The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025: A Collection of the Year's Most Insightful Essays on the Natural World, Climate Change, and the Wonders of Science Curated by Susan Orlean
by Susan Orlean
The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2025)
On This Page
Description
"The best science and nature writing--which these stories represent--reminds us of the wide world and our connection to it, and the multitude of ways we make our place in it," writes Susan Orlean in her introduction. This year's collection masterfully guides us through exotic locations and groundbreaking research, leading us to consider complex and utterly fascinating questions about the world. How does it feel to camp in one of the hottest places on Earth? Is the ability to recognize and show more remember faces a sign of intelligence? What does it mean for a species to be wild or invasive--are city pigeons and rats less deserving than the coyotes that recently wandered down from Westchester? Encompassing the strangeness and, at times, severity of our world, these stories are urgent, vital, and ultimately inspiring. As Orlean eloquently observes, "Science keeps unlocking mysteries, revealing secrets, helping us heal. And as imperiled as nature seems, it remains amply, gloriously gorgeous: The world is still full of beauty." show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I'd put off buying this series for no readily apparent reason, but I'm glad I tucked into it now. Do Animals Know When They Will Die? was deeply moving; Letting Naomi Die was a deep dive into medical ethics; and The Smell Test was, for me, a medical mystery which really hit, having a neurological balance deficit, and a good purview of How Science Is Done (it takes a while).
These books are always hit or miss.
Some notes I scribbled.
"The Worm Charmers" - Michael Adno. This was okay.
"Do Animals Know That They Will Die" - Ross Andersen. Fair
"Letting Naomi Die"-Katie Engelhart. This was very good, a reflection on medical ethics and allowing patients to choose palliative care.
"We Need To Rewild The Internet"-Maria Farrell and Robin Berjon. Good. Draws direct parallels between ecological diversity and internet infrastructure and offering ideas for a better alternative.
"Pecking Order" - Rivka Galchen. Interesting subject but not engagingly written.
"Tbe Snake with the Emoji-Patterned Skin" - Rebecca Giggs. The ethics of breeding ball pythons. Decent.
"Relearning the Language of the Land" - Ben Goldfarb. show more Interesting piece about the art of 'tracking' animals.
"Maui on Fire: When the Wildfires Came" - Erika Hayasaki. I liked the content but not the framing story of the family.
"The Whale Who Went AWOL" -Ferris Jabr. This was very good. A story about whale 'rewilding'. I thought this was one of the better pieces. The story continues after this story was published.
"No Time To Die" - Dhruv Khullar. A story about Longevity scams.
"Toxic Gaslighting" - Sharon Lerner. A long one. The data point that stays with me is 45% of US tapwater has forever chemicals.
"I Tried To Train My Color Vision. Here's What Happened" - Max G. Levy. I loathe any piece that has 'here's what happened' as part of it's title. I refuse to even review it in synopsis.
"New York Is Wilder Than You Think - Emma Marris. On the definition of 'wildness'. I liked it.
"This Father Built a Gene Therapy For His Son..."- Jason Mast. A mix of heartbreak and hopefulness.
"When We Used To Glow" - Tom McAllister. Very short, but affecting. About lightning bugs and aging. I liked it.
"Eleven Stills" - David Naimon. Climate change, trees, birds and death.
"Gutbucket" - Emily Raboteau. Climate change. I did like the Birago Diop poem at the end though.
"The Smell Test" - Scott Sayare. I found this one fascinating. Perhaps my favorite in this collection.
"This is what it is like to camp in one of the hottest places on earth" - Leath Tonino. Given I am going here in two months, I listened with interest.
"After the Miracle" - Sarah Zhang. I can't remember anything about this one. show less
Some notes I scribbled.
"The Worm Charmers" - Michael Adno. This was okay.
"Do Animals Know That They Will Die" - Ross Andersen. Fair
"Letting Naomi Die"-Katie Engelhart. This was very good, a reflection on medical ethics and allowing patients to choose palliative care.
"We Need To Rewild The Internet"-Maria Farrell and Robin Berjon. Good. Draws direct parallels between ecological diversity and internet infrastructure and offering ideas for a better alternative.
"Pecking Order" - Rivka Galchen. Interesting subject but not engagingly written.
"Tbe Snake with the Emoji-Patterned Skin" - Rebecca Giggs. The ethics of breeding ball pythons. Decent.
"Relearning the Language of the Land" - Ben Goldfarb. show more Interesting piece about the art of 'tracking' animals.
"Maui on Fire: When the Wildfires Came" - Erika Hayasaki. I liked the content but not the framing story of the family.
"The Whale Who Went AWOL" -Ferris Jabr. This was very good. A story about whale 'rewilding'. I thought this was one of the better pieces. The story continues after this story was published.
"No Time To Die" - Dhruv Khullar. A story about Longevity scams.
"Toxic Gaslighting" - Sharon Lerner. A long one. The data point that stays with me is 45% of US tapwater has forever chemicals.
"I Tried To Train My Color Vision. Here's What Happened" - Max G. Levy. I loathe any piece that has 'here's what happened' as part of it's title. I refuse to even review it in synopsis.
"New York Is Wilder Than You Think - Emma Marris. On the definition of 'wildness'. I liked it.
"This Father Built a Gene Therapy For His Son..."- Jason Mast. A mix of heartbreak and hopefulness.
"When We Used To Glow" - Tom McAllister. Very short, but affecting. About lightning bugs and aging. I liked it.
"Eleven Stills" - David Naimon. Climate change, trees, birds and death.
"Gutbucket" - Emily Raboteau. Climate change. I did like the Birago Diop poem at the end though.
"The Smell Test" - Scott Sayare. I found this one fascinating. Perhaps my favorite in this collection.
"This is what it is like to camp in one of the hottest places on earth" - Leath Tonino. Given I am going here in two months, I listened with interest.
"After the Miracle" - Sarah Zhang. I can't remember anything about this one. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
30+ Works 12,026 Members
Susan Orlean is a staff writer for The New Yorker and has also written for Outside, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Vogue. She graduated from the University of Michigan and worked as a reporter in Portland, Oregon, and Boston, Massachusetts. Orlean is the author of The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend. She now lives in New York City show more and can be reached via the internet at www.susanorlean.com (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 41
- Popularity
- 712,057
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
