Environmental History and Justice
History and justice, ecology style! From ancient China to the Little Ice Age, the swamps of North Carolina to the guano mines of Latin America, these books examine how history has shaped and been shaped by the environment and ecological conflict, thereby transforming the lives of people living both near and far—usually to the singular benefit of capitalist and imperialist forces. An ongoing work-in-progress, always open to suggestions!
created by ayzrules
last updated September, 2026
Comments
crimes against nature by karl jacoby is about the formation of the national parks (and the displacement of indigenous and working class people that it required and accordingly the effects on the environment and how white power influences how we interact with nature)! fantastic book, read it for a class during my masters. definitely a bit dense because it’s academic history but truly worth a read imo
I'm really wanting to read it after finishing Jacoby's Shadows at Dawn! He's an excellent writer and it's such an important topic
This list looks so good! I finished my masters program focusing on sustainability this year and I have a few books that may fit here!
- The Great Lakes Water Wars by Peter Annin would be an excellent fit.
- The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder - Richard Louv. Might fit your All things wild and wonderful list better though.
- Green Swans: The Coming Boom In Regenerative Capitalism by John Elkington
- Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvonne Chouinard. Written by the founder of Patagonia.
More of an essay than a book but everyone interested in this topic should read Intensive Livestock Farming by Ramona Ilea. It opened my eyes to so much injustice and how environmental issues don’t hurt everyone equally. It’s what led me to pursue my masters in this topic
ayzrulesOP
wheeee so glad you enjoy this! congratulations on finishing your masters program, that's such a huge achievement 🤩🤩 what was your program focused on?
thank you for all the recs, i am adding them now and checking them out for myself too (along w/ the essay!). appreciate you dropping by!!
My program was on sustainable management! I did my thesis on sustainability in the Midwest film industry
ayzrulesOP
omg that sounds absolutely rad!!!
I feel like Once Upon the Permafrost by Susan Crate might be a good fit for this.
ayzrulesOP
ooooh omg that looks SO interesting? thank you, i've added it! can't wait to check it out :D
great list as always! idk if these would fit, but for singapore there's making kin: ecofeminist essays from singapore and nature's colony: empire, nation, and environment in the singapore national gardens. and for southeast asia in general there's also the camphor tree and the elephant: religion and ecological change in maritime southeast asia
ayzrulesOP
wait these all sound amazing? thank you so much, i'll have a look!
What a brilliant list! I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're going for, but it's definitely environmental justice: A Barrister for the Earth by Monica Feria-Tinta. She is a barrister and has represented the planet and marginalised communities in environmental cases around the world.
ayzrulesOP
Eeee thank you! That sounds like such an intriguing book? I’ve added it 💖
It's amazing, Monica is such an incredible person. It'll make you angry, but it'll also leave you ultimately hopeful.
Oh I love this!! Some other possible recs (depending on the exact vibe you're going for ofc): Healing the Land Teaches Us Who We Are by Marcello Martinet; The Intersectional Environmentalist by Leah Thomas; A New Environmental Ethics by Holmes Rolston III
ayzrulesOP
Thank you so much! 💕 I’ll give these a look-see!
Maybe some of these would fit?
— Blood Memory (Dayton Duncan) — White Man's Game (Stephanie Hanes) — Botany of Empire (Banu Subramaniam) — This System is Killing Us (Alexander Dunlap) — Waste Wars (Alexander Clapp) — American Canopy (Eric Rutkow)
Don’t know if this would fit but it’s a great book… Animal Vegetable Criminal
I was just thinking the other night about how I want to read more books like this, so I'm excited to dig in. Thanks for making such a cool list!! 🙂
ayzrulesOP
ahh - so glad this list is helpful! ❤️❤️
I love this list so much and cant wait to dig into some of these books over summer break!
ayzrulesOP
So glad you like it omg! 💗 And this is random sorry hahah but just out of curiosity, do you have a specific thing you’re focusing on for your history’ degree?
Im hoping to do a minor in women/gender studies or sociology leaning in that direction (i still have to see how my credits transfer to my new uni) and want to focus my history class choices around that as well. (Im undergrad so my ability specialize is also limited sadly)
wait that sounds like such a cool topic, best of luck with transferring! and fingers crossed you can find good classes/electives/etc that you like! (totally thought i responded to this a long time ago, sorry!)
This is such an interesting list! Love it! I haven't read anything on this topic (yet) but it sounds too cool to pass up!
ayzrulesOP
Aaa gosh, I’m so glad you think so! 💖🫶
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