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Book Recommendations
Earth Days
The Library hosts The Art and Activism of the Anthropocene in cooperation with Guernica magazine this April and May.
The three-part series brings together writers, journalists, and artists to discuss how they address climate change, and why
their work is particularly important in the Anthropocene Era. See bit.ly/ArtActivismAnthropocene2018 for more details.
Inspired by this theme, the Library recommends a variety of books on the environment and the natural world.
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
2017 | Dan Egan | 363.7 E
The natural history of the Great Lakes is
itself fascinating reading. But the story of
the repeated environmental degradation
of the Great Lakes and efforts to combat
it make for a riveting story in the hands
of Dan Egan. On the incredible size and
unique configuration of the five lakes, he
describes “one giant slow-motion river
flowing west-to-east, with each lake dump-
ing like a bucket into the next.” With simple
maps and sections showing the varying
depths from Lake Superior through Niagara
Falls to the St. Lawrence River, he explains
how the lakes were beneficially isolated
from the oceans and other rivers until
men created canals and locks for access
of commercial shipping to the lakes. The
unexpected consequences of this access,
including predatory sea lampreys, inva-
sions of zebra mussels, and toxic algae from
agricultural run-off, is described in agoniz-
ing detail; but it is heartening to learn of the
scientists and citizen activists who fought
and still fight to overcome these incursions.
The book is compellingly written and
even suspenseful—it is still unclear if the
good guys can win every battle—and I
recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone
interested in the future of our planet.
—Jean Parker Phifer, Library Trustee
The Secret Life of Trees
2005 | Colin Tudge | 582 T
In the introduction to The Secret Life of
Trees, Colin Tudge reveals that his aim is
to create connoisseurs of nature—connois-
seurs requiring both knowledge and love.
What follows could hardly do it better.
The book, though quite scientific, is burst-
ing with incredible facts about trees. Did
you know that all flowering plants are
believed to have one common ancestor?
That nature’s desire to cooperate, called
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“convergent evolution,” resulted in the vari-
ety of plants we see today? That trees aren’t
a subgroup of plants?—rather most of the
49 orders of plants contain at least one type
of tree, even grasses (it’s bamboo). You’ll
learn how mangrove forests survive in salt-
water and why koalas have smaller brains.
Perhaps most remarkably, you will learn
that trees have memories and can analyze
problems and find solutions. An astonish-
ing subject revealed by an amazing book.
—Patrick Rayner, Acquisitions Assistant/
Circulation Assistant
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: a Year of Food Life
2007 | Barbara Kingsolver | 641 K
“You Can’t Run Away on Harvest Day” is
the chapter I remember most from Animal,
Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
While it is tempting to dwell on privileges
that permit Kingsolver to live a life where
she can raise her own animals and plants
for food, one must also admire her com-
mitment to doing the harvesting herself.
The movement to eat more locally grown
food has come a long way since the book’s
publication ten years ago, but re-reading
the aforementioned chapter still provides
renewed inspiration for responsible choices
about what we eat, whether vegetarian or
omnivore. The great storytelling and engag-
ing voice of one of my favorite authors also
make reading about this transformative
time of her life a pleasure.
—Cathy McGowan,
Circulation Librarian/Interlibrary Loan
The Gentle Art of Tramping
1926 | Stephen Graham | 796.51 G
I have admittedly taken some liberties with
the call for book recommendations related
to environmental topics. But the ecologi-
cal benefits of tramping (walking, hiking,
backpacking, whatever you choose to call
it) over other forms of transport in the