Life on a Little-Known Planet

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year

Urgent and inspiring lessons from the frontlines of the climate
catastrophe—by one of our most important and influential
environmental writers.

From Greenland’s melting ice sheets to New Zealand’s protected
mountaintops, we join Kolbert on the road as she travels to the places
most dramatically affected by climate change—revealing a world which
is both dangerously fragile and remarkably resilient.

We encounter newly discovered species and meet the last surviving
members of others, witness the power of rewilding up close and are
reminded of the abounding wonders of our natural world. Along the way
we also meet countless brilliant individuals who are steering us towards a
better future: scientists harnessing AI to commune with whales; activists
successfully lobbying for the rights of nature; and ordinary people making
extraordinary moves, such as the Samsø islanders leading completely
carbon-neutral lives.

The natural world is changing profoundly, and the threats to our
planet are only growing more serious. Now is the time to deepen our
understanding of this incredible world we are in danger of losing – and
to act, while we still can.“The author’s emphasis on the particular, and her quirky sense of humor—evident, for example, in her descriptions of her adventures in beekeeping as documented in “Stung”—make the pieces fascinating variations on a complicated theme in which despair and hope dance together… Thought-provoking speculations about a world on the edge of violent change.”

– Kirkus, starred review

“Elizabeth Kolbert’s writing illuminates the world’s complexities in vivid colour. No one contextualises the natural world better than she does, and no one is able to describe its many facets better than her.”

– Harriet Rix, science writer

“No one rivals Kolbert’s ability to write deeply, empathetically and engagingly about mankind’s relationship with the physical world … She brings curiosity and persistence to the most important issues facing humankind.”

– Chris Goodall, author of What We Need to Do Now

“There is surely no better way to understand our changing world than through the uniquely engaging perspectives provided by Elizabeth Kolbert. Joining her on this round-the-world voyage to some of the most incredible places on Earth is a treat … Immensely sobering yet also inspiring.”

– Chris Fitch, author of Wild Cities

“There can never be enough Elizabeth Kolbert, so I’ll take the new collection, Life on a Little-Known Planet, a greatest hits of the New Yorker environmental writer.”

– Chicago Tribune

“Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Elizabeth Kolbert’s latest release, Life on a Little-Known Planet, is a collection of essays on the wonders of nature and the growing environmental threats that risk destroying it. Across 17 pieces, most of which originally appeared in the New Yorker, Kolbert takes readers around the globe…”

– TIME magazine

“You could fill a shelf, or an e-reader, this fall just with notable books on climate change, from Neil Shea’s Frostlines to Elizabeth Kolbert’s Life on a Little-Known Planet: Dispatches from a Changing World.”

– Associated Press

“…Kolbert brings every creature, place, person, fact, and issue to scintillating life in these deft, engaging, lucid, and thought-provoking dispatches covering 20 years of her world travels during epic planetary changes. [She] resolutely and brilliantly alerts us to how little we know about our precious planet, how much harm we do, and how we must and can do better.”

—Booklist