Reading List
Peter Wohlleben
German Forester and Author
Peter Wohlleben, born in 1964, is a German forester and author. After forestry school in Rottenburg am Neckar he worked as a government forest ranger in Rhineland-Palatinate from 1987. He now manages a beech forest for the municipality of Hümmel and runs a forest academy. His book The Hidden Life of Trees, translated into English in 2016, reached the New York Times bestseller list. His picks here, from a Shelf Awareness interview, include Richard Adams’s Watership Down, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time, Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and Jane Goodall’s The Book of Hope.
The Terror
by Dan Simmons · 2018 · Historical Fiction
“The Terror by Dan Simmons, because it brings home the incredible hardships of polar exploration” — via Article, May 2026
The Sacred Balance
by David Suzuki · 2007 · Nature
“David Suzuki, the author of many books including The Sacred Balance, whom I admire for his fight to protect the ancient forests of the West Coast” — via Article, May 2026
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood · 1985 · Dystopian
“Margaret Atwood, who anticipated some current developments with The Handmaid's Tale that I never would have thought possible” — via Article, May 2026
The Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury · Fiction
“Ray Bradbury, especially The Martian Chronicles, in which human society flees to Mars and takes its problems along with it” — via Article, May 2026
Watership Down
by Richard Adams · 2005 · Fantasy
“Watership Down by Richard Adams. It's a novel that warms my heart. It depicts a hero's journey (with a happy ending!).” — via Article, May 2026
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe · 2001 · Classics
“Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. When I was young, reading was the only way to dream of distant worlds. But at the time, I wasn't aware of the colonial mindset and racist stereotypes present in the novel.” — via Article, May 2026
Children of Time
by Adrian Tchaikovsky · 2018 · Fiction
“After the end of humanity on Earth, survivors try to re-create the same thing on another planet. This goes completely wrong and reminds us that we had better protect our current planet. Also, it's fantastic to see the world through the eyes of ants and spiders.” — via Article, May 2026
