Concrete Botany: The Ecology of Plants in the Age of Human Disturbance

by Joey Santore

* New York Times Bestseller *
* USA TODAY Bestseller *
* Independent Press Bestseller *
* “The Best Science and Nature Books of 2026” —Barnes & Noble *

Concrete Botany is a gritty, kick-in-the-guts look at the ecological disturbance humans have caused and the resilience of the plants living amongst it.

Delivered in his raw and unapologetic yet botanically accurate tone, Joey Santore—the unforgettable host of Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t—offers an often unsettling view of human-caused ecological destruction and its impact on the natural ecosystems our very lives depend on.

The choices of modern civilization have led to a f***ed-up planet, scraped bare and covered in concrete and invasive species. We’ve wiped out entire ecosystems, moved invasive plants to new continents where they don’t belong, and, in a few hundred years, we’ve managed to muck up the intricate balance of a planet that has been evolving for eons. The consequences of our actions are now at our doorstep, ready to strike a match.

But not all is lost. In this groundbreaking examination of plants and their role in the Anthropocene (the age of human disturbance), we see light through the cracks in the concrete and learn that humanity’s course correction starts with an understanding of plant ecology. With this knowledge comes the realization that the lives of humans and plants are interconnected in ways humans cannot live without. Plants are the base of every terrestrial ecosystem on the planet, and their presence can heal the damage humanity has caused. Our willingness to restore native plant communities and the biodiversity they support (starting in our immediate surroundings) is an essential first step in the right direction. 

While returning every abandoned brownfield and old rail corridor into a native plant–filled, fully restored ecosystem may be out of reach for the average citizen, fostering the native ecology and biodiversity of our own backyards is not. Concrete Botany is ultimately about how the choices we make as individuals can help ensure humanity’s survival on a very disturbed and rapidly changing planet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Ecology, Gardening, Biology, Audiobook

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2026

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a big fan of Joey ever since discovering his YouTube channel several years ago. His no nonsense style was as refreshing then as it is now in Concrete Botany. Joey is right, our society has constructed itself to only value contrived intangible goals. This has cascaded to deprive most people of a connection to the land they live on and the ecosystem we are all a part of, which then leads to a whole host of other issues.

The book is about his journey with this topic of native plants and the "real world" that we all exist in. It's moderate on narrative, but I found it relaxing and enjoyable.

My one criticism is that sometimes he can belabor the point he is trying to make. But that may be more of an issue for me as I've already heard a lot of what he said in the book through his podcast and videos. If you're familiar with his work you may not find a lot of new information. But this is good as a manifesto for how the world is botanically screwed up and some methods to fix it. All in all, I recommend.

[Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife surprised me with this book after I got into Joey (Tony?) Santore's YouTube channel, Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, like many others spellbound by the sight of a working-class Chicago Italian identifying random plants to Latin species while ranting against the short-sighted, consumption-obsessed, suburb-trapped anti-ethos of American modernity. This book is basically his videos put into physical form—equal parts intro to plant ecology and anti-lawn diatribe. I'm not a botanist, but as a PhD biologist I still know more about plants than the average person, so most of the scientific material I already knew, aside from the specifics about certain plant species. For me, the clear-sighted and occasionally profane waxing of Santore's philosophy was the highlight. It's not so much about "killing your lawn"—which is only the most immediate material consequence of his ethos—but about our society's disconnection from nature and the immeasurable harm it's done not only to our world, but to ourselves. It's kind of pathetic, but as much as I agree with these perspectives, many of them are new to me, or at least not verbalized so clearly. We live in a world where it's much easier for a child to name 10 water bottle brands than to name 10 native plants. We tend to think of nature-obsessed folk as weirdos, tree-huggers... But water bottles have only existed for what—0.001% of human history? And humans ourselves have only existed for 0.001% of Earth's history. Our current societally anti-ecological mindset is what is aberrant. Santore's call for humility, respect, and interaction with what he calls "the living world" really resonated with me, and hopefully will with many others.

