Book cover of A Sand County Almanac: And Sketched Here and There

Book description

Few books have had a greater impact than A Sand County Almanac, which many credit with launching a revolution in land management. Written as a series of sketches based principally upon the flora and fauna in a rural part of Wisconsin, the book, originally published by Oxford in 1949, gathers…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

3 authors picked A Sand County Almanac as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book is chock-full of insights and has withstood the tests of time. Leopold was the father of ecological thinking and an early systems thinker. If I were to recommend one book that poetically and practically makes the case for living sustainably and embracing the beauty of nature, this would be it.

From Leslie's list on sustainability and creativity.

A book I resisted reading for a long time simply because everyone told me I had to read it. I am glad I stopped being pigheaded about it.

Through an anthology of essays, Leopold explores the ecology of his farm in Wisconsin as it changes through the year and explores philosophy, ecology, our relationship with the land and nature, and indeed with ourselves. But no description really does it justice.

It is a beautifully crafted set of thoughts that inspired the American conservation movement and remains an important work. To read it is to be walking in nature with Leopold,…

I read this book at Cambridge University over 20 years ago when this was already 50 years old, and I can still remember the corner of the library I was in when I read the essay in it called Odyssey where he imagines the history of two atoms.

Starting from their beginnings in rocks and then as they move through ecological systems and different life forms – oak roots, buffalo, native peoples, settler wheat and cattle, and down with their muck out to sea. It was like a hallucination of nature writing and afterwards I saw what he described whenever…

If you love A Sand County Almanac...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like A Sand County Almanac?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like A Sand County Almanac.

Browse books like A Sand County Almanac

Book cover of Last Chance to See
Book cover of Exhalation
Book cover of Ishmael

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like A Sand County Almanac, you might also like...

Book cover of Foxfire in the Snow

Foxfire in the Snow by J.S. Fields,

It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.

Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…

Book cover of The Main Gate

The Main Gate by Yvonne Kjorlien,

Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.

Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…

5 book lists we think you will like!