From 70 books to make you feel hopeful: An end-of-year reading list by IDEAS.TED.COM.

When you’re looking for a completely different perspective on life

Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet’s Future by David Grinspoon
Who knew that taking an interplanetary, billion-year view on our environmental troubles could inspire such optimism? Grinspoon is a planetary scientist, and he thinks big — very big. He’s also hopeful that as we mature as a species, we will become ever better at preserving all species, controlling climate change and thinking about ourselves as part of one vast interconnected biosphere.
— Emma Marris