[Shae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish every oogle grew up to be Joey Santore. He’s Bukowski if Chuck had just let the bluebird out. And if the bluebird got really, really, really interested in botany.

Colorful language and neck tattoos and train hopping youth aside (or maybe very much central), this book and his YouTube channel are delightful glimpses into an excellent brain that’s retuned itself to the living world to an amazing degree. He’s brilliant, he makes me ugly-laugh, and his devotion to continually cultivating his impressive ecological knowledge is obvious and touchingly humble. As someone who’s admonished no small number of people to “cultivate a sense of fucking wonder” over the years, discovering some outwardly grouchy guy from Chicago who apparently spends his time exclaiming gleefully about, say, a cool cactus in a gas station parking lot or a neat beetle pollinating a rare native flower, was pretty life-affirming.

And really, the misanthropic jokes are a misdirect, and a thin one at that. It takes very little time to feel how deeply sensitive, compassionate, and above all hopeful his worldview is. He’s a crusty little idealist and honestly it warms my heart. Lines like “The lack of a connection to the land a person lives on has *got* to fuck a person up. It’s an unreasonably cruel thing to deprive someone of that…,” and “Always be kind and don't talk down to or lecture people, but be persistent as hell.” speak to his considerable empathy for people.

All of that to say, read the book. And watch some of his videos (you’ll “hear” the book as you read after a video or two, guaranteed). If you already care about native plants and ecosystems and habitat restoration, you’ll feel like you’re hanging out with a comrade. If you don’t, let his enthusiasm sway you into curiosity.

[Joe N · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book. a really good blend of interesting information and fun stories. if your even remotely interested in the natural world this a definite read

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile]]

Didn't even make it through the introduction.

I should have known it was gonna be...weird (like, weird in a trying too hard way?) by the over-emphasis on "gritty" and "kick in the guts" in the blurb.

Not for me at all.

[Stella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique perspective on native plants. Occasionally quite vulgar and cynical about humanity, but with hope grounded in the restorative power of those plants. Highly recommended.

[Anna Nesterovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say I learned much from this book, but that's an expected occupational hazard for me. I'm giving it 4 stars regardless, because if this book helps to inspire even one person to make a difference and plant a native, it's worth it.

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love the narration style. The opening being a dramatic "I cuss sometimes" warning combined with the frequent complaining about random trappings of modern society did not read well to me. Instead of relatable or righteous or whatever it just kind of read as like grumpy. The energy of someone I would avoid at work for not having anything nice to say ever.
It never really grew on me but the botany and information was interesting enough to mostly be worth putting up with the "I don't like ads or malls or people grumble grumble." I liked how practical this was, it was very based in personal experience and it gave good advice for like actual stuff people could be doing.

[Dillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first audiobook! liked this a lot - its very relatable and humorous and god do i agree with everything he said. i too think society is stupid and plants are neat. not quite there with bugs, tho.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part auto-biography part science book, this is the descent of one man's obsession into plants. It starts with something small, like seeing a weird plant growing where there shouldn't be anything growing, wondering what it is. Looking it up, learning why it might be able to survive. Before you know it you're obsessed.

This is a great starting point for anyone looking to educate themselves on nature. If you think “damn, I need to go touch grass” then this book explains why that is and how important it is to connect with plants.
It's full of information about what is happening to the world around us and why plants are the answer.

As a bit of a plant nerd I was so excited to read this, I just want more people to love plants as much as I do.
If you're okay with eco-activism and cursing please read this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Cool Springs Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Sarah Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique and fantastic take on botany and ecology. Passionate and profanity laced, his enthusiasm for natives and habitat restoration is infectious. Becoming a native guerrilla gardener is almost an imperative after reading this book and he gives you the beginning tools to kill your lawn and start your own native habitat restoration. I just wish there were more pictures in this book. I particularly would have liked to see before and after pics of his habitat restoration projects.

