The National Geographic Society recognizes explorers from traditional and emerging fields through three programs—Explorers-in-Residence, Emerging Explorers, and Fellows—that bring you exciting new discoveries direct from the field.
Explorers recommend fiction and non-fiction books for children, young adults, and students.
Children ages 4-8
Dive! My Adventures in the Deep Frontier, by Sylvia Earle. “The pictures here show the state of the ocean, and the discovery that awaits under the sea.”
—Sylvia Earle, oceanographer and Explorer-in-Residence
Face to Face with Lions, by Beverly and Dereck Joubert. “Twenty-eight years of research went into this book. It’s a personal way of sharing our knowledge.”
—Beverly and Dereck Joubert, filmmakers, conservationists, and Explorers-in-Residence
Everyone Poops, by Taro Gomi. “It helps people get over the ‘ick’ factor and embrace waste as a natural resource!”
—Ashley Murray, wastewater engineer and Emerging Explorer
Children ages 9-12
Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable, by Nicola Davies. “It’s a great introduction to natural science! It’s also just really, really cool. It tells you what is in an animal’s poop, and where to find it. What color is poop from a blue whale? Read this book to find out.”
—Jorn Hurum, paleontologist and Emerging Explorer
Young Adult
The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter. “This young boy is orphaned and raised by his grandparents, who are American Indians. It was the first book that made me laugh, cry, and feel the pain the main character is going through. It’s really about an identity crisis, and also about modern society.”
—Juan Martinez, environmentalist and Emerging Explorer
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. “It might be obvious, but it’s such a classic, and still relevant.”
—Jennifer Burney, environmentalist and Emerging Explorer
The Double Helix, by James D. Watson. “It was so important, interesting, and inspiring, especially the story of a woman [Rosalind Franklin] so involved in science. I remember reading about where Watson and Crick made their discoveries about the structure of DNA—King’s College and Cambridge University. Years later, I went to both King’s College and Cambridge, and studied genetics.”
—Hayat Sindi, biotechnologist and Emreging Explorer
Students
Cosmos, by Carl Sagan. “This was an important book for me. It’s still relevant and has the best material. The TV show was almost as good!”
—Kevin Hand, astrobiologist and Emerging Explorer
The Swarm, by Frank Schatzing. “A novel about collective intelligence, using microbial life at the bottom of the ocean. It’s speculative fiction, using real computer technology, oceanography, and marine biology in a story about the ocean fighting back. Uma Thurman bought the rights to the book, so it will also be a movie pretty soon.”
—Thomas Culhane, urban planner and Emerging Explorer
East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. “A great book about morality and the consciousness of place. Steinbeck shows how we are limited and defined by geography and a sense of place.”
—Barton Seaver, chef and Fellow
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond. “It addresses important topics, including development, colonialism, and the natural world. It also talks about ‘scientific racism’.”
—Spencer Wells, geneticist and Explorer-in-Residence
The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World, by Wade Davis. “It’s the book on anthropology I would have liked to have had. It celebrates the cultural revelations of anthropology, much as Spencer Wells’ work celebrates the scientific revelations about our genetic heritage.”
—Wade Davis, anthropologist and Explorer-in-Residence
Citizens of the Sea: Wondrous Creatures from the Census of Marine Life, by Nancy Knowlton. “There are so many surprising, crazy-looking, alien things out there. I’m an engineer, and I don’t know as much about marine biology. I wish I knew more!”
—Kakani Katija, bioengineer and Emerging Explorer
