Attention of the highest order, they say, is prayer. And our prayers have been misdirected for a while now. We have forgotten as a species that we are merely a thread in nature’s web. Here are 10 books, old and new; meditations on walking, observing, and simply, being. Reminders that the earth and what it sustains are not merely ‘resources’ to exploit, barter, and conquer.
1. THE LIVING MOUNTAIN by Nan Shepherd
You can travel the world and know nothing about it. And you can walk the same place a thousand times, with care and thought, and understand what the world is all about. This one, Shepherd’s ode to the Cairngrom Mountains of Scotland, first published in 1977, can be read and re-read, always magically revealing something new.
2. WOLF TOTEM by Jiang Rong
Expelled from China, Jiang Rong spent 11 years in Mongolia, and wrote this fictional account, inspired by his experiences. It’s a paean and a lament all at once, for the loss of a land and a way of life. Set during the bruising cultural revolution in China, the wolf here is a symbol — of the fragile balance between man and nature, and the tipping point of development.
3. BIRDS, SEX & BEAUTY by Matt Ridley
Science dipped in lyrical nature writing is a good way to try and tackle one of the most misunderstood, yet essential pillars of reproductive biology. It makes us rethink beauty and the role of the female — what if they are the driving forces behind evolution? The writer follows the ways of birds, and generations of biologists including Darwin, to understand how mate choice has shaped the natural world.
4. HIDDEN KINGDOM: FANTASTICAL PLANTS OF THE WESTERN GHATS by Nirupa Rao
Botanical illustration is a remarkable trade, where art and science collide. It’s possibly the only way to truly appreciate landscapes like the Western Ghats and its flora. Rao wields her delicate brush like a bright wand, with short rhyming verse falling around it like gold dust, leading us down an enchanted trail.
5. A THOUSAND MORNINGS BY Mary Oliver
Simple, accessible poetry that distils the world and all its resilience in an almost casual tone. With every stroll she takes and every careful line she builds with clarity and wit, Oliver reminds us that nature will go on without us.
6. THE PEREGRINE by J.A. Baker
This is not a book about tracking peregrine falcons for nearly a decade. Instead, it takes you closest to experiencing being one yourself. Baker’s bleak, feral landscape is devoid of humans, their gods, and their drama. A timeless work of luminous, unrepeatable prose that is violent, euphoric, and almost reverential.
7. MARGINLANDS: INDIAN LANDSCAPES ON THE BRINK by Arati Kumar Rao
This is a chronicle of wonder and worry, born from a journey done the right way — slow and intimate — through the obscure heart of India. Arati’s journey often follows water and waterways; never better than when she describes fishing at night on the Brahmaputra.
8. DRAWING A TREE by Bruno Munari
A little masterpiece, masquerading as a drawing guide, and filled with profound meaning and spare beauty. Bruno uses trees as a bridge between our lives and the natural world, and its infinite possibilities. A book before its time.
9. EVERYTHING THE LIGHT TOUCHES by Janice Pariat
A novel rambling across time and histories. This is a study of memory, identity, and the tangled, tied-up roots of nature and geography that bind us all together. Especially brilliant is a section of free verse that captures botanist Carl Linnaeus as he journeys to Lapland to document its flora.
10. GORILLAS IN THE MIST by Diane Fossey
This is one of the most important books which depict conservation at its rawest, and the precarious boundaries it keeps with human vice. Dian takes us deep into the midst of our greatest cousins. Thrilling, insightful, often filled with despair and rage; and ultimately, tragic.
The author is a birder and writer based in Chennai.
Published – April 18, 2025 09:15 am IST