[Haley Huseby · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What does it mean to exhibit gratitude and respect for plant life? The best indicator of respect for anything including people is an innate curiosity and willingness to learn about it, pay attention to it and study it. People aren’t curious about a thing unless they’re attracted to it. Innate curiosity does wonders, as does the excitement when the brain makes the connection between two disparate subjects.”

Until I came across this book I was completely unfamiliar with Joey Santore, but it took me all of ten minutes in to follow him on Instagram for more. Santore is a self-taught botanist who narrates his plant stories and knowledge in such a way that feels like the perfect combination of smart assy and matter of fact without any notes of arrogance. It’s like I’m sitting at a local bar having a few beers with an uncle but instead of complaining about the work week we’re excited about plants the same way people get excited about animals. (Plants also have disguises that protect them from predators just like animals!) The underlying topic of conversation being “Why don’t we care? What if we DID care? Here’s why you SHOULD care!” in regards to the ecological ignorance most of us have.

I decided to listen to the audiobook and I’m so glad I did, because the author also narrates his audiobook and I didn’t feel like I had to try really hard to understand the matters he was discussing. Even with all of the scientific terms for plants he used, it rolled out of his mouth so easily that it made me feel like I could dive into botany myself and memorize those terms one day, and he has the sort of accent where he doesn’t sound pretentious but he does want you to care. What I really loved about this book was that it was just NEAT. Super rad. Fun to listen to. The way we grow up learning about animals and bugs and why each of them serve a specific purpose in their native areas, this is how the author speaks about flora. I had never really considered that while animals evolve over time and have different species, plants are the same and their paths are endless. I sat and looked at my yard in a new perspective. Humans have cleared out entire ecosystems to put up homes and businesses that eventually end up abandoned and have dug up and moved plants to other areas where they shouldn’t be, causing extreme consequences for plant life world wide. The way he explains down to detail how the simplest of weeds and flowers we see on a daily basis may or may not beneficial to where it’s now growing and why that is, and how we as a human race are responsible for essentially fucking up the natural order of plant development BUT how we as a human race can learn, grow and right the wrongs to save our environment. How upon the settlement of this land, the east coast suffered greater than most regions of the US and how the children and grandchildren to come will never know the plant life that our ancestors did in those areas simply due to settlement and development of lands. There’s so much history in the plants we look over and walk over and pave over every day and if we care enough to take it upon ourselves to take an interest in it, we can learn about it just like him and make conscious efforts to look at our lands as a gift versus something that is owed to us. We can look to flora for education and answers and care for it the way it was made to care for us.

“Every plant possesses clues that allude to their evolutionary and ecological history though they might be more subtle.”

Not only that, but the incredible amount of species of plants we’re missing out on learning about simply because research for the benefits of capitalism and consumerism have pushed for answers that land money in the pockets of leaders and billionaires versus having research done just because our earth deserves that, and that should be enough.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love people as individuals. In large groups when we know other people are watching us, we become predictable, conformist, performative and too easily persuaded….We’re the only species of animal that thinks it’s not an animal. We believe we have free will and choice yet the vast majority of us remain entirely unaware of how narrow our world views are, and unaware of the factors that shape them.”

I didn’t feel like I was hearing another lesson of reduce/reuse/recycle. Between interesting and unique facts and personal stories about his adventures and studies in various regions across the world, this was really, really cool and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone even if you’re not a beginner gardener like me or someone who just loves learning about our earth. Everyone could benefit from reading this book!! I’d like to think I’m not completely unaware about the subject matter, but this opened some brain doors for me. I’ll definitely be adding more books like this to my list and tuning into his YouTube channel!

[Vivien Marmerstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great combination of personal narrative and science.

[Isaac Eastland · Rating 5 out of 5]

His writing is a little more respectful than his videos.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from Quarto books and Cool Springs Press on May 14th. Getting this in under the wire!

It's really tough to get into this book. In the intro especially and on into the first chapter, the author comes across as *extremely* conceited. Comparing himself directly to Charles Darwin (p. 20) makes it clear how highly he thinks of himself. This isn't out of character for the rest of the writing, sadly.

The narration is incredibly repetitive, exploring the author's curiosity and botanical awakening. It distracts from and delays getting to the actual content of the book. The tone is heavy-handed lecturing and quickly becomes tiring. The most basic concepts are presented as groundbreaking realizations that are special or unique to the author (ex: "I was starting to piece together that every plant was a product of the region it came from, the region it evolved in" (p.26)). Overuse of quotation marks muddle the writing-- some are used correctly or reasonably, to denote a term that is about to be defined or redefined. More often, however, they appear around a concept or metaphor-- completely unnecessarily and demonstrating a lack of familiarity and/or comfort with conventions or with writing in general.

Despite the author's assertions (p. 23-34), other books on ecology do exist and are less of a slog. Try, for example, The Ecology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained for a start.

The illustrations are ok, but it seems weird to have only black and white line drawings in a book about plants.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine, but most likely not the book that I would recommend to someone who was interested in learning more about plants, and how humans *are* part of nature, unless said person was a cishet white man who gets most of his information from podcasts and YouTube videos of loud men asserting things. I say this only somewhat meanly. I do think that the author's YouTube series would be a better, and more comprehensive fit, for the type of person for whom this book is an entry point.

While I'm already grumbling, I found reading this to be jarring, because the author speaks directly to the audience and uses or implies "we" think/feel/have experienced/should do things, except that I don't feel like I'm included in the assumed "we" of the target audience. In my opinion, the main thing going for this book is that "America" likes the idea of clever, blunt (including swearing) blue-collar manly men who are "men of action" and stick it to the overeducated elitists (brags that 6 out of 10 PhD students can't stand him). On one hand, this is fine, because not all books are for everyone, and it is good that books and authors can reach different subsets of people, especially if it is going to galvanize them to think more deeply about nature, and healing it/ourselves. On the other hand, I find it extremely obnoxious, because people should theoretically be able to hear, absorb, and learn similar messages from a book like *Braiding Sweetgrass* except that colonialism, white supremacy, and sexism create mental and emotional barriers to understanding. There are also about three sentences about indigenous knowledge in the book, which seems a bit slim 🤷‍♂️ It also really annoyed me that the author doesn't acknowledge that breaking into private property, even if it's industrial wasteland could go very badly (incarceration, death) for, I don't know, pretty much anyone with demographics and social presentation different than his, glibly saying that if that is too high risk that you can kill your lawn or collaborate with restoration organizations (true, but said in a way implying that those people are risk-averse suckers).

The good things:

-Language that is understandable by non-experts that is accurate but not condescending, including defining terms when necessary

-Succintly stating that being in the environment, thinking about plants, taking action to make the planet better in some small way, makes him feel better, because humans are meant to live in/with/be part of nature. I think the way he talks about this could get through to people who might find similar ideas offputting because they're too "woowoo" or academic.

-Describing some actions everyone can take right now (looking up and lesrning about their local plants, killing their lawn in favor of a natural garden, checking out certain resources)

[TheAccidental Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and inspiring. I need to start some seeds. A couple of the chapters get very repetitive, but the rest is good reading. One of the books in the bibliography or further reading list is How the Earth Turned Green, so that's my next read.

Everyone's reading Tallamy, and I have done so too, but I need more knowledge to share, because everyone I know is getting interested in native plants these days and I am getting tired of my one trick, which is to make sure people know that baby birds cannot live to adulthood if mama bird can't find any insects in our supposedly beautiful, but completely sterile and lifeless yards which provide no leaves caterpillars are able to eat.

I wanted a more fleshed out experience. Sara Stein's Noah's Garden set me on this path and Concrete Botany is an entirely different take. I very much appreciate all these books.

[Kimberly T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really easy read into understanding complicated concepts about ecology and the necessity of plant life. I really enjoy Joey Santore’s YouTube channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t, and I’m very happy to give my Canadian dollars to him by buying this book. Great resources with a fun sense of humour and a real deep love for the living world and plant life. I’m going to be paying more attention to the living world moving forward.

