Erica Gies’s book documents how conventional water control efforts damage ecosystems and the water cycle, and how they are overwhelmed by natural disasters driven by climate change. Still, whether in Midwestern floodplains, Vietnam’s... Read More

From varied corners of the shrinking Amazon, Fábio Zuker’s essays report on perils to humans and wildlife, surveying Brazilian history, geography, and culture and documenting a raft of environmental problems that have been exacerbated... Read More

Since this practical guide to the carbon footprint of everyday goods, foods, and activities was first published in 2010, global warming has only accelerated. Extensive updates reflecting ongoing science and climate change urgency make... Read More

"Folklore 101" is an approachable, enjoyable dive into a fascinating academic field—a “DIY folklore class” for the curious. Jeana Jorgensen’s punchy overview of folklore studies, "Folklore 101", includes cogent explanations of... Read More

Fans of the bestselling Italian novelist Elena Ferrante will delight in her new collection of eloquent, revelatory essays about what motivates (and bedevils) her as a writer. These Ferrante lectures, commissioned by the University of... Read More

As many as one million Americans of Romani descent are “hidden in plain sight.” Pejoratively known as gypsies, Roma are among the most marginalized and misunderstood communities. Cristina Salvador Klenz’s 1990s black-and-white... Read More

Stereotypes of brutish, unintelligent Neanderthals are pulverized by Rebecca Wragg Sykes in her tender, absorbing profile of our hominin cousins. "Kindred" is a comprehensive review of the most up-to-date theories and technological... Read More

David Wharton’s evocative photographs capture defining aspects of the American South, documenting haunting farmlands and wild landscapes and edgy juxtapositions of human-made and natural details, both beautiful and ordinary,... Read More