Penguin Classics

Provocative and playful, All Art is Ecological explores the strangeness of living in an age of mass extinction, and shows us that emotions and experience are the basis for a deep philosophical engagement with ecology. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, […]

An Idea Can Go Extinct is Bill McKibben’s impassioned, groundbreaking account of how, by changing the earth’s entire atmosphere, the weather and the most basic forces around us, ‘we are ending nature.’ Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around […]

Orwell’s timeless satire, now in the Penguin Clothbound Classics series with a cover designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith ‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others’ When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a […]

Food Rules, Michael Pollan’s wise and witty critique of the western industrialised diet, distils the wisdom of history and traditional cultures to three simple rules: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around […]

First published in 1961, following the successful Cuban Revolution, this is Che Guevara’s handbook for guerrilla war. It covers strategy, tactics, terrain, organization of an army, logistics, field medical treatment, intelligence, propaganda and training, and focuses on seven ‘golden rules’ of guerrilla warfare. Widely studied both by insurrectionist movements and those who have tried to […]

In Hot Money Naomi Klein lays out the evidence that deregulated capitalism is waging war on the climate, and shows that, in order to stop the damage, we must change everything we think about how our world is run. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become […]

‘The best book I’ve read this year … darkly comedic and full of tension and surprise’ Marina Abramovic ‘Life for sale. Use me as you wish. I am a twenty-seven-year-old male. Discretion guaranteed. Will cause no bother at all.’ When Hanio Yamada realises the future holds little of worth to him, he puts his life […]

George Orwell’s masterwork, now in the Penguin Clothbound Classics series with a cover designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith One of the BBC’s ‘100 Novels that Shaped the World’ ‘Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past’ Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith […]

No One is Too Small to Make a Difference collects Greta Thunberg’s history-making speeches, from addresses at climate rallies around the world audiences at the UN, the World Economic Forum, and the British Parliament. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary […]

We were an army of shadows, of ghosts, walking as if to the beat of some dark psychic mechanism’ The Cuban Revolution changed the course of the twentieth century. Following years of brutal tyranny and poverty, a band of idealistic young people fought against immense odds to overthrow a dictator and emerged victorious. This is […]

Shooting an Elephant was the first piece of writing by George Orwell to be published by Penguin, in 1940. It is a searing and honest account of his experience as a police officer in imperial Burma: killing an escaped elephant in front of a crowd, solely to avoid looking like a fool.

With honesty, passion and heart, Terry Tempest Williams’s essays explore the impact of nuclear testing, the vital importance of environmental legislation, and the guiding spirit of conservation. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their […]

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s timeless tale, reissued in a beautiful clothbound edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his plane vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. Nearly eighty years later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power. […]

Perfect for Hallowe’en: haunting accounts of real-life exorcisms through the centuries, from ancient Egypt and the biblical Middle East to colonial America and twentieth-century South Africa. Levitation. Feats of superhuman strength. Speaking in tongues. A hateful, glowing stare. The signs of spirit possession have been documented for thousands of years and across religions and cultures, […]

This eclectic, moving and richly enjoyable collection is the essential introduction to Korean literature. Journeying through Korea’s dramatic recent past, from the Japanese occupation and colonial era to the devastating war between north and south and the rapid, disorienting urbanization of later decades, The Penguin Book of Korean Short Stories captures a hundred years of vivid storytelling. […]

From the Congo Basin to the traditions of the Kikuyu people, the lucid, incisive writings in The World We Once Lived In explore the sacred power of trees, and why humans lay waste to the forests that keep us alive. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has […]

Emphasizing joy in the world, human cooperation and the value of all living things, this selection of Arne Naess’ philosophical writings is filled with wit, learning and an intense connection with nature. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around […]

In this lyrical meditation on America’s wildlands, Aldo Leopold considers the different ways humans shape the natural landscape, and describes for the first time the far-reaching phenomenon now known as ‘trophic cascades’. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around […]

In this personal and wide-ranging exploration of how our collective imaginations fail to grasp the scale of environmental destruction, Amitav Ghosh summons writers and novelists to confront the most urgent story of our times. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary […]

James Lovelock’s We Belong to Gaia draws on decades of wisdom to lay out the history of our remarkable planet, to show that it is not ours to be exploited – and warns us that it is fighting back. Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become […]