[Mateo Bans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will recommend this book to anyone getting into botany and the living world. A perspective I wasn't anticipating was regarding invasive species, at this point we have to take any plant life that we can get in the many ecologically dead zones we create. Everything has its place, and we have ours. This read true to Joey Santore's content, which was a breath of fresh air.

[Anna Werkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read! Would be very pretty as a coffee table book and would be great for conversations.

[Peter Herrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utopia is a garden on every corner packed with life, instead of a monoculture of teeny tiny grass cut short.

[Coleman Manchester · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

I read their blog post on how to get into botany and decided to read their book- they’ve got a youtube!

[Cynthia Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt less about plants and more about the author, who I found annoying. But can’t deny the substance and intention. I think for my tastes I’d prefer something more dryly scientific than plant bro.

[Amy Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is great if you are just learning about the natural world. Joey Santore is the naturalist of our age, but the book feels repetitive. I definitely did not need him to explain why it's better to have local native plants instead of landscaping, parking garages, and data centers. If you're interested in the subject, you should just go to his YouTube page.

[Jackie Keller]

Put off immediately by the tone, which is a shame, because the subject interests me. However, the author sounds like he presumes everyone of his readers is an idiot, sharing basic ecology and evolution basics as if they were secrets instead of something I'd learned - and appreciated - in the 5th grade. Dnf, no stars.

[uosɯɐS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following the podcast for a bit on YouTube, so of course I had to get the book! I grew up homeschooled without a TV, our bad words were "dumb", "stupid", and "bored". To this day I still don't curse, though I've learned to not be shocked by it in others. But when Joey swears... I giggle! It's just the juxtaposition of expletives with scientific Latin names that gets me, I think.

I somehow think this book would make a fun premise for a computer game. Be a juveniles delinquent hooligan, or train engineer... wander off into abandoned urban spaces, and start noticing weeds and collecting native plants specimens. Find areas to start guerilla gardening, enlist community members to start a movement, befriend native insects and animals showing up.

I really appreciated the Large Print!

[V · Rating 4 out of 5]

So here's the conundrum: Joey Santore's videos are probably most popular with folks who, like myself, already have a fair amount of knowledge about botany and ecology/biogeography. For such people, much of the information in the book (especially the first half) is old hat. I often zoned out through explanations of concepts with which I already was familiar. Due to my prior knowledge and my periodic inattention, I am unable to evaluate whether or not the author explains things in a way that would be easy for a novice botanist to absorb.

Santore's more personal anecdotes, however, may seem hella interesting for those of us who learned botany in a more ivory-tower setting than Santore.

The book's voice (to be clear, its figurative voice--I ingested the paper version, not the audiobook) comes off as a lot more earnest than that of the character Santore assumes for his videos. Good, because the hoodlum from Chicago would become tiresome over the period of a full-length book. But a bit of an unnerving code-switch, nonetheless.

And it wasn't terrible, but the book could have used a final round of copy editing, preferably by a person with a moderate knowledge of biology.

[Tim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lively, passionate, and informative book on urban and suburban wild plants, their ecology, and the positive and negative roles human play by Joey Santore, the host of the YouTube channel Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t. An extremely knowledgeable self-taught botanist, the author discussed how his job working for the railroad as a switchman, brakeman, conductor, and engineer in California, Oregon, and Nevada led him to studying the plants of waste places in industrial, retail, and suburban areas, hating and appreciating invasives that so often dominant such places, and learning what can be done to return native plants to even the worst places in cities.

Chapter one was the author’s journey in learning botany, ecology, evolution, biogeography, and taxonomy, describing how he came to study the plants in the industrial wastelands where he worked, appreciating how each area he went to had its own flora. He discussed not only plant blindness but how culture instills a hatred for “messy” or “vermin-filled” wild plants and areas of natural growth, how plants need to have value to be of interest at least according to society, and how learning the local plant can species can make the environment more interesting for the average person.

