

This Land Is Our Land: The Struggle for a New Commonwealth

 

On the Future

On the Future: Prospects for Humanity

 

Timefulness

Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World

 

The Last Butterflies

The Last Butterflies: A Scientist’s Quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature

 

How to Clone a Mammoth

How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction

 

Brave New Arctic

Brave New Arctic: The Untold Story of the Melting North

 

Artificial You

Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind