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Tinkering with Eden: A Natural History of Exotics in America Hardcover – January 1, 2001

by Kim Todd (Author), Claire Emery (Illustrator)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
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A fascinating natural history of non-native species currently living and thriving in America focuses on the various experiments, most well-intentioned, that introduced many foriegn life forms to the continent.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W W Norton & Co Inc
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393048608
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393048605
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Helped along their way by container ships and aircraft, by avid pet lovers and gardeners, by well-meaning biologists and profit-minded agriculturalists alike, exotic plant and animal species are an increasingly common feature of the North American landscape. Their presence, Kim Todd shows, is nothing new--nonnative animals and plants came with the first Europeans, and on their return voyages, they introduced American species to other parts of the world--but it is growing at an alarming rate, to the detriment of natives that are being crowded out of already contested habitats. "Subtraction," Todd writes, "is the underlying theme": as those species disappear, perhaps never to return, the American landscape takes on a depressing sameness from coast to coast, with less and less variety.

Echoing Peter Matthiessen's classic study Wildlife in America, Todd documents the disappearance of creatures such as the native passenger pigeon and the flourishing of the introduced rock dove; the passing of pure strains of trout with the arrival of hybridized Scottish and German varieties; the remaking of whole landscapes with the introduction of kudzu, Russian thistle, and even mosquitoes. Her well-documented account is grave, sometimes even alarming. But, Todd urges, the situation is not hopeless. No matter how besieged it may be, "the natural world will continue to rattle, buck, elude, and astonish us, serving up results far beyond the imagination." --Gregory McNamee

From Library Journal

Many people are aware that starlings and gypsy moths are exotic species, but readers may be surprised to learn that such common critters as honeybees, ladybug beetles, brown trout, ring-necked pheasants, and many others were intentional introductions. Each chapter of this carefully researched work by a former journalist recounts the situation or problem that prompted a human to try to improve on nature, by releasing a nonnative species. Todd does a good job of explaining motivations and helping provide understanding of why people did what they did. Each chapter concludes with a description of the consequences of the introduction. With genetically modified organisms and their release being debated, there may be renewed interest in the impact of exotics. The final chapter urges readers to develop a sense of biological history. Recommended for all ecology collections and larger public libraries. Nancy Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (January 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393048608
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393048605
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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Kim Todd

Kim Todd

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Kim Todd is an award-winning science and history writer.

Her most recent book is SENSATIONAL, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICA'S "GIRL STUNT REPORTERS" (HarperCollins 2021), a vivid work of narrative nonfiction that brings to light the writers who went undercover and into danger to expose the rot at the heart of the Gilded Age. Kirkus called it “An engaging and enlightening portrait of trailblazers who ‘challenged…views of what a woman should be.’”

Previous books include SPARROW (Reaktion 2012). Part of Reaktion Books popular "Animal Series," SPARROW explores the history and natural history of this much loved, much hated bird.

CHRYSALIS, MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN AND THE SECRETS OF METAMORPHOSIS (Harcourt, 2007) looks at the life of a pioneering explorer/ naturalist who traveled to South America in 1699 to study insect metamorphosis. The story also traces ideas about metamorphosis through time. The New Yorker called it a “spellbinding biography,” and Kirkus said CHRYSALIS was “a breathtaking example of scholarship and storytelling.” It was selected as one of 25 “Books to Remember” for 2008 by the New York Public Library. Research for CHRYSALIS led her to Surinam to retrace Merian's steps through the rain forest.

Her first book, TINKERING WITH EDEN, A NATURAL HISTORY OF EXOTIC SPECIES IN AMERICA (W.W. Norton 2001), tells the stories of non-native species and how they arrived in the United States. Species covered range from pigeons, brought over by some of the earliest colonists, to starlings, imported by a man who wanted to bring all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare to Central Park. The book explores our developing understanding of exotic species as we become more aware of the potential problems they may pose for native ecosystems. TINKERING WITH EDEN received the PEN/ Jerard Award and the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award and was selected as one of Booklist’s Top Ten Science/ Technical Books for 2001.

Todd has lectured extensively about Merian, women in history, and the intersection of history and biology, including talks at the Getty Museum, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Denver Botanical Gardens, and Wellesley College.

She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children. Please visit her at www.kimtodd.net.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

CHERYL CLINTON
5.0 out of 5 stars Becoming an Conscientious Gardener/Consumer/Caretaker of Earth, Our Home
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2013
I happened upon this book at one of those everything is a $ or less store.
Apologies to AMAZON...It was a remaindered book.

I was initially drawn in by the title. I began to think about the meaning behind the those 3 words. I began seeing how I, as the purchaser, & ultimately the consumer of these foods,
created the demand for these fruits, vegetables,& grains. And someone or a company, was willing to supply them to me, no matter the cost to all of us as well as to our environment & the other co-inhabitants who share our space.

We eat virtually every vegetable & fruit out of season, not to mention the nativity of the plant itself. We complain that our tomatoes don't taste like they used to, our corn when boiling smells faintly of fertilizer, etc.. There is a reason for this: we farmed it out of context of its unique & special environment, its area(s)of indigenousness.

Well intentioned for the most part, rapacious greed for others. We are, each of us, guilty of Tinkering with Eden. It is our culinary choices that fuel this lucrative market.
Not to mention floral trade. That has its own set of issues.

I ask the organic purveyor these questions: Do you know where your produce was/is grown, picked, packed? How was it transported, was its transportation distance greater than 200-300 miles? What is its carbon footprint? Is it truly organic?

Educate yourself. You owe it to yourself to learn about what you eat.

Great read. Illustrations are not the strong point. The words & the meaning behind the text however, are.
2 people found this helpful
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Cynthia J Kay
3.0 out of 5 stars Had to read
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2013
Verified Purchase
I wouldn't say it was a great book but I had to read it for school and the library and Barnes & Noble were out of stock. Somewhat interesting. The price was extremely affordable and arrived quickly.
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T. Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2009
This excellent book illustrates the growing problem of exotic species in America and the shocