Books by Fred Pearce
Fred Pearce is a London-based environment journalist, who has reported from more than 80 countries over 40 years for New Scientist, The Guardian and currently for Yale environment360. His many books, including Despite it All: A Handbook for Climate Hopefuls, have been translated into 27 languages.
“Fred Pearce has written all about climate change from inside different branches of science. He has seen the worst of it. He’s seen the appalling damage of stripping away tropical rainforests, excessive agriculture, excessive carbon dioxide from polluting factories and cars and aircraft. But here he is actually looking for hope and he sees that some things are good. Some books about the climate crisis are overly gung-ho, sometimes for political reasons – they argue that there is no crisis, that everything is fine. Fred Pearce is not like that. He’s writing from a position of full understanding of the chemistry, the biology, and other aspects of science that are part of the debate. And I think it is really helpful.” Read more...
The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize
Michael Benton, Scientist
When The Rivers Run Dry: Journeys into the heart of the world's water crisis
by Fred Pearce
He is someone who goes to the source – no pun intended! – of the stories that he talks about. Proper on-the-ground reportage
Interviews with Fred Pearce
Landmark Environmental Books, selected by Fred Pearce
The modern environmental movement emerged in the post-war world after humanity’s self-destructive capacity became undeniable, argues the veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce. Here, he highlights five landmark environmental books that have marked a shift in environmental thought.
Interviews where books by Fred Pearce were recommended
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1
Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, nature and climate change
by Elizabeth Kolbert -
2
When The Rivers Run Dry: Journeys into the heart of the world's water crisis
by Fred Pearce -
3
Last Chance to See
by Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine -
4
The End of Nature
by Bill McKibben -
5
Our Dying Planet: An ecologist's view of the crisis we face
by Peter Sale
The best books on The Anthropocene, recommended by Gaia Vince
The best books on The Anthropocene, recommended by Gaia Vince
In 2015 Gaia Vince won the Royal Society’s science book of the year prize for her book, Adventures in the Anthropocene. She spent two years on the road investigating how communities across the world are coping with climate change. Here, she shares the five best books on climate change and the Anthropocene – the geological epoch of man.
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1
The Age of Alchemy: The Secret History of Chemistry from Ancient Magic to Modern Science
by Kit Chapman -
2
Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health
by Deborah Cohen -
3
Despite It All: A Handbook for Climate Hopefuls
by Fred Pearce -
4
Every Last Fish: A Deep Dive into the World of Fishes and Fishing
by Rose George -
5
Hidden Guests: Migrating Cells and How the New Science of Microchimerism Is Redefining Human Identity
by Lise Barnéoud, translated by Bronwyn Haslam -
6
How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past
by Steve Ramirez
The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Michael Benton
The Best Popular Science Books of 2026: The Royal Society Book Prize, recommended by Michael Benton
The Royal Society celebrates the best new popular science writing every year through the prestigious Trivedi Science Book Prize. We asked Professor Michael Benton, the eminent palaeontologist and chair of the 2026 judging panel, to talk us through their six-book shortlist: from a globe-trotting history of alchemy to a fast-paced account of memory manipulation by optogenetics researchers at the cutting edge of science.
