The Best Science And Nature Books of 2022 (A Year-End List Aggregation)
“What are the best Science And Nature books released in 2022?” We looked at 159 of the top Science And Nature books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 28 books, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Science And Nature” book lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 100+ titles, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Our other Best Of 2022 Articles:
- The Best Art, Photography, And Coffee Table Books
- The Best AudioBooks
- The Best Biography And Memoir Books
- The Best Graphic Novels And Comics
- The Best Cookbooks
- The Best Fiction Books
- The Best Books (All Catergories)
- The Best History Books
- The Best Kids, Children, and Youth Books
- The Best Mystery, Horror, and Thriller Books
- The Best Nonfiction Books
- The Best Picture Books
- The Best Poetry Books
- The Best Science And Nature Books
- The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
- The Best Young Adult Books
Previous Years: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015
Happy Scrolling!
Top 28 Best Science And Nature Books From 2022
28.) And Finally: Matters of Life and Death written by Henry Marsh
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph 2
- Waterstones 2
From the bestselling neurosurgeon and author of Do No Harm, comes Henry Marsh’s And Finally, an unflinching and deeply personal exploration of death, …
27.) Before the Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe and What Lies Beyond written by Laura Mersini-Houghton
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph 2
- Waterstones 2
A riveting tour of the cosmos from one of the brightest minds in astrophysics. –The Washington PostA revolutionary new account of our universe’s crea…
26.) Birds and Us: A 12,000-Year History from Cave Art to Conservation written by Tim Birkhead
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus
- Waterstones
From award-winning author and ornithologist Tim Birkhead, a sweeping history of the long and close relationship between birds and humans Since the daw…
25.) Bitch: On the Female of the Species written by Lucy Cooke
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph
- Waterstones 2
A fierce, funny, and revolutionary look at the queens of the animal kingdom Studying zoology made Lucy Cooke feel like a sad freak. Not because she lo…
24.) Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry’s Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness written by Andrew Scull
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus 2
- The Telegraph
A sweeping history of American psychiatry–from the mental hospital to the brain lab–that reveals the devastating treatments doctors have inflicted o…
23.) Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist written by Frans de Waal
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- Kirkus 2
In Different, world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal draws on decades of observation and studies of both human and animal behavior to argue that d…
22.) Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps written by Seirian Sumner
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph 2
- Waterstones
“A book that draws us in to the strange beauty of what we so often run away from.” — Robin Ince, author of The Importance of Being InterestedIn this …
21.) Plume: World Explorer: World Explorer written by Alexander Maitland
Lists It Appears On:
- Geographical
- Waterstones
Hitch a ride on the Albatross Express and travel the globe with Plume: World Explorer. This exciting new series for little ones celebrates culture, di…
20.) How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going written by Vaclav Smil
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Financial Times
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A new masterpiece from one of my favorite authors… [How The World Really Works] is a compelling and highly readab…
19.) Hysterical: A Memoir written by Pragya Agarwal
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph
- Waterstones 2
Writer Elissa Bassist shares her journey to reclaim her authentic voice in a culture that doesn’t listen to women in this medical mystery, cultural cr…
18.) Land Healer: How Farming Can Save Britain’s Countryside written by Jake Fiennes
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph
- Waterstones
Jake Fiennes is on a mission to change the face of the English countryside. As Conservation Manager at Holkham in Norfolk, one of the country’s larges…
17.) Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World written by Gaia Vince
Lists It Appears On:
- Financial Times
- NPR
“The MOST IMPORTANT BOOK I imagine I’ll ever read.”–Mary Roach FROM AN AWARD-WINNING SCIENCE JOURNALIST comes an urgent investigation of environmenta…
16.) Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet written by George Monbiot
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Waterstones
