ArcTrains Summer Reading List


It is almost summertime in the northern hemisphere! In both Canada and Germany this means longer days and more time spent outdoors. Here at ArcTrain, we have put together a reading list for those interested in understanding our global climate, research, and  science in general. Hopefully you will pick up one of these books for your next day in the park!

  1. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History – Elizabeth Colbert 
    ISBN:  978-0-8050-9299-8
    Mass extinctions have occurred multiple times over geologic history, five to be exact. The major question is, have we entered a sixth extinction and could we (humans) be the cause?
  1. Lab Girl – Hope Jahren 
    ISBN: 9781101874936
    Lab Girl is about the life of scientist Hope Jahren, from childhood to building her own laboratories to study plants, soils, and seeds. 
  1. Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada’s Arctic – Adam Shoalts
    ISBN: 9780735236851
    This book follows Adam Shoalts solo-journey across the Canadian Arctic starting in the Yukon and ending in Nunavut.  A book of adventure and finding oneself, this will cure any sense of adventure for the Arctic. 
  1. The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World – Jeff Goodell 
    ISBN: 9780316260244 
    Did you know that almost 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the coast? What will the consequences of sea-level rise be on these cities, and where will all these people move? This book answers all those questions and more about sea-level rise in the next 100 years. 
  1. The Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate – Naomi Klein 
    ISBN: 978-145169738
    This book focuses on the interplay between the climate and capitalism and how we can understand and confront the current climate crisis in the 21st century with effective and meaningful solutions. 
  1. The Right To Be Cold: One Woman’s Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic and the Whole Planet – Sheila Watt-Cloutier
    ISBN: 978-0670067107
    A memoir from Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuk woman and her quest to protect the Arctic, and educate those on not only protecting Arctic climate, but the cultures of the northern communities as well. 
  1. Taking the Earth’s Pulse: Understanding Natural Disasters – Peter Linke, Bernd Grundmann, Sarah Zierul, Birte Friedländer (Hrsg.)
    ISBN: 978-3-529-05443-3
    Scientists of the GEOMAR institute in Kiel, Germany, explain their work about ‘Volatiles and fluids in subduction zones-climate feedback and trigger mechanism for natural disasters’. Together with impressive pictures and scientific reports they created a fascinating book, which shows the relevance of marine science for the society.    
  1. Erebus: The Story of a Ship – Michael Palin
    ISBN: 978-1847948120
    Expeditions during the 19th century were a great challenge – especially those to the Arctic and Antarctic. This books gives insights into the expeditions of the HMS Erebus, a ship that has travelled and explored both poles. An exciting insight into the early times of polar research!

You want to read even more? Check out our list of German and list of French books as well!


Franziska Tell

About Franziska Tell

PhD student from the 3rd ArcTrain cohort, working on planktonic foraminifera and the carbon cycle in the Arctic Ocean. @GruenEisBaer on twitter & instagram

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