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Nature and Science December 2020 |
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Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change
by Daniel Mathews
Starring: the pine forests of the western United States, pushed to the brink by beetle infestations, diseases, and wildfires -- all of which are exacerbated by the greatest threat of all: climate change.
Try these next: Michael Kodas' Megafire, which traces the rise of large-scale, high-intensity wildfires; Lauren Oakes' In Search of the Canary Tree, which uses a single species to examine the myriad threats to North America's forests.
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The world according to physics
by Jim Al-Khalili
What's in it: "A quantum physicist, ""New York Times"" best-selling author, and BBC host examines what physics reveals about the world. Illustrations."
Why you might like it: This book frames the nature and importance of modern physics in an accessible, compelling, succinct way, showing lay readers that physics is crucial to our modern understanding of the world-and indeed the world as we currently know and experience it.
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Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace
by Carl Safina
The premise: Animals learn how to be animals from other members of their social groups, suggesting that culture isn't exclusively a human invention.
Contains: observations of sperm whales ("Raising Families"), scarlet macaws ("Creating Beauty"), and chimpanzees ("Achieving Peace")
Reviewers say: Biologist Carl Safina's latest combines "the knowledge of a seasoned scientist with the skills of a good storyteller" (NPR).
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Caste : the origins of our discontents
by Isabel Wilkerson
What it's about: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns identifies the qualifying characteristics of historical caste systems to reveal how a rigid hierarchy of human rankings, enforced by religious views, heritage and stigma, impact everyday American lives.
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Disaster by Choice : How Our Actions Turn Natural Hazards into Catastrophes
by Ilan Kelman
What it's about: A scientific investigation into the link between human behavior and environmental disasters examines the complex political, economic and social factors that exacerbate natural environmental processes, outlining examples of working approaches to preventing and mitigating catastrophic damage.
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Fire in Paradise : an American tragedy
by Alastair Gee
What happened: An account of the 2018 Camp Fire that razed the town of Paradise, California draws on hundreds of interviews with residents, firefighters, police and scientific experts to document its horrific impact, including the establishment of an unfolding refugee crisis.
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The journeys of trees : a story about forests, people, and the future
by Zach St George
What it's about: An urgent portrait of forest migration reveals how entire forests are experiencing unhealthy growth redirection as a result of deforestation, invasive pests and climate change, tracing the contributions of scientists and activists to help the world’s trees recuperate.
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Eager : the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter
by Ben Goldfarb
What it's about: An environmental journalist discusses why beavers are so important to the ecosystem and follows a growing number of passionate "Beaver Believers," including scientists, ranchers and regular citizens, who are working to help restore the helpful rodent to its habitat.
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Billionaire wilderness : the ultra-wealthy and the remaking of the American West
by Justin Farrell
What it's about: This takes you inside the exclusive world of the ultra-wealthy, showing how today's richest people are using the natural environment to solve the existential dilemmas they face. It provides a revealing look at the intersection of wealth, philanthropy and conservation.
Why you might like it: Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming, the richest county in the United States, and a community where income inequality is the worst in the nation. He conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews, gaining unprecedented access to tech CEOs, Wall Street financiers, oil magnates, and other prominent figures in business and politics. He also talked with the rural poor who live among the ultra-wealthy and often work for them. The result is a penetrating account of the far-reaching consequences of the massive accrual of wealth, and an eye-opening and sometimes troubling portrait of a changing American West where romanticizing rural poverty and conserving nature can be lucrative--socially as well as financially.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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