27 books about conservation history
A crowd-sourced list, in case you want to learn alongside me.
As I’ve begun dipping my toe in more biodiversity and conservation coverage, as both an editor and a reporter, I’ve found myself itching to ground myself in a deeper understanding of the history and context that inform the work being done in this space today. So last week, I put out a call on social media asking for reading recommendations on conservation history. I received quite a few responses, as well as many requests that I share the responses I got.
I considered not sharing the list, because it’s obviously unvetted: I haven’t read most of these books, so I can’t tell you if they’re any good. And American conservation history, which features heavily in this list, is full of racist and otherwise troubling characters, which means a few of these books are about (or in some cases, perhaps written by) people that reflect that reality. Without having read these books, I can’t gauge how the authors are framing that aspect of conservation history. At the same time, I think understanding the history of environmental work requires understanding the good, the bad and the ugly of it, so I wouldn’t try to dissuade someone from reading Muir, for example, even if I’d also encourage them to also go read some of his critics afterward.
All that said, I had enough people ask that I’m sharing the list, and trusting that you’ll take it for what it is: not a list of recommendations from me so much as an invitation to learn more about conservation alongside me, in a way that allows you to choose your own adventure from this crowd-sourced resource.
Please also consider it an invitation to share your own recommendations by dropping them in the comments or shooting me an email! I’m especially interested in seeing more global conservation history perspectives, by or about people from the Global South. I tried to link all the books via Bookshop, which benefits local bookstores (allegedly I will earn a small commission if you buy them there, though I have never tested to see if this works), Thriftbooks, and other non-Amazon sources where possible, but your local library is as good a place to start as any if you want to join me in this reading journey.
Without further ado, The List, in loose groupings:
History of American environmentalism and major figures therein
Wilderness Warrior by Douglas Brinkley
Rightful Heritage by Douglas Brinkley
Silent Spring Revolution by Douglas Brinkley
The Naturalist by Darrin Lunde
Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism by Char Miller
Leave it As It Is by David Gessner
Some history makers themselves (aka the writers who helped shape the movement within the US)
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Anything by John Muir
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Decolonial perspectives, conservation conflicts w/ Indigenous peoples, etc
Conservation Refugees by Mark Dowie
Tending the Wild by M. Kat Anderson
Green Imperialism by Richard H. Grove
Environmentalism: A Global History by Ramachandra Guha
Trace by Lauret Savoy
The Rise of the American Conservation Movement by Dorceta E. Taylor
Imposing Wilderness by Roderick P. Neumann
Decolonize Conservation edited by Fiore Longo
Miscellaneous
The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf
Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Frazier Nash
Beloved Beasts by Michelle Nijhuis
The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Feasting Wild by Gina Rae La Cerva
Rambunctious Garden by Emma Marris
Engineering Eden by Jordan Fisher Smith
The Machine in the Garden by Leo Marx
Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts
In other news, I returned from hosting the Textile Exchange conference for the second year in a row about a month ago today. The conference brought together 1400+ industry professionals to strategize about what it might take to turn the giant ship that is the textiles industry toward a more sustainable way of operating. There’s a long way to go on that front — my biggest takeaway was that the industry has yet to figure out a real mechanism for financing the sustainability transition — but it was a pleasure to help facilitate this convening nonetheless.
And just before that, I was the Reducetarian Summit to help facilitate a conversation about bringing plant-based meals to the masses. All that to say, I love being part of live events, so if you or your organization are looking for an expert event emcee, keynote speaker or panel moderator in 2025, feel free to drop me a line.
I’ll leave you with the poem “Tree,” by Jane Hirshfield, a nod to impossible, beautiful choices.
Wishing you the courage to face up to immensity when it taps at your window,
Whitney
Ohhhh this is interesting! It is a subject I have also become more interested in and I’m not sure if these would fit with the list, but I recently read them and felt they were amazing:
Soil - https://bookshop.org/p/books/soil-the-story-of-a-black-mother-s-garden/18899573
Braiding sweet grass - https://bookshop.org/p/books/braiding-sweetgrass-robin-wall-kimmerer/16712606
The home place - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-home-place-memoirs-of-a-colored-man-s-love-affair-with-nature-j-drew-lanham/7351940
Good list. I am glad you included John Muir, perhaps much to the chagrin of some of your readers. I thought including tge link to a 2020 article about the past sins of founders of the American conservation movement was unnecessary. Who really cares ? The Sierra Club was almost ruined by its garbled mixing of DEI initiatives on steroids its core, fundamental conservation advocacy.