glimmer

For the Love of Gaia

A curated collection of must-read books exploring humanity's relationship with Earth, the unfolding climate crisis, and the pathways to a sustainable future. These works traverse a range of perspectives—systemic critiques of capitalism and industrialization, heart-wrenching narratives of collapse and biodiversity loss, and inspiring visions of hope through innovative solutions and ancient wisdom.

From the hard truths of ecological limits and the science of climate change to the poetic beauty of rewilding and the practicalities of redesigning our systems, this list celebrates the urgency and wonder of living on a planet worth fighting for. Whether you seek to deepen your understanding, reimagine the future, or find hope amidst the chaos, this list offers something for everyone who cares about the fate of our shared home.

Position
Details
Rating
Readers Count
Controls
#1
Thinking in systems : a primer
Thinking in systems : a primer
  • Donella H. Meadows
4.2170 reads
#2
Overshoot
Overshoot
  • William R. Catton Jr.
52 reads
#3
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate
  • Naomi Klein
4.0740 reads
#4
Merchants of Doubt
Merchants of Doubt
  • Naomi Oreskes
  • Erik M. Conway
3.8320 reads
#5
Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
  • George Marshall
4.336 reads
#6
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
  • Elizabeth Kolbert
4.02104 reads
#7
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World
  • Jeff Goodell
4.0913 reads
#8
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
  • Elizabeth Kolbert
4.258 reads
#9
Learning to Die in the Anthropocene: Reflections on the End of a Civilization
Learning to Die in the Anthropocene: Reflections on the End of a Civilization
  • Roy Scranton
3.86 reads
#10
The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet
The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet
  • Jeff Goodell
410 reads
#11
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming
  • David Wallace-Wells
3.9357 reads
#12
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
  • Robin Wall Kimmerer
4.57171 reads
#13
The Wizard and the Prophet
The Wizard and the Prophet
  • Charles C. Mann
4.0322 reads
#14
Doughnut Economics
Doughnut Economics
  • Kate Raworth
4.177 reads
#15
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
  • William McDonough
4.0720 reads
#16
All We Can Save
All We Can Save
  • Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
  • Katharine K. Wilkinson
4.3618 reads
#17
Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet
Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet
  • Hannah Ritchie
4.2511 reads
#18
Half-Earth
Half-Earth
  • Edward O. Wilson
45 reads
#19
Drawdown
Drawdown
    4.58 reads
    #20
    Silent Spring
    Silent Spring
    • Rachel Carson
    3.8452 reads
    #21
    Limits to Growth
    Limits to Growth
    • Donella H. Meadows
    • Dennis L. Meadows
    • Jørgen Randers
    4.334 reads
    #22
    The Limits to Growth Revisited
    The Limits to Growth Revisited
    • Ugo Bardi
    00 reads
    #23
    Cover 1

    Limits and Beyond

    Limits and Beyond: 50 years on from The Limits to Growth, what did we learn and what’s next?
    • Ugo Bardi
    00 reads
    #24
    2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years
    2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years
    • Jørgen Randers
    00 reads
    #25
    Cadillac Desert:  The American West And Its Disappearing Water
    Cadillac Desert: The American West And Its Disappearing Water
    • Marc Reisner
    4.5513 reads
    #26
    Cover 4

    Bird on Fire

    Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World's Least Sustainable City
    • Andrew Ross
    31 read
    #27
    The Story of More
    The Story of More
    • Hope Jahren
    3.839 reads
    #28
    Learning to Die: Wisdom in the Age of Climate Crisis
    Learning to Die: Wisdom in the Age of Climate Crisis
    • Robert Bringhurst
    • Jan Zwicky
    00 reads
    #29
    Inconspicuous Consumption
    Inconspicuous Consumption
    • Tatiana Schlossberg
    00 reads
    #30
    Less is More
    Less is More
    • Jason Hickel
    3.9513 reads
    #31
    The New Map
    The New Map
    • Daniel Yergin
    3.449 reads