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THE EARTH KNOWS MY NAME
a book by Patricia Klindienst
For ethnic and immigrant Americans, gardens provide not only food but also a connection with their culture. From Italians who fled fascism with precious seeds to Indian expatriates who grow jamun, neem, and other trees native to their homeland, the diverse gardeners profiled by Patricia Klindienst have learned to heal personal pain by sowing the earth. Their stories of redemption are as beautiful as the land they work. --Rebecca Lawton

SHOPPING WITH A CONSCIENCE
a book by Duncan Clark and Richie Unterberger
Was your sweater made in a sweatshop? Does your food come from a family or factory farm? Did that FedEx package you sent help reelect George W. Bush? Everyday purchases have major social, environmental, and political ramifications, as this comprehensive Rough Guide makes clear. With so many companies now positioning themselves as ethical alternatives, the book's practical tips help consumers align what they buy with what they believe.

THE WILD TREES
a book by Richard Preston
Once thought to be barren, the world's oldest redwoods are actually "coral reefs in the air," supporting soil, water, lichens, ferns, voles, and salamanders. Richard Preston tags along with the quirky tree-climbing scientists who have risked their lives to make these recent discoveries. In the end, they help him spider-walk hundreds of feet up some of the old monarchs to see for himself. --Joan Hamilton

BLACK GOLD
a film by Marc Francis and Nick Francis
From the sterile conference rooms where "cuppers" gravely taste different brews to the clattering warehouses where Ethiopian women pick through unroasted beans, coffee connects the world but hardly unites it. The gap between those who set coffee's price and the impoverished growers who produce it--and one man's struggle to inject some fairness into the process--is at the heart of this eye-opening documentary. blackgoldmovie.com

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THE SIXTH EXTINCTION
a book by Terry Glavin
Though people have killed off many species, extinction is not a battle between humans and nature; our fates are intertwined. As plants and animals disappear, so too do languages, traditions, and knowledge. Terry Glavin travels to places where people--Hawaiian botanists hand-pollinating cliff-dwelling flowers, Indian villagers growing dozens of kinds of rice--are battling a "dark and gathering sameness."