A review by bookfairy99
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2021 by Ed Yong, Jaime Green

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

Reading this book is like taking a terrifying rollercoaster ride through the world of science and nature in 2020 -- which was, of course, dominated by COVID, COVID, and yep, more COVID. 

Inside you'll find a compilation of 26 articles, mostly penned by journalists or staff writers at magazines. Yong has neatly divided them into three sections: Contagion, Connection, and Consequences. Most of the articles are gems - well-written, engaging, and most importantly, eye-opening.

Among my favourites were "I'm an ER Doctor in New York. None of Us Will Ever Be The Same" by Helen Ouyang? (Heart-wrenching.) "What Happened In Room 10?" by Katie Engelhart? (A real page-turner.) "The Friendship and Love Hospital" by Jiayang Fan and "The Last Children of Down Syndrome" by Sarah Zhang. (Both simply brilliant.) These pieces resonated with me on a personal level, and I found myself thinking about them long after I'd finished reading.

But, like any rollercoaster, there were a few dips. "What the Coronavirus Means for Climate Change" by Meehan Crist, "River of Time," by Namwali Serpell and "The Unsung Heroine of Lichenology" by Sabrina Imbler didn't quite hit the mark for me. They were well-written, sure, but they just didn't grab me in the same way.

What I love about this book is how it doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. These articles confront us with the harsh realities of our world, the result of our own carelessness. It's like a wake-up call, a reminder that we need to do better.