In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure

Name: In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure
Brand: Scribner Book Company
SKU: 9781668092163
Price: 34.80 USD
Availability: InStock

$34.80

Product Variants

Biographical Note:
Rowan Jacobsen writes about science and nature and the less-explored corners of the world for Harper's, Outside, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, MIT Technology Review, Businessweek, and others, and his work has been anthologized in The Best American Science & Nature Writing and other collections. He has received awards from the James Beard Foundation, the Society of American Travel Writers, and the Overseas Press Club. He is the author of nine books, including A Geography of Oysters, Fruitless Fall, and Truffle Hound, several of which have been named to Best Book of the Year lists by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, NPR, and Publishers Weekly. He has performed with Pop-Up Magazine, lectured at Harvard and Yale, and appeared on CBS, NBC, and NPR. He has been an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow, writing about endangered diversity on the borderlands between India, Myanmar, and China; a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, focusing on the environmental and evolutionary impact of synthetic biology; and a Nova Media Fellow, researching the science of sun exposure.

Review Quotes:
"The sun provides our civilizations with light, warmth, dinner (via photosynthesis) and of late more and more of the power we use. It also provides our bodies, as this entertaining and informative account makes clear, with what they need. It's the only object in our universe we can't look at directly, but this sideways glance reminds us why we can't live without it." --Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun

"Sunlight and its effects on health have become the subject of polarized messaging, but the science is more nuanced than most people realize. In In Defense of Sunlight, Rowan Jacobsen offers an engaging, accessible look at the scientific evidence and raises important questions about how we think about, talk about, and understand the effects of sun exposure on human health. A fascinating read for anyone interested in health, prevention, and the unintended consequences of oversimplified advice from well-intentioned but siloed medical experts." --Adewole Adamson, MD, dermatologist and melanoma researcher, University of Texas

"The rigorously researched In Defense of Sunlight convinced my brain of what my body and soul already suspected: that used judiciously and with respect for its force, the sun is my friend and ally, not an enemy to be shunned." -- Kristi Coulter, author of Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career

"A comprehensive overview of the scientific evidence for the ability of sunlight to promote good health, In Defense of Sunlight simplifies scientific jargon and explains why there is harmony between sun exposure and our existence. Jacobsen describes his own awakening to the multifaceted benefits of sunlight and helps the reader to safely obtain similar rewards." --Prue Hart, Ph.D., MS researcher, Kids Research Institute Australia

"A much overdue wake up call for the significant public health risks imposed on humans by the modern built environment and the poorly considered medical advice on sunlight exposure." --Geoffrey Guy, D.Sc., founder of the Guy Foundation and author of Quantum Biology

"In this absorbing and fast-paced investigation, Rowan Jacobsen has responsibly reexamined the thinking about sunlight and human health and shown us a plausibly better way. Employing his typically dogged research style, he burns a shoe store's worth of shoe leather getting to the bottom of what is no less than a plot against nature. Avoid this book (and the sun) at your peril." --Paul Greenberg, bestselling author of Four Fish and The Climate Diet

Review Quotes:
"Clear-eyed...the sun-deprived among us would surely profit from Mr. Jacobsen's straightforward recommendations, which include getting outside every day and working in an environment with plenty of natural light." --Wall Street Journal

"A terrific book--well written, well researched, and genuinely thought-provoking. It is a must-read, and it will likely change the way you think about light, health, and wellbeing." --Alistair Nunn, The Guy Foundation

"Jacobsen presents an illuminating assessment of how solar energy impacts human health." -- Booklist, STARRED review

"Well-written, thoroughly documented...An engaging science-based 'energy diet' that advocates for appropriate doses of sunshine." --Kirkus Reviews

"An eye-opening investigation into the health benefits of sunlight...Illuminating and accessibly written, this will make readers want to head outside." --Publishers Weekly

Publisher Marketing:
Upending everything we thought we knew about sun exposure, this trenchant investigation into the "zero-sun policy" sounds the call on the many health benefits of the sun, and what we risk when we minimize our exposure.

A quiet revolution is transforming our understanding of sunlight's effects on human health. For decades, a "zero-sun" policy has characterized our approach to sun protection, advising us to stay out of the sun whenever possible and apply sunscreen daily to any skin that might be exposed, rain or shine, summer or winter, indoors or out. But recent studies have proved that this policy is thoroughly mistaken and that this prolific misunderstanding is causing us to miss out on many of the health benefits of sun exposure.

In this incisive work, acclaimed journalist Rowan Jacobsen presents the growing case for the importance of modest sun exposure for our health and well-being. Aided by the most up-to-date studies on the effects of sunlight on human health, Jacobsen presents a much-needed, lucid assessment of not only what the sun can do for us, but how a lack of sun could actively be harming us.

In Defense of Sunlight sounds the call on what researchers have been sure of for years, and what health care providers and media outlets have been slow to take up: that sunlight is one of the simplest, and most equitable, treatments for a variety of health issues, from diabetes to dementia to multiple sclerosis. Laying out the new science of sunlight in a straightforward and responsible manner for mainstream readers, this book is an eye-opening story of scientific discovery, outlining not only best practices for sun exposure, but the story of how current recommendations became misguided, how a few inquisitive scientists glimpsed the truth and deciphered the mechanisms responsible, and how everyone can safely incorporate this new knowledge into their daily lives. It also exposes the implicit injustice underlying current approaches, which benefit the whitest people on earth (who are the most susceptible to skin cancer) at the expense of those with darker skin (who suffer extremely low rates of skin cancer and have the most to gain from sun exposure).

A call for a return to common sense in our relationship with our local star, In Defense of Sunlight offers its own seven words of advice: Get sun. Not too much. Go outside.

Review Citations:

Booklist 04/01/2026 (EAN 9781668092163, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
Publishers Weekly 04/13/2026 (EAN 9781668092163, Hardcover)
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2026 (EAN 9781668092163, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Jacobsen, Rowan
Rowan Jacobsen writes about science and nature and the less-explored corners of the world for Harper's, Outside, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, MIT Technology Review, Businessweek, and others, and his work has been anthologized in The Best American Science & Nature Writing and other collections. He has received awards from the James Beard Foundation, the Society of American Travel Writers, and the Overseas Press Club. He is the author of nine books, including A Geography of Oysters, Fruitless Fall, and Truffle Hound, several of which have been named to Best Book of the Year lists by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, NPR, and Publishers Weekly. He has performed with Pop-Up Magazine, lectured at Harvard and Yale, and appeared on CBS, NBC, and NPR. He has been an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow, writing about endangered diversity on the borderlands between India, Myanmar, and China; a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, focusing on the environmental and evolutionary impact of synthetic biology; and a Nova Media Fellow, researching the science of sun exposure.