Boglands (Paperback)

The Hidden World of Earth's Most Extraordinary Ecosystems

Merritt Turetsky

A world-leading ecologist's grand tour of the strangest and least understood of all Earth's landscapes

A NEW YORK TIMES October New Books Pick and NEW SCIENTIST Best New Popular Science Book 2026

'Recasts bogs as the magical wonderlands that they secretly are' ED YONG

'Full of enchantment and drama' NEW YORK TIMES

'Rare and exciting' ANNIE PROULX

Step into the unearthly world of bogs.

Sink beneath the surface. In this sumptuous, fecund place, what wonders await you?

This is a world with an ecology like no other, where amphibian-eating plants and acid-flinging mosses grow rampant. A realm of peat, laid down layer upon layer, preserving millennia of Earth's history. A dark, vertical landscape where the sheer abundance of carbon precariously locked away holds our very future in balance.

Above all, bogs are places of paradox, where past meets present in the remarkably preserved artefacts and bodies entombed in their depths, land meets water in an otherworldly landscape, and safety meets danger for those who dare to venture into the heart of the bog. With renowned bog ecologist Merritt Turetsky as your guide, Boglands is an invitation to enter a beguiling landscape that will irrevocably change the way you see the natural world.

'An urgent call to save our remaining boglands' WALL STREET JOURNAL

Publication date: April 1, 2027

£11.99

ISBN: 9781805221418

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Climate & the Environment, Travel & Nature

Boglands (Hardback)

The Hidden World of Earth's Most Extraordinary Ecosystems

Merritt Turetsky

A world-leading ecologist's grand tour of the strangest and least understood of all Earth's landscapes

A NEW YORK TIMES October New Books Pick and NEW SCIENTIST Best New Popular Science Book 2026

'Recasts bogs as the magical wonderlands that they secretly are' ED YONG

'Full of enchantment and drama' NEW YORK TIMES

'Rare and exciting' ANNIE PROULX

Step into the unearthly world of bogs.

Sink beneath the surface. In this sumptuous, fecund place, what wonders await you?

This is a world with an ecology like no other, where amphibian-eating plants and acid-flinging mosses grow rampant. A realm of peat, laid down layer upon layer, preserving millennia of Earth's history. A dark, vertical landscape where the sheer abundance of carbon precariously locked away holds our very future in balance.

Above all, bogs are places of paradox, where past meets present in the remarkably preserved artefacts and bodies entombed in their depths, land meets water in an otherworldly landscape, and safety meets danger for those who dare to venture into the heart of the bog. With renowned bog ecologist Merritt Turetsky as your guide, Boglands is an invitation to enter a beguiling landscape that will irrevocably change the way you see the natural world.

'An urgent call to save our remaining boglands' WALL STREET JOURNAL

Publication date: September 17, 2026

£20.00

ISBN: 9781805221401

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Climate & the Environment, Travel & Nature

Boglands (Ebook)

The Hidden World of Earth's Most Extraordinary Ecosystems

Merritt Turetsky

A world-leading ecologist's grand tour of the strangest and least understood of all Earth's landscapes

A NEW YORK TIMES October New Books Pick and NEW SCIENTIST Best New Popular Science Book 2026

'Recasts bogs as the magical wonderlands that they secretly are' ED YONG

'Full of enchantment and drama' NEW YORK TIMES

'Rare and exciting' ANNIE PROULX

Step into the unearthly world of bogs.

Sink beneath the surface. In this sumptuous, fecund place, what wonders await you?

This is a world with an ecology like no other, where amphibian-eating plants and acid-flinging mosses grow rampant. A realm of peat, laid down layer upon layer, preserving millennia of Earth's history. A dark, vertical landscape where the sheer abundance of carbon precariously locked away holds our very future in balance.

Above all, bogs are places of paradox, where past meets present in the remarkably preserved artefacts and bodies entombed in their depths, land meets water in an otherworldly landscape, and safety meets danger for those who dare to venture into the heart of the bog. With renowned bog ecologist Merritt Turetsky as your guide, Boglands is an invitation to enter a beguiling landscape that will irrevocably change the way you see the natural world.

