 | A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $4.50 For those interested in the historical/civilizational view of environmental collapse, an excellent choice.
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 | The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World by Bjorn Lomborg
Buy new: $19.79 / Used from: $5.17 Takes the view that environmentalism is not sound economic policy. Needs to be read together with Daly's book (see below).
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 | The Logic Of Failure: Recognizing And Avoiding Error In Complex Situations by Dietrich Dorner
Buy new: $12.92 / Used from: $4.98 Listed by Michael Crichton as one of the best 'skeptical' environmental views.
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 | Geocide: Placating Humanity's Environmental Demons by Adam Cherson
Buy new: $18.95 / Used from: $9.23 A calmly written and well supported answer to the environmental skeptics and fence sitters from the political ecology perspective. Presents a wealth of recent information in a short space and does include contrarian views for balance.
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 | The Culture Cult: Designer Tribalism And Other Essays by Roger Sandall
Buy new: $35.00 / Used from: $19.50 Listed by Michael Crichton as one of the best 'skeptical' environmental views.
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 | Our Stolen Future: How We Are Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival-- A Scienti by Theo Colborn
Buy used from: $6.60 The natural sequel to Silent Spring, this is an excellent introduction to the new and growing field of endocrine disruption. Im convinced that endocrine disruption is going to be, along with global warming and the biodiversity crisis, one of the big three environmental issues of the next 50 years
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 | Man and the Natural World: Changing Attitudes in England 1500-1800 by Keith Thomas
Buy used from: $24.68 Listed by Michael Crichton as one of the best 'skeptical' environmental views.
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 | The End of Nature by Bill Mckibben
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $5.96 Once again, it's not that Nature will end but that humans may not be a part of it. This is a quick read, but its the kind of book that could change the way that you look at the world. Unlike most of the other books on this list, this book is more about how we react to environmental change than about how we cause environmental change.
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 | Playing God in Yellowstone: The Destruction of America's First National Park by Alston Chase
Buy new: $20.70 / Used from: $2.93 Listed by Michael Crichton as one of the best 'skeptical' environmental views.
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 | Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development by Herman E. Daly
Buy new: $18.90 / Used from: $10.00 This former World Bank ecomonist explains why pure 'economic' analyses of environmentalism are missing the point. Should be read along with Lomborg (see above).
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 | Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Buy new: $10.17 / Used from: $5.89 Actually the Spring may not be silent, its just that humans may not be around to hear the music. Still a classic on chemical contamination though.
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 | Song for the Blue Ocean: Encounters Along the World's Coasts and Beneath the Seas by Carl Safina
Buy new: $12.24 / Used from: $1.79 Rather than trying to cover every environmental issue facing the oceans, Safina covers just three in great depth. Hes an outstanding writer and even manages to make droll topics like committee meetings full of suspense.
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 | A Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections) by Aldo Leopold
Buy new: $36.00 / Used from: $24.11 Leopold is the father of the field of environmental ethics, and in this book, aside from beautiful descriptions of nature on his farm in Wisconsin, he lays out his vision of what it means to be a good citizen in the biotic community.
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 | The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $4.94 Considered seminal in the field.
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 | Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee
Buy new: $10.20 / Used from: $0.95 The archdruid is David Brower, the foremost environmentalist of the 20th century, and McPhee describes encounters between Brower and 3 of his foremost opponents. Theres a lot of insight here into what drives Brower, and many environmentalists, as well as insight into what drives developers, dam builders, and miners. A fascinating read.
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 | The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson
Buy new: $21.37 / Used from: $18.99 The book on biodiversity (Wilson coined the term), from its history to how we are putting it at risk through our current actions. Wilson is a terrific writer, and this book is his magnum opus. A must-read for anyone interested in the current biodiversity crisis.
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 | Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future by Orrin H. Pilkey
Buy new: $19.77 / Used from: $12.88 Important to recognize that science cannot reach perfect predictive power.
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 | Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $12.01 Along with Short History of Progress and Deep Ecology, makes case for agricultural causes of civilizational collapse.
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 | Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben
Buy new: $11.20 / Used from: $7.78 Along with Dirt and Short History of Progress, makes case for agricultural re-structuring. More proscriptive than the others.
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 | The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century
Buy new: $29.95 / Used from: $16.50 Lovins is a practical sage who explains how it can all be done.
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