Winner of the 2022 Orwell Prize for Journalism A Sunday Times (London) Bestseller Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Conservation “Ge…
15.) Rewilding the Sea: How to Save our Oceans written by Charles Clover
Lists It Appears On:
- The Telegraph
- Waterstones
In this indispensable follow up to his acclaimed The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World, Charles Clover chronicles how determined …
14.) Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening written by Douglas Brinkley
Lists It Appears On:
- Barnes & Noble
- The Dirt
New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long …
13.) Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization written by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson shines new light on the crucial fault lines of…
12.) Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us written by Rachel Aviv
Lists It Appears On:
- Kirkus 2
- NPR
The acclaimed, award-winning New Yorker writer Rachel Aviv offers a groundbreaking exploration of mental illness and the mind, and illuminates the sta…
11.) The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward written by Daniel H. Pink
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- NPR
“The world needs this book.” –Brené Brown, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Dare to Lead and Atlas of the Heart An instant New York Times …
10.) Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus written by David Quammen
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Kirkus 2
- NPR
National Book Award Finalist The story of the worldwide scientific quest to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, and make possible t…
9.) Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth’s Extinct Worlds written by Thomas Halliday
Lists It Appears On:
- Geographical
- The Telegraph 2
- Waterstones 2
“Immersive . . . bracingly ambitious . . . rewinds the story of life on Earth–from the mammoth steppe of the last Ice Age to the dawn of multicellula…
8.) The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions written by Greta Thunberg
Lists It Appears On:
- Financial Times
- Waterstones
- Waterstones 2
We still have time to change the world. From Greta Thunberg, the world’s leading climate activist, comes the essential handbook for making it happen. …
7.) The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon’s Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I written by Lindsey Fitzharris
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Kirkus 2
- Waterstones 2
A New York Times Bestseller Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park. –Erik Lar…
6.) The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness written by Meghan O’Rourke
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Kirkus 2
- NPR
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by The New Yorker “Remarkable…
5.) The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us written by Steve Brusatte
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Kirkus
- Waterstones 2
NATIONAL BESTSELLERFrom the author of the acclaimed bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs (“A masterpiece of science writing.” –Washington Po…
4.) The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth written by Ben Rawlence
Lists It Appears On:
- Financial Times
- NPR
- Waterstones
Longlisted for the American Library Association’s 2023 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction A superb, inspiring work. –Winner, Inaugural Natio…
3.) What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions written by Randall Munroe
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- NPR
- Waterstones 2
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The questions throughout What If? 2 are equal parts brilliant, gross, and wonderfully absurd and the answers are…
2.) An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us written by Ed Yong
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Geographical
- Kirkus
- Waterstones 2
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – A “thrilling” (The New York Times), “dazzling” (The Wall Street Journal) tour of the radically different ways that animals…
1.) The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human written by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Lists It Appears On:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Kirkus 2
- The Telegraph 2
- Waterstones 2
A New York Times Bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards 2022 Finalist! From the author of The Emperor of All Maladies, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a…
The 100+ Additional Best Science And Nature Books Released In 2022
29) 36 Islands – Robert Twigger List: (Waterstones)
30) A House Between Earth and the Moon: A Novel – Rebecca Scherm List: (NPR)
31) Accidental Gods – List: (The Telegraph)
32) Am I Normal? – Sarah Chaney List: (Waterstones 2)
33) American Murderer: The Parasite That Haunted the South – Gail Jarrow List: (NPR)
