100 Books Like How to Spend a Trillion Dollars

I really liked There is no planet B as it comes in short sections and is structured around questions which Mike Berners-Lee answers with humour, authenticity, and authority.

His writing is so accessible, clear, and humble as well as playful and practical, which is quite an impressive achievement for a topic like this. He takes a joined-up approach on the various planetary challenges humanity faces, and I particularly loved that a chapter on values, truth, and trust is included, which are too often ignored in books involving science and the environment.

One of the questions in this chapter he answers is “how can I tell whether to trust anything in this book?” which I appreciated as often scholarly authors take themselves far too seriously.

And last, but not least, I loved how practical the book is, with many pointers for what we can do.

I loved reading this book as it is so refreshingly different compared to other books in this space.

It focuses on what we can do rather than what we can’t and emphasises that we have more in common than what divides us when it comes to climate change. 

And the most important thing we can do about climate change is talk about it based on shared values, and it’s all about discovering what those are, whether it’s family, hobbies, outdoor activities, or faith. Talking about climate change is both a challenge and an encouragement for an introverted (yet social) sustainability academic like me.

I love how down-to-earth Katherine Hayhoe is. The book is peppered with lots of humour and personal anecdotes, yet clearly underpinned by scientific facts, and I finished the book feeling hopeful and inspired.

Let us be realistic, we all know that our economic system is broken. We cannot go on making stuff and throwing it away on a finite planet.

There are now 8 billion people on Earth all wanting to have a good life. So what is the alternative to economic growth? Well, Tim wonderfully shows us how the economy of tomorrow could protect employment, facilitate social investment, reduce inequality, and deliver both ecological and financial stability.

When this book was first published it was seen as a radical and dangerous text. Now with the rise of environmental and ecological economics it is the fundamental book that kicked off the revolution in the way we see the future.

I bought this book after hearing its author, Simon Sharpe, speak about it at a festival. His talk was very inspiring and convincing, and the book definitely matched my expectations.

As a sustainability academic, it really appealed to me the way he sets out how current practices in science, economics, and diplomacy don’t work, and then proceeds to provide alternative solutions to address climate change, which is very compelling.

I liked that the call for action was not in the obvious areas that we normally pursue for climate action, and that despite all setbacks and lack of progress, there is grounds for hope, and regardless of who we are or what we do, there are things we all can do. 

The award-winning journalists team tells dozens of inspiring stories of individuals who have created organizations, implemented simple solutions, stopped destruction, and made a difference through often simple interventions.

The stories are inspiring but so are the very practical descriptions of what you can do and the organizations offering resources. I keep this book on my shelf as a regular resource.

Peter Singer has been called “the most influential living philosopher”, and his writing certainly influenced the trajectory of my own life (including leading me to care a lot about the excruciating suffering that farm animals and other animals are made to endure).

He has a lot of good books, but this one drives home, in a very simple and down-to-earth fashion, how you and I can literally save lives.

I love how we can catch glimpses of Irish women’s lived experiences because sources from particular moments in their lives have survived the decades. Although this social history of letters written to the archbishop of Dublin is not specifically a women’s history book, many of those who wrote for help were women and so the book offers a glimpse of their often-difficult lives.

I love how Earner-Byrne privileges the ‘voices’ of letter writers in her book, exploring what they put in writing, as well as what they implied and their silences. I found this a very thought-provoking analysis, pushing me to think about the ways that people frame their narratives and how what they choose to include or exclude about their lives informs historians. 

I loved this book with its mix of AI, murder, and mystery. It's about 'accidents' that seem to happen to anyone going against the creator of a predictive AI that they say will be able to anticipate human behaviour.

I liked the fact lots of things happen behind the scenes. An ex-staff member and former coder aims to get to the bottom of it. It looks at the 'what ifs' and throws up the corruption that can happen if there is no strict monitoring in the development of AI. 

Again, I feel it brings up the concerns we humans have of the people who will design, build, and operate Artificial Intelligence, and for me, I would want to know who is checking what these companies are actually creating? And who checks the checker...?

I find this book to be inspiring in its mix of the old and new. Old because its main character, Detective Bell, enjoys good old-fashioned detective work, and 'new' because he works in a world alongside 'modern' detectives and futuristic ways of investigating mysteries and crimes. They find ways to work with each other in this book.

I like this because it dispels fears of living in an AI world controlled by humans. I also liked how it shows AI and humans living and existing alongside each other.

I've found this book to be a new experience in itself as I have used the 'synchronised female voice version' to listen to the story and it's brilliant.

This is a beautiful science memoir, that tells the story of fellow Stanford professor Fei-Fei’s Li’s life.

It gives deep insights into the challenges of life in the United States, growing up as an immigrant from a loving but low-income home, and her rise to becoming one of the most important and influential AI leaders of our time. The interweaving of the story of the genesis of AI as a field and Fei-Fei as a scientist is fascinating and educative. 

Fei-Fei’s excitement for science and knowledge, combined with her commitment to family and relationships, makes for a delightful and inspirational read.