Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States, by Steven Clemants & Carol Gracie

In addition to being the most comprehensive field guide for the northeastern U.S. and Canada, this is an eminently practical book of advice on the cultivation of native plants, both for gardens and for the benefit of wildlife. Discussing nearly 1,500 species of native and naturalized wildflowers, the book offers photos, maps, and text conveniently positioned on facing pages, along with brief, easy-to-follow plant descriptions. –The Wall Street Journal

The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth by Michael Flannery

Discussions of global warming and climate change often center around anecdote and cyclical analysis. Scientist Tim Flannery seeks to clarify current – and future – conditions. The Weather Makers is the product of several years of research, as Flannery sought to identify large-scale climate patterns and trends.

While it is intended as an antidote to the sometimes confusing claims made in the debate over the world's climate, The Weather Makers also has a practical side. Flannery offers guidance to his readers – whether they're politicians, activists, or simply people who agree with his arguments against rampant consumption and pollution. –Terry Gross, NPR

This remarkable compendium gathers current knowledge on the North American continent's store of lichens–those hard-to-classify, symbiotic composites of fungi and other organisms such as algae and cyanobacteria. Nearly every bioregion has a complement, and the continent as a whole boasts nearly 3,600 species. The first part of this book offers a near-encyclopedic survey of these lichens' form, structure, reproductive patterns, physiology, and ecological role. The second is a keyed guide to the continent's genera and major groups, including descriptions, range maps, and photographs, the last by the noted nature photographers Sylvia and Stephen Sharnoff. –Gregory McNamee