Best Nonfiction of 2012: Science & Nature

by Robert Macfarlane

A breathtaking study of “walking as enabling sight and thought rather than encouraging retreat and escape.” Full review >

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by Cheryl Strayed

A candid, inspiring narrative of the author’s brutal physical and psychological journey through a wilderness of despair to a... Full review >

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by Andrew Solomon

An informative and moving book that raises profound issues regarding the nature of love, the value of human life and the... Full review >

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by David Quammen

A wonderful, eye-opening account of humans versus disease that deserves to share the shelf with such classics as Microbe... Full review >

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by Laurence Gonzales

Survivors of traumatic events often do not recover without help from others, and Gonzales’ excellent book is an education... Full review >

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by Edward O. Wilson

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by Robert M. Hazen

A report of a fascinating new theory on the Earth's origins written in a sparkling style with many personal touches. Full review >

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by George Dyson

Meticulously researched and packed with not just technological details, but sociopolitical and cultural details as well—the... Full review >

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by Ian Tattersall

Keeping a critical eye on the evidence and a skeptical one on theories, Tattersall confirms his status among world... Full review >

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by Sam Kean

In an impressive narrative, the author renders esoteric DNA concepts accessible to lay readers. Full review >

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by David George Haskell

Exceptional observations of the biological world worthy of any naturalist’s library. Full review >

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by Jim Sterba

An eye-opening take on how romantic sentimentalism about nature can have destructive consequences. Full review >

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by Rebecca Stott

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