Chapter two discussed how plants are part of a living system in an area along with insects, fungi, and other organisms, how the local flora reflects local soil conditions and type, elevation, and climate, how plants carry the traits associated with such environments such as spines or hairs in plants originating in deserts, natural dispersal invents versus invasive events of non-local plants, disjunction in plant ranges either from range fragmentation or reflecting the results of natural dispersal events, how invasive a plant is a function of temporal and geographic separation (the more separation, the more invasive; also the more similar local conditions are to conditions where it evolved, the more invasive), how not all non-native plants are invasive but all invasive plants are non-native, how native plants can be aggressive but never invasive, discussed the concept of shifting baselines as far as people understanding local flora, and gave examples of the author’s journey with plants including illegally planting rare California cypresses in a median in California and how invasive European Buckthorn in the Chicago area meant for years the author never knew spring ephemerals existed.

Chapter three discussed the concept of the weed, how urban plant ecology is a “Frankenstein ecology” of invasives from all over the world and some native species, how successful invasive species that grow in “anthropic landscapes” and “concrete hellscapes” like powerline easements and in chain link fences are pioneer species, highly tolerant of stress, disruption, fast growing, produce many seeds, have efficient seed dispersal, don’t need insect pollinators, and are able to quickly develop as a population resistance to herbicides. In addition, some plants like Tree of Heaven and Garlic Mustard produce natural herbicides that cuts down on plant competition. The chapter closes with a tour of the botany of urban wastelands along the Los Angeles River, as seen from a deflating dingy In Queens, New York City, in Mexico, and along the Chicago River, profiling a number of plants like Giant Reed, Russian Thistle, and Fennel.

Chapter four discussed why the author preferred the term the living world or the real world over nature (nature as a term he thought separated man when man is always part of the living world), discussed why you would want to kill your lawn and how to do this, discussed the practical, pragmatic reasons to use native plants such as drought tolerance, flood tolerance, pest tolerance, little to no maintenance, helping local wildlife, combating urban heat islands, and psychological benefits, ways to get involved in restoring local plants if you can’t kill your lawn or don’t have a lawn, and while careful not to praise invasives, does discuss how they are better than nothing and can prepare the way for natives to be restored by such elements as building up soil, humidity, and creating habitat.

[martyn benny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concrete Botany: The Ecology of Plants in the Age of Human Disturbance is a bold, unapologetic, and eye-opening exploration of the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world. Joey Santore brings his unmistakable voice to the page, combining scientific accuracy, irreverent humor, and passionate advocacy into a book that is as entertaining as it is deeply informative.

What makes this book so compelling is its refusal to sugarcoat reality. Santore confronts the ecological consequences of urbanization, habitat destruction, invasive species, and biodiversity loss with refreshing honesty. His frustration is palpable, but it is always grounded in a genuine love for plants and an unwavering belief that understanding ecology is essential if we hope to build a more sustainable future.

Despite tackling sobering environmental issues, Concrete Botany is far from pessimistic. One of its greatest strengths is the hope woven throughout its pages. Santore continually reminds readers that restoration is possible, not only on a grand scale but also through individual actions. Whether encouraging the planting of native species, supporting local biodiversity, or simply paying closer attention to the ecosystems around us, the book empowers readers to become active participants in ecological recovery.

The scientific content is presented in an engaging and accessible manner. Complex ecological concepts are explained clearly without sacrificing accuracy, making the book equally valuable for seasoned naturalists and readers who are just beginning to explore botany and conservation. Santore's conversational style and unmistakable personality keep the pages turning while making the science memorable.

Perhaps the book's most important achievement is changing how readers see the world around them. Sidewalk cracks, abandoned lots, railway embankments, and forgotten urban spaces become living classrooms that reveal the remarkable resilience of plants and the ongoing struggle between disturbance and recovery.

Concrete Botany is an essential read for anyone interested in ecology, conservation, botany, gardening, environmental science, or simply understanding the living world more deeply. Provocative, educational, and surprisingly hopeful, it serves as both a wake-up call and an inspiring reminder that meaningful ecological change begins with awareness and grows through action.