Island Press began with a simple idea: knowledge is power—the power to imagine a better future and find ways for getting us there. Founded in 1984, Island Press’ mission is to provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems.
We elevate voices of change, shine a spotlight on crucial issues, and focus attention on sustainable solutions.
Our network of authors includes E.O. Wilson, Paul Ehrlich, Sylvia Earle, Gretchen Daily, Jan Gehl, Daniel Pauly, and many others. By working closely with experts like these, Island Press has developed a comprehensive and growing body of knowledge—vital resources for all those working to protect the environment and create healthy communities.
Rediscovering the Wild Through a Beloved American Fruit
"A deeply meditative book in the vein of Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass." --Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus As a child in the foothills of the Himalayas, Priyanka Kumar was entranced by forest-like orchards of diverse and luscious fruit--especially apples. These biodiverse orchards seemed worlds away from the ......
Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry
Now with a new chapter on the Distribution Barons! Best Books of 2024: "Frerick's prose throughout is both direct and masterfully controlled, with every point supported by extensive references and notes. This is no alarmist screed but rather a careful, systematic, and utterly damning demolition job--an exquisitely informed expose... A genuinely ......
The High Costs and Low Rewards of US Highway Construction
The world's largest public works investment visible from space, the Interstate Highway System and the hundreds of thousands of miles of supporting roadways, are frequently hailed as a marvel and triumph of engineering. President Eisenhower's 1956 Interstate Highway Act is often praised as a model of successful bipartisanship. Today, the ......
Every Journalist's Guide to Covering Climate Change
Climate change affects every aspect of our lives—which means it plays a role in every news story. As a journalist, helping your audience understand these climate connections is part of the job, whether you cover healthcare, economics, politics, sports, or any other beat. We are all climate journalists now.
In the US, police conduct millions of traffic stops for reasons unrelated to safety. Study after study confirm that Black drivers experience higher rates of non-safety stops, searches, and use of force than White drivers. In Arrested Mobility: Overcoming the Threat to Black Movement, Charles T. Brown, founder and CEO of Equitable Cities, ......
Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World
Almost two centuries after British explorer Sir John Franklin and his men died amid paralyzing cold and ice in pursuit of the mythical Northwest Passage, the Arctic--in response to temperatures greater than at any time in the last ten thousand years--is melting at an alarming pace. Instead of heeding this clear sign that the world must reduce ......
Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future
Climate change is no longer an abstract threat. Day after day, an already disrupted climate is impacting the lives of millions, and the time available to curtail climate change is alarmingly limited. Going for zero greenhouse gas emissions requires retooling everything about industry, agriculture, transportation, and every city and town that ......
This is the shocking true-life story of how PFAS--a set of toxic chemicals most people have never heard of--poisoned the entire country. Based on original, shoe-leather reporting in four highly contaminated towns and damning documents from the polluters' own files, Poisoning the Well traces an ugly history of corporate greed and devastation of ......
Rights of Nature laws are becoming a vital tool for addressing environmental injustice. From New Zealand and India to Ecuador and Bolivia, advocates have successfully secured legal rights for rivers, forests, and mountains. Granting rights to nature has the potential to expand environmental protections, strengthen indigenous rights, promote ......
