Suggested Reading

There are many books that focus on the conservation of natural areas and contain interesting and entertaining descriptions of the natural world. Here are some that we particularly like. See below for a list of periodicals that contain articles on conservation that are science-based but written for the non-scientist.

Douglas Tallamy, Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation

Peter Wadhams, A Farewell to Ice

Lewis Dartnell, Origins: How Earth's History Shaped Human History

Raymond Wiggers, Geology Underfoot in Illinois

Bill McKibben, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Richard M. Ketchum, The Secret Life of the Forest

Florence Williams, Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative

Michael L. Jeffords and Susan L. Post, Curious Encounters with the Natural World

Michael Jeffords and Susan Post, Exploring Nature in Illinois

Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of Trees

E.C. Pielou, After the Ice Age. The Return of Life in Glaciated North America

John E. Schwegman, The Natural History of Illinois

Joe McFarland and Gregory M. Muller, Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States

Scott D. Sampson, How to Raise a Wild Child

Tony Johnston, Winter is Coming

Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods. Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Edward O. Wilson, The Diversity of Life

Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

David George Haskell, The Forest Unseen.  A Year’s Watch in Nature

John Madson, Where the Sky Began, Land of the Tallgrass Prairie

Jonathan Silvertown, Demons in Eden

May R. Berenbaum, Bugs in the System

Eric Higgs, Nature by Design.  People, Natural Process and Ecological Restoration

William E. McClain, Illinois Prairie: Past and Future.  A Restoration Guide

Stephen Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel (Eds.), The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook

Archie Carr, The Windward Road

Don Kurz, Illinois Wildflowers

Gerald Durrell, A Practical Guide for the Amateur Naturalist

D.W. Yalden and P.A. Morris, The Lives of Bats

Judy Pelikan, The Music of Wild Birds

Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds

William E. Conner, Tiger Moths and Woolly Bears

Matthew Shepherd et al., Pollinator Conservation Handbook

Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Creating Habitats and Homes for Illinois Wildlife

Mark W. Moffett, Adventures Among Ants

Doug Ladd, Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers

Shirley Shirley, Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire.  A Season in the Wilderness

Jaquetta Hawkes, A Land

John Hay (Ed.), The Great House of Birds.  Classic Writings About Birds

Sally Carrighar, Wild Heritage

Joe C. Truett and Daniel W. Lay, Land of Bears and Honey.  A Natural History of East Texas

Stephen Jay Gould, Ever Since Darwin

Stephen Jay Gould, The Panda’s Thumb

Stephen Jay Gould, Eight Little Piggies

Nico Tinbergen, Curious Naturalists

Douglas W, Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home. How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants

Euell Gibbons, Stalking the Wild Asperagus

Periodicals that Contain Articles on Conservation that are Science-Based but Written for the Non-Scientist

Nature

Cool Green Science

Erigenia

Entomology Today

Global Change Biology

Restoration Ecology

Bioscience

Illinois Steward

American Journal of Botany

Gatherings

Wings