Books
What we are reading, some old, some new....
We would love to know what you are reading about plants, conservation, the natural world, places to visit, reference books or anything else that would be of interest to Friends of Plant Conservation members.
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This is a page just for fun, with book recommendations from staff, board members, and Friends.
If you have a favorite-- that is related in some way to plants, conservation, nature-- use our Contact Form and send us the title, author, and a short description. Recently added:
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Visit our Amazon Smile page and order any of these books....they will make a small donation to FoPC. All those donations add up!
And all of your purchases made through Amazon Smile count....everything that is available on Amazon is available on Amazon Smile |
The Genius of Birds
Jennifer Ackerman Penguin Press, NY, 2016 The author traveled the world collecting stories and science on brain size and intelligence of birds with some astounding findings. She introduces birds with technical skills, including demonstrations of planning ahead, memory, puzzle-solving, grieving, blackmail, and human-like deceit and manipulation. Her writing style is easy and engaging; her research extensive. Her notes are also extensive and include her references. A fabulous book that almost makes you want to court a new pet. Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice
William E. Glassley, 2018. Bellvue Literary Press, NY. I am not a geologist but marvel at those who are. Glassley manages to tell his story, a great adventure and incredibly soulful writing, in such a way that even a novice can enjoy it. His style reminds me of Loren Eiseley’s The Immense Journey. Bill McKibben puts it better: "Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book." And from Glassley himself: "It was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the majestic solitude of my surroundings. Having such moments was a remarkable experience, undisturbed in that profound epitome of untrammeled nature. Life flowed at its own pace, the rock and soil and plants scaffolding a landscape that humans had not shaped. I was the sole audience, a most temporary of visitors, watching the momentary manifestation of flowing processes set in motion from the earliest beginnings of Earth, billions of years ago." Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas: A New Guide for Plant Identification and Use in the Coastal Landscape
Paul E. Hosier, June 2018 This accessibly written and authoritative guide updates the beloved and much-used 1970s classic Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas. In this reimagined book, Hosier provides a rich, new reference guide to plant life in the coastal zone of the Carolinas for nature lovers, gardeners, landscapers, students, and community leaders. · Detailed profiles of more than 200 plants, with color photographs and information about identification, value to wildlife, relationship to natural communities, propagation, and landscape use. · Background on coastal plant communities, including the effects of invasive species and the benefits of using native plants in landscaping. · A section on the effects of climate change on the coast and its plants. · A list of natural areas and preserves open to visitors interested in observing native plants in the coastal Carolinas. · A glossary that includes plant names and scientific terms. Published in association with North Carolina Sea Grant 
Geology and Plant Life: The Effects of Landforms and Rock Types on Plants
Arthur R. Kruckeberg, 2004 Univ. of Washington Press This book is highly praised by Lesley Starke, Plant Ecologist, and Jenny Stanley, Research Specialist, at NC Plant Conservation Program. From the Quarterly Review of Biology: "[Kruckeberg] draws on many years of botanical experience to make an eloquent plea for understanding the influences of landforms, lithology, and geologic history on the living world." From a reviewer: "one thing that makes Prof. Kruckeberg the most appealing writer on this potentially difficult topic that I've ever read is that even when he discusses the more technical aspects of the subject, he manages to imbue his discussion with an air of excitement and discovery. In other words, it's a bit of an adventure, and one never knows what one will find, just as in the field one never knows what will turn up." Submitted by: Lesley Starke 
The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places
Bernie Krause, 2012, reprinted 2013 Bernie Krause is one of the world’s leading experts in natural sound and has spent countless hours recording natural soundscapes across the world. In his book, The Great Animal Orchestra – Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places he describes some of his experiences and the negative impacts that human activity and noise can have on the animal world. Recommended by : Crystal Cockman See Crystal's full review 
Hope, Human and Wild
