Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson shares her top literary picks from her bookshelf. Her latest work, What If We Get It Right?, is out now
Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert and writer. She is co-founder of the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab and author of The New York Times bestseller What If We Get It Right?
Read below for some of her favourite reads…
Human Nature (2023) by Kate Marvel
A NASA climate scientist deftly combines science, storytelling and emotion to help us better understand both our changing planet and our place within it.
Eat Like a Fish (2019) by Bren Smith
A memoir unlike any other, charting one man’s journey from commercial fisherman to regenerative ocean farmer in search of purpose in a climate-changed world.
Here Comes the Sun (2025) by Bill McKibben
The latest from the pioneering climate campaigner, exploring the extraordinary opportunities offered by the rapidly accelerating clean-energy transition.
Farming While Black (2018) by Leah Penniman
Part practical handbook, part philosophical treatise, this soulful exploration of regenerative agriculture celebrates Black farming traditions.
The Reindeer Chronicles (2020) by Judith D Schwartz
A journalist travelling the world in search of stories about what’s working in environmental restoration. Schwartz offers a hopeful, grounded perspective on repairing damaged landscapes.
Slow Wood (2024) by Brian Donahue
A thoughtful case for ecological forestry from a long-time practitioner, demonstrating how forests can be managed for both biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods.
The Coming Wave (2023) by Mustafa Suleyman
An insider’s examination of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, balancing their extraordinary promise with the profound risks they pose to society.
Design Emergency (2022) by Alice Rawsthorn & Paola Antonelli
A series of wide-ranging conversations showing how designers can reshape the way we think, solve problems and respond creatively to today’s environmental and social challenges.
