Animals Make Us Human, by Temple GrandinTemple Grandin sees the world a little differently. She has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and she claims that her special "disability" allows her to view the world the way animals do. Sometimes a little depressing, other times humorous, this book helps us to understand our non-human companions a little more intimately.
The Daily Coyote, by Shreve StocktonThe true story of a self-professed wanderer who adopts a wild coyote pup and learns how to stay put for the first time in her life. There are plenty of photos (she's a professional photographer) chronicling the journey that both she and Charlie make toward adulthood.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver
A biography by the well-known fiction writer, Kingsolver, along with her husband and daughter, tell their story of spending one entire year eating only from their own land. Kingsolver makes us think about the food we eat, and more importantly, where it comes from. More than just a manifesto, Kingsolver includes practical how-tos and recipes.
In Defense of Food, by Michael PollanThe author points to the modern American diet of mostly processed foods and its correlation with recent epidemics like obesity, diabetes and nut allergies. I love Pollan's simple mantra, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" It doesn't get any simpler or more obvious than that.
