Nature On Your Mind? Five Recent Books To Read

The Trees of My Country (Aleph)

Scientist T.R. Shankar Raman’s informative and evocative celebration of trees familiarises readers with 50 native tree species of India. Each tree is a gateway to a place. Trees from the Himalayas to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, from Lakshadweep to Arunachal Pradesh, all tell stories about the places they are rooted in, the relationship they share with the humans around them, and the threats that engulf them as the climate crisis casts long shadows on their habitats. Raman writes with clarity, care and erudition, nudging readers to ponder the ways in which our lives are connected to the lives of trees. This call to action on behalf of nature is beautifully illustrated by Manali Patil and impeccably designed and produced.

The Ghost of the Mountains (Penguin Random House)

In this thrilling and inspiring account about his decades-long crusade to protect the snow leopard and its fragile habitat, conservationist Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi shares his adventures on the high peaks and his painstaking efforts to build a community based, collaborative model for protecting the animal whose home is being threatened by encroaching development, ongoing armed conflicts and climate change. In the course of describing his work as a conservationist in the time of the climate crisis, Suryawanshi evokes a sense of wonder in readers about the natural world and convinces us that efforts to preserve and protect nature offer a unique sense of meaning and purpose to our lives.

The Tree of Life (Hachette) 

Evolutionary biologist Max Telford’s The Tree of Life is a fascinating, eye-opening read because it records the connections between all living things, from humans to fish to insects to trees. It takes readers on a four-billion-year journey through the planet’s evolution, sharing vivid stories along the way. It showcases the incredible diversity of life on earth and anyone who reads it is bound to gain a new perspective on the past, present and future of life on the planet as well as on the family tree to which all living things belong.

The Beginning Comes After the End (Haymarket Books)

Rebecca Solnit reminds readers in her persuasive, engaging style that change is inevitable. It takes hope (the theme of her previous book, Hope in the Dark) and perseverance to dismantle existing systems and work towards building new ones that are based on the core value of interconnection. Ultra-nationalist and authoritarian regimes advocate individualism and isolation, but this new world will wholeheartedly embrace environmental thinking, indigenous knowledge and gender justice, promising to be far more interconnected and relational than the one we currently occupy.

The Spirit of the Rainforest (Gaia)

This is Dr Rosa Espinoza's riveting account of her life exploring the Amazon. Espinoza was born at the edge of the Peruvian rainforest and from her childhood days, she appreciated the value of indigenous wisdom. When she moved to the US as a student, she saw how the world starkly separates science and indigenous knowledge. This made her ask: why is scientific enquiry taken more seriously than indigenous knowledge? What are scientists missing by not heeding other ways of seeing the world? The search for answers inspired her to explore the Amazonian jungle’s stunning biodiversity and write The Sprit of the Rainforest, which celebrates indigenous knowledge while making a strong case for rewriting the script of science.