'An urgent call to save our remaining boglands' WALL STREET JOURNAL

Publication date: September 17, 2026

£15.99

ISBN: 9781805221425

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B0G67LTTVV

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Climate & the Environment, Travel & Nature

Boglands (Audiobook)

The Hidden World of Earth's Most Extraordinary Ecosystems

Merritt Turetsky

A world-leading ecologist's grand tour of the strangest and least understood of all Earth's landscapes

A NEW YORK TIMES October New Books Pick and NEW SCIENTIST Best New Popular Science Book 2026

'Recasts bogs as the magical wonderlands that they secretly are' ED YONG

'Full of enchantment and drama' NEW YORK TIMES

'Rare and exciting' ANNIE PROULX

Step into the unearthly world of bogs.

Sink beneath the surface. In this sumptuous, fecund place, what wonders await you?

This is a world with an ecology like no other, where amphibian-eating plants and acid-flinging mosses grow rampant. A realm of peat, laid down layer upon layer, preserving millennia of Earth's history. A dark, vertical landscape where the sheer abundance of carbon precariously locked away holds our very future in balance.

Above all, bogs are places of paradox, where past meets present in the remarkably preserved artefacts and bodies entombed in their depths, land meets water in an otherworldly landscape, and safety meets danger for those who dare to venture into the heart of the bog. With renowned bog ecologist Merritt Turetsky as your guide, Boglands is an invitation to enter a beguiling landscape that will irrevocably change the way you see the natural world.

'An urgent call to save our remaining boglands' WALL STREET JOURNAL

Publication date: September 17, 2026

£24.99

ISBN: 9781805228288

ISBN 10 / ASIN: B0GWJ7WZY6

Imprint: Profile Books

Subject: Climate & the Environment, Travel & Nature

Read by: Patricia Rodriguez

Reviews for Boglands

'Merritt Turetsky is so enraptured by bogs, so full of wide-eyed passion for them, and so skilled at recasting them as the magical wonderlands that they secretly are, that you cannot help but be swept away'

Ed Yong, author of AN IMMENSE WORLD and I CONTAIN MULTITUDES 

'Full of enchantment and drama ... Turetsky makes the case for bogs as protective forces against climate change, as repositories of history, as zones of freedom and safety...[in] a transporting book and a persuasive call to action'

Lauren Redniss New York Times

'Boglands is one of those rare and exciting books that can change bad situations. A rich and loving appreciation of the world-wide kingdom of sphagnum bogs. Turetsky asks readers to help her support and rescue the world's endangered boglands. If you enjoy breathing, you should answer the call'

Annie Proulx, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of FEN, BOG AND SWAMP 

'Arresting ... Turetsky finds beauty in dank, soggy places ... This is one of those books which takes what might seem a byway of nature and demonstrates how it can change not just lives, but your life'

Maggie Fergusson Spectator

'We usually value landscapes for what we can see, but, as Turetsky shows, much of the richness and mystery of boglands is underground ... [she] offers a tour of her favorite boglands from across the globe, guiding readers through the intricate science of these ecosystems and helping us understand the resilience of the plant, animal and human life there. [This] book is an urgent call to save our remaining boglands.'

Karin Altenberg Wall Street Journal

'The ecologist Turetsky transports readers deep into the mysterious terrain of the bog - somewhere between land and water - to explore its rich history and ecological importance. From Borneo to Greece to Greenland, Turetsky makes a passionate case for these wetlands as both eerie preservers of the human past and models of symbiotic existence'

 New York Times

'A beautiful ode to one of Earth's most overlooked environments, Merritt Turetsky reveals the rich histories and ecological wonders buried in bogs around the world'

Laura Poppick, author of STRATA 

'Writing with a love and intimacy born from decades of immersion in these undervalued landscapes, Merritt Turetsky takes readers deep into boglands to witness the surprising beauty of peat: its mystery, its plants and animals, its crucial role in the future of Earth's climate'

Anna Chilvers, co-editor of THE BOOK OF BOGS 

'A beguiling invitation to challenge how you see the natural world'

Best New Popular Science Books of 2026 New Scientist

Merritt Turetsky

Merritt Turetsky

Dr Merritt Turetsky is an internationally acclaimed climate scientist, renowned for her research and teaching on bogs. She's published hundreds of scientific articles on bogs' importance to global climate and provides counsel to governments, northern communities, and professional networks from around the world to better understand the importance of bogs to the global climate. Turetsky is a founding member and advisory board member of the international Permafrost Carbon Network, an advisor to NASA's Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment, and from 2020-2022 she was named a Web of Science's Highly Cited Researcher. In addition to her published academic research, Dr Turetsky serves as the science advisor to the magazine EOS, has written for The Conversation, and regularly appears on TV including on CNN, PBS Newshour, BBC, and her own science program on Canada's CTV.

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