Bill McKibben, 1995 This book escaped my attention until recently. I keep a pack of sticky notes while reading, and as I proceeded through this book, Steve spoke up and said "why don't you just mark the pages you DON'T intend to go back to!" He was right--I had at least 50 of the little colored arrows sticking out of the pages. Take that as my recommendation to read this book, described by author Bill McKibben as his attempt to write something a little more upbeat than he sometimes does. I will go back and read this book again, and again. Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook
Dina Falconi Botanical Arts Press LLC. 2013 This is a gorgeous resource on foraging for edible plants and crafting delicious food from them. The illustrations are beautiful and accurate. It's like a botanical party for the senses. Submitted by: Katie Kovach |
Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life
George Monbiot, 2014 Feral is the "lyrical and gripping story of George Monbiot’s efforts to re-engage with nature and discover a new way of living. He shows how, by restoring and rewilding our damaged ecosystems on land and at sea, we can bring wonder back into our lives. Making use of some remarkable scientific discoveries, Feral lays out a new, positive environmentalism, in which nature is allowed to find its own way. " From Monbiot's website. 2013. Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
The Hidden Life of Trees
Peter Wohlleben, 2015 Forester Peter Wohlleben offers a look at trees and forests, in uncomplicated language, from diverse perspectives that explores the life, death, and regeneration not only of individual trees, but of communities of trees. The relationship of trees and fungi, how trees "talk," the means by which trees "help" one another, surviving even if it means the death of another of the same species, how "mother" trees keep their offspring in place until there is enough light to allow another tree to grow to maturity--Wohlleben's musings are enlightening and thought-provoking. It just makes you want to get outside and explore forests for yourself. Great to read a short chapter before bed! Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
Braiding Sweetgrass:
Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and The Teachings of Plants. Robin Wall Kimmerer Milkweed Editions, 2015. "Most of us were raised in the mainstream American culture. How then, did we acquire our love of plants? This book will not answer that, instead throwing in a third cultural clash. The author grew up much like most of us, but in adulthood strives to reclaim her indigenous American (Potawatomi) heritage." The book indulges our love of plants by discussing what botany versus indigenous wisdom has to tell us about various plants and plant communities across the USA. (Unfortunately, none from North Carolina.) By the end of the book, she has largely reconciled two of the three cultures: "I dream of a world guided by a lens of stories rooted in the revelations of science and framed with an indigenous worldview..." Recommended by: FOPC member Dave Farrier 
The Wild Places
Robert Macfarlane Peguin Books, 2007 writes with eloquence and imagination, creating another book that I will read again just for the sheer pleasure. Macfarlane determines to visit a series of breathtaking journeys through some of the most remarkable landscapes of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. He climbs, walks, and swims (usually in icy waters) by day and spends his nights sleeping on cliff-tops and in ancient meadows and wildwoods. He entwines history, memory, and landscape in a 'bewitching evocation of wildness and its vital importance.' I bought this as a paperback and regret that, so I purchased The Old Ways, another of his books, in hardcover edition. They are worth the extra money! Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey
Rinker Buck, 2015 A 2,000 mile journey in a restored 1800s wagon, three gorgeous mules with interesting personalities, and with a brother who personality is completely at odds with the authors, this book is an account of the history of America. The story, in a style reminiscent of Bill Bryson, "shatters the comforting myths about the trail years passed down by generations of Americans. Buck introduces readers to the largely forgotten roles played by trailblazing evangelists, friendly Indian tribes, female pioneers, bumbling U.S. Army cavalrymen, and the scam artists who flocked to the frontier to fleece the overland emigrants." I couldn't put it down - but a little warning...his brother's language is a little "colorful." Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
Backyard Carolina: Two Decades of Public Radio Commentary
Andy Wood We were proud to have Andy serving on our Board of Directors from 2008-. We have benefited from his knowledge, wisdom, and enthusiasm for our natural world. Beginning in 1987, Andy Wood began reporting his observations on nature as a weekly commentator on WHQR, the public radio station for the coastal Carolinas. Backyard Carolina includes Wood's most memorable commentaries and observations on nature from his own backyard to the larger backyard of various communities in North and South Carolina. 
