**An extraordinary investigation into shade, this “compelling . . . conversation-starter draws examples from history, city-planning and social policy” (NPR) to change the way we think about a critical natural resource that should be available to all.“Thought-provoking . . . Bloch, an environmental journalist, examines how shade is now a privilege, often denied to farmworkers, the homeless, and residents of poor neighborhoods.”—The New Yorker**A NEW YORK...

**An extraordinary investigation into shade, this “compelling . . . conversation-starter draws examples from history, city-planning and social policy” (NPR) to change the way we think about a critical natural resource that should be available to all.“Thought-provoking . . . Bloch, an environmental journalist, examines how shade is now a privilege, often denied to farmworkers, the homeless, and residents of poor neighborhoods.”—The New Yorker**A NEW YORK...

A journey into the world of carbon, the most versatile element on the planet, by the New York Times bestselling author Paul HawkenCarbon is the only element that animates the entirety of the living world. Though comprising a tiny fraction of Earth’s composition, our planet is lifeless without it. Yet it is maligned as the driver of climate change, scorned as an errant element blamed for the possible demise of civilization.Here*,* Paul Hawken looks ...

“A must-read for today’s politics” (San Francisco Chronicle), the brilliant and provocative essays that established National Book Award finalist Sarah Smarsh as one of the most important commentators on America’s class problem are collected in one searing and insightful volume.In Bone of the Bone, Sarah Smarsh brings her graceful storytelling and incisive critique to the challenges that define our times—class division, political fissures, gender i...

**One of Scientific American’s Best Books of 2024One of the world’s leading astrobiologists takes us on an awe-inspiring journey across the cosmos to investigate some of humanity’s most profound questions: Are we alone in the universe? And how did life on Earth begin?**We are in a golden age in astronomy, living on the cusp of breakthroughs that will revolutionize our understanding of our place in the cosmos. Yet a profound question remains: Are we alone in the uni...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A bold case for reimagining the American project and making American democracy real—from a formidable new voice in political journalism“The first thing I’ve read that provides a rigorous vision of how to refound this nation if we manage to survive the current threats to these core values.”—Chris Hayes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sirens’ CallFrustrated with our political dysfunction, w...

A revealing history of the formative period when voices of dissent and innovation defied power and created visions of America still resonant today.The early decades of the nineteenth century saw the expansion of slavery, Native dispossession, and wars with Canada and Mexico. Mass immigration and powerful religious movements sent tremors through American society. But even as the powerful defended the status quo, others defied it: voices from the margins moved the ce...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A MULANEY READS PICK • A kaleidoscopic history of the Grateful Dead that explores the American counterculture through the life of iconoclastic frontman Jerry Garcia, and his merry band“By writing this book, Jim Newton informs the rest of the world what Deadheads have known for years: that Jerry Garcia was more than a world-class musician, he was an American icon.”—Trixie GarciaIn 1965, in Palo Alto, Jerry Garcia opened...

Honey bees get all the press, but the fascinating story of North America's native bees—an endangered species essential to our ecosystems and food supplies—is just as crucial. Our Native Bees is the result of Paige Embry's yearlong quest to learn more about these forgotten, yet fundamental, creatures.Through interviews with farmers, gardeners, scientists, and bee experts, Embry explores the importance of native bees and focuses on why they play a key role in gardening and a...

**THE NATIONAL BESTSELLERHigh Plains International Book Award FinalistShortlisted for the Reading the West Book AwardOne of The Economist's Best Books of the YearAn Amazon Best Book of the MonthA Next Big Idea Club Must-Read BookFrom New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito, the incredible story of how the horse shaped human history**Timothy C. Winegard’s The Horse is an epic history unlike...

A vivid portrait of the American prairie, which rivals the rainforest in its biological diversity and, with little notice, is disappearing even faster“This book describes—in loving, living prose—one of the world’s greatest and most important landscapes. And it does so while there’s still time to save some serious part of it.”—Bill McKibben, author of The End of NatureThe North American prairie is an ecological marvel, a lush carpet...

“[A] meticulously excavated tribute to the formerly enslaved mothers, fathers, siblings, and kin who published ‘last seen’ advertisements in search of loved ones stolen from them in bondage…a vital work of recovery.” —Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Master, Slave, Husband, WifeDrawing from an archive of nearly five thousand letters and advertisements, the riveting, “heartbreaking, and essential” (Jill L...