10 ebooks for a greener read 25 January 2011
Looking for ebooks to read on your Kindle, or other ebook reader? Or maybe you just want a PDF version of a book to download on your PC.
Check out our top picks. Buy any from The Book Depository - ebook or paper format - and we will receive a 5% donation from your order.
(All prices correct at date of publication, but may be subject to change).
A Walk in the Woods
(Bill Bryson)
The longest continuous footpath in the world, the Appalachian Trail stretches along the East Coast of the US, from Georgia to Maine, through some amazing landscapes.
This book describes the author's hike through the vast tangled woods which have been frightening sensible people for 300 years.
EPub (DRM applied) - £7.18
The Secret Life of Stuff
(Julie Hill)
Take a journey through everything around you and how you use it. This book uncovers the origin and cost of stuff and takes a first step towards overcoming waste.
Over-consumption is not your fault, but there is something you can do about it.
EPub (DRM applied) - £7.18
The Final Call: Investigating Who Really Pays for our Holidays
(Leo Hickman)
Hickman interviews chambermaids through to global CEOs to get a full picture of the environmental and social cost of our bid to escape. The good news is that this book can help you make a more informed decision about your next holiday.
EPub (DRM applied) - £6.39
A Brush with Nature: 25 Years of Personal Reflections on Nature
(Richard Mabey)
Described as 'Britain's greatest living nature writer', Richard Mabey reveals his favourite writings and presents an inspiring view of the changing natural landscape in which we live.
EPub (DRM applied) - £10.39
A New Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations
(Clive Ponting)
Ponting's book studies the relationship between the environment and human history.
It examines civilizations from Sumeria to ancient Egypt, and shows how humans have repeatedly built societies that have prospered by exploiting the Earth's resources.
EPub (DRM applied) - £7.82
Solar
(Ian McEwan)
Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him.
A freak accident presents an opportunity to extricate himself from his marital mess, reinvigorate his career and save the world from environmental disaster. Engrossing, satirical and very funny.
EPub (DRM applied) - £11.18
Homemade Kids: Thrifty, Creative and Eco-Friendly Ways to Raise Your Child
(Nicola Baird)
A practical and inspirational guide to bringing up your baby in a thrifty, eco-friendly way, by ex-Friends of the Earth writer.
Find out how to green your family - including home, shopping, celebrations, food, nappies, play, sleeping, babysitting and travel.
EPub (DRM applied) - £8.79
Shades of Green: A (Mostly) Practical A-Z for the Reluctant Environmentalist
(Paul Waddington)
Easy-to-use A-Z guide to green consumer choices.
Whether you're pondering bicycles or baths, holidays or heating, pets or pasta, washing dishes or wine, discover the 'light' through to 'dark' green options.
EPub (DRM applied) - £6.39
Car Sick: Solutions for Our Car-addicted Culture
(Lynn Sloman)
The 21st century is gridlocked. What we need is to change the way we think about travel.
This is a passionate, well-argued case for moving away from a car-centred to a people-centred society.
PDF / EPub (DRM applied) - £11.18
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
(Charles Darwin)
Ground-breaking contribution from Darwin on the evolution of man continues to be as influential today as it was when it was published in 1859.
PDF - £2.57
Free ebooks
OK, we're stretching the definition of 'green' with these ebooks (all PDFs), but they're free, so who's complaining?
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Jules Verne's classic sci-fi novel takes you on a journey of exploration as an expedition discovers a secret tunnel which leads through a volcano to the centre of the Earth. Fantastical and fun!
The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett takes you back to your childhood with the story of spoilt Mary Lennox, sent to stay with her uncle in Yorkshire. When she finds a secret garden, a change overcomes her. With a local boy and her cousin, the children work magic in themselves and those around them.
Garden Cities of Tomorrow
Ebenezer Howard's classic work that introduced the concept of the Garden City, leading to a revolution in urban planning in the UK.
Thomas Hardy classics
Nature is the ever-present influence throughout Hardy's books - download titles including The Woodlanders, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure and more.
Walden
Henry David Thoreau's classic on living in harmony with nature with some other philosophical musings thrown in.
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