Bringing Nature Home
Douglas W. Tallamy Originally published in 2007, I have the updated and expanded 2011 edition (fifth printing). This book advocates planting and nurturing native plants, based on Tallamy's extensive research as an entomologist. He relentlessly offers statistics on how many insect species rely on all the various native plants, and explains how those insects are keys to the survival of all other species. When I am advocating conservation, I often cite Tallamy's statistics to help folks understand the scale of the crisis faced by the natural world. Submitted by: Catherine Bollinger |
Orchids, Carnivorous Plants, and Other Wildflowers of the Green Swamp, North Carolina: exploring North America’s Most Diverse Ecosystem
Jim Fowler, 2015 If you can't get out to see these plants for yourself, Jim's book is a perfect alternative. And even if you have seen them, Jim produces unforgettable images and accurate, helpful information. You can order the book directly from Jim - CLICK HERE 
Our Plundered Planet
Fairfield Osborn, 1948 Before Rachel Carson there was Fairfield Osborn, who studied biology and pursued a career in international business. On retirement in 1935, he redeemed himself (smile) by devoting himself to environmental issues and writing Our Plundered Planet. As reviewed on publication in 1948 the book "is a convincing and moving exposition of the need for world-wide conservation of the earth's resources. The destruction of forest, the ravages of over-grazing, man's continual attack on and wasting of the very materials upon which life and society are based are more serious threats to our civilization than the atom bomb." This was 1948 folks - what have we been doing?? Excellent book, but hard to find. If you cannot find a copy, you can read it online. Use the button below. Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water
Marc Reisner, 1993 I have two books about wetlands and water resources conservation that each had a profound impact on my views of conservation--deepening my appreciation for ecology and focusing on more than just imperiled species conservation to see the whole big picture. 1) Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner, published 1993 2) Discovering the Unknown Landscape: A History of America's Wetlands by Ann Vileisis, published 1999. Submitted by: Lesley Starke 
The Worst Hard Time
Timothy Egan "The Worst Hard Time is an epic story of blind hope and endurance almost beyond belief; it is also, as Tim Egan has told it, a riveting tale of bumptious charlatans, con-men, and tricksters, environmental arrogance and hubris, political chicanery, and a ruinous ignorance of nature's ways. Egan has reached across the generations and brought us the people who played out the drama in this devastated land, and uses their voices to tell the story as well as it could ever be told." — Marq de Villiers, author of Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource Recommended highly by: Andy Wood and his wife Sandy.
Stand Up That Mountain
Jay Erskine Leutze Surely the most important environmental book for North Carolina is Stand Up That Mountain by Jay Erskine Leutze. Leutze was born in Virginia but now lives in the Southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. An attorney, he has become a voice for state and federal investment in public lands for conservation. Recommended by: Haywood Rankin 
Wapiti Wilderness
Margaret & Olaus Murie For more than 37 years, Margaret and Olaus Murie made their home in the mountainous wilderness of the Tetons, where Olaus Murie conducted his famous studies of the American elk, the wapiti. Through these years their home was almost a nature-conservation shrine to thousands of Americans interested in the out-of-doors, in animals, and in nature in general. Wapiti Wilderness, begun by Mrs. Murie as a sequel to her book Two in the Far North, which told of the Muries' life and expeditions in Alaska, became collaborative effort by both the Muries iin alternate chapters. Interesting, informative, and personal. A great read. Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser The Last Empty Places: A Past and Present journey Through the Blank Spots on the American Map
Peter Stark Ballantine Boos, 2010 Takes the reader to four of the most remote, wild and unpopulated areas of the United States outside of Alaska – to the rivers and forests of Northern Maine, to rugged, unpopulated Western Pennsylvania that lies only a short distance from the big cities of the East, to the haunting canyons of Central New Mexico, and to the vast arid basins of Southeast Oregon. He finds that each has played an important role in shaping our American idea of wilderness through the influential “natural philosophers” who visited these four regions regions and wrote about their experiences – Henry David Thoreau, John and William Bartram, John Muir and Aldo Leopold, sharing his own personal experiences on his own or with his family. A thought-provoking and inspiring book. Submitted by: Kathy Schlosser 
The Sheep Look Up
John Brunner In a near future, the air pollution is so bad that everyone wears gas masks. The infant mortality rate is soaring, and birth defects, new diseases, and physical ailments of all kinds abound. The water is undrinkable—unless you’re poor and have no choice. Large corporations fighting over profits from gas masks, drinking water, and clean food tower over an ineffectual, corrupt government. It's tough, but should be in every high school. A must read! Submitted by: Andy Wood |