34) American Urbanist: How William H. Whyte’s Unconventional Wisdom Reshaped Public Life – List: (The Dirt)
35) Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation – Maud Newton List: (NPR)
36) Apollo Remastered – Andy Saunders List: (Waterstones 2)
37) AT HOME ON AN UNRULY PLANET – Madeline Ostrander List: (Kirkus)
38) Atoms and Ashes – Serhii Plokhy List: (Waterstones 2)
39) Beatrix Farrand: Garden Artist, Landscape Architect – List: (The Dirt)
40) Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America – Leila Philip List: (Barnes & Noble)
41) Beyond Measure – James Vincent List: (Waterstones 2)
42) Beyond Supervet: How Animals Make Us The Best We Can Be – Noel Fitzpatrick List: (Waterstones)
43) Beyond the Garden: Designing Home Landscapes with Natural Systems – List: (The Dirt)
44) Birds – Jim Moir List: (Waterstones)
45) Black Holes – Professor Brian Cox List: (Waterstones 2)
46) British Rail – Christian Wolmar List: (Waterstones)
47) Closer to the Edge – Leo Houlding List: (Waterstones)
48) Control – Adam Rutherford List: (Waterstones 2)
49) Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of How We Navigate – Christopher Kemp List: (Geographical)
50) Deer Man – Geoffroy Delorme List: (Waterstones)
51) Different: What Apes Can Teach Us About Gender – List: (The Telegraph)
52) Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them – Dan Saladino List: (Amazon)
53) Endurance – Levison Wood List: (Waterstones)
54) EVER GREEN – John W. Reid List: (Kirkus)
55) Everest 1922 – Mick Conefrey List: (Waterstones)
56) Exiles – William Atkins List: (Waterstones)
57) Experiencing Olmsted: The Enduring Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted’s North American Landscapes – List: (The Dirt)
58) Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis – Annie Proulx List: (Barnes & Noble)
59) FINE – Rhea Ewing List: (Kirkus 2)
60) Fire and Flood – Eugene Linden List: (Waterstones 2)
61) Firmament – Simon Clark List: (Waterstones 2)
62) Food for Life – Tim Spector List: (Waterstones 2)
63) Forget Me Not – Sophie Pavelle List: (Waterstones)
64) Freedom to Think – List: (The Telegraph 2)
65) From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities – List: (The Dirt)
66) Frozen Planet II – Mark Brownlow List: (Waterstones)
67) Garden as Art: Beatrix Farrand at Dumbarton Oaks – List: (The Dirt)
68) High – Erika Fatland List: (Waterstones)
69) Horizons – James Poskett List: (Waterstones 2)
70) How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures – Sabrina Imbler List: (Barnes & Noble)
71) How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion – David McRaney List: (Amazon)
72) How to Prevent the Next Pandemic – Bill Gates List: (Waterstones 2)
73) How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication – Tom Mustill List: (Amazon)
74) How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain – Ryan North List: (NPR)
75) Imagine a City – Mark Vanhoenacker List: (Waterstones)
76) In Search of One Last Song – Patrick Galbraith List: (Waterstones)
77) Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America – List: (The Dirt)
78) Into Iraq – Michael Palin List: (Waterstones)
79) Jellyfish Age Backwards – Nicklas Brendborg List: (Waterstones 2)
80) Just One Thing – Michael Mosley List: (Waterstones 2)
81) Landlines – Raynor Winn List: (Waterstones)
82) Landscape Architecture for Sea Level Rise: Global Innovative Solutions – List: (The Dirt)
83) Landscapes of Exclusion: State Parks and Jim Crow in the American South – List: (The Dirt)
84) Lapidarium – Hettie Judah List: (Waterstones)
85) Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel – Bonnie Garmus List: (NPR)
86) LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI – Rinker Buck List: (Kirkus)
87) Life Time – Russell Foster List: (Waterstones 2)
88) Listen to the Language of the Trees: A Story of How Forests Communicate Underground – Tera Kelley List: (NPR)
89) Little Monarchs – Jonathan Case List: (NPR)
90) Love on the Brain – Ali Hazelwood List: (NPR)
91) Luck – List: (The Telegraph)
92) Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Well-Being, Equity, and Sustainability (2nd Edition) – List: (The Dirt)
93) Mickey7: A Novel – Edward Ashton List: (NPR)
94) Next to Nature – Ronald Blythe List: (Waterstones)
95) Nightwalking – John Lewis-Stempel List: (Waterstones)
96) Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas – Jennifer Raff List: (NPR)
97) Planktonia: The Nightly Migration of the Ocean’s Smallest Creatures – Erich Hoyt List: (Geographical)
98) Planta Sapiens – Paco Calvo List: (Waterstones 2)
99) Preventable – Devi Sridhar List: (Waterstones 2)
100) Reality+ – List: (The Telegraph 2)
101) Ritual – List: (The Telegraph)
102) Rooted – Sarah Langford List: (Waterstones)
103) Side Effects – David Haslam List: (Waterstones 2)
104) Singer Distance: A Novel – Ethan Chatagnier List: (NPR)
105) Soundings – Doreen Cunningham List: (Waterstones)
106) Spring Tides: Exploring Marine Life on the Isle of Man – Fiona Gell List: (Geographical)
107) Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again – Johann Hari List: (Amazon)
108) The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2023 – Lia Leendertz List: (Waterstones)
109) The Atlas of Abandoned Places – Oliver Smith List: (Waterstones)
110) The Best British Travel Writing of the 21st Century: A Celebration of Outstanding Travel Storytelling from Around the World – Jessica Vincent List: (Geographical)
111) The Big Fix: 7 Practical Steps to Save Our Planet – Hal Harvey and Justin Gillis List: (Financial Times)
112) The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion – Sean Carroll List: (Amazon)
113) The Book of Phobias and Manias – Kate Summerscale List: (Waterstones 2)
114) The Book of Vanishing Species – Beatrice Forshall List: (Waterstones)
115) The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World – Max Fisher List: (NPR)
116) The Comprehensive Plan: Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Communities for the 21st Century – List: (The Dirt)
117) The Curtain and the Wall – Timothy Phillips List: (Waterstones)
118) The Darkness Manifesto – Johan Ekloef List: (Waterstones 2)
119) THE EVOLUTION OF CHARLES DARWIN – Diana Preston List: (Kirkus 2)
120) The Expectation Effect – David Robson List: (Waterstones 2)
121) The Gardener’s Almanac – Alan Titchmarsh List: (Waterstones)
122) The Gold Machine: Tracking the Ancestors from Highlands to Coffee Colony – Iain Sinclair List: (Geographical)
123) The Golden Mole – Katherine Rundell List: (Waterstones)
124) The History of the World in 100 Plants – Simon Barnes List: (Waterstones)
125) The Imaginary Patient – List: (The Telegraph)
126) The Insect Crisis – Oliver Milman List: (Waterstones 2)
127) The Joy of Science – Jim Al-Khalili List: (Waterstones 2)
128) The Last Overland – Alex Bescoby List: (Waterstones)
129) The Lost Rainforests of Britain – Guy Shrubsole List: (Waterstones)
130) The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann – Ananyo Bhattacharya List: (Amazon)
131) The Matter of Everything – Suzie Sheehy List: (Waterstones 2)
132) The Myth of Normal – Gabor Mate List: (Waterstones 2)
133) The Path of Peace – Anthony Seldon List: (Waterstones)
134) The Premonitions Bureau – List: (The Telegraph)
135) The Sheep’s Tale – John Lewis-Stempel List: (Waterstones)
136) The Ship Beneath the Ice – Mensun Bound List: (Waterstones)
137) The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future: What Yesterday’s Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow – Steven Novella List: (Barnes & Noble)
138) The Theory of Everything Else – Dan Schreiber List: (Waterstones 2)
139) The Trespasser’s Companion – Nick Hayes List: (Waterstones)
140) The Trials of Life – Sir David Attenborough List: (Waterstones)
141) THE VIRAL UNDERCLASS – Steven W. Thrasher List: (Kirkus 2)
142) The Women Who Saved the English Countryside – Matthew Kelly List: (Waterstones)
143) The World: A Family History – Simon Sebag Montefiore List: (Geographical)
144) There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important than Kindness: And Other Thoughts on Physics, Philosophy and the World – Carlo Rovelli List: (Amazon)
145) THIN PLACES – Kerri ní Dochartaigh List: (Kirkus)
146) This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You – Susan Rogers List: (Amazon)
147) Two for Joy – Adam Henson List: (Waterstones)
148) Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time – Natalie Hodges List: (NPR)
149) Venetian Gardens – Monty Don List: (Waterstones)
150) Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions – Temple Grandin List: (Amazon)
151) What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma – Stephanie Foo List: (NPR)
152) What We Owe The Future – William MacAskill List: (Waterstones 2)
153) What We Want – Charlotte Fox Weber List: (Waterstones 2)
154) Where the Wildflowers Grow – Leif Bersweden List: (Waterstones)
155) Wild Fell – Lee Schofield List: (Waterstones)
156) Wild Light – Angela Harding List: (Waterstones)
157) Wild Maps – Mike Higgins List: (Waterstones)
158) WILD NEW WORLD – Dan Flores List: (Kirkus)
159) Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Portfolio 32 – Rosamund Kidman Cox List: (Waterstones)
12 Best Science And Nature Book Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| Amazon | Best science books of 2022 |
| Barnes & Noble | Barnes & Noble’s Best Science & Nature Books of 2022 |
| Financial Times | Best books of 2022: Environment |
| Geographical | The best books to give as gifts this Christmas 2022 |
| Kirkus | Best Nature & Environment Books of 2022 |
| Kirkus 2 | Best Science and Medicine Books of 2022 |
| NPR | Books We Love – 2022 |
| The Dirt | Best Books of 2022 |
| The Telegraph | Big ideas: 2022’s best new smart thinking, psychology and sociology books |
| The Telegraph 2 | The best new science books of 2022 |
| Waterstones | The Best Books of 2022: Nature & Travel |
| Waterstones 2 | The Best Books of 2022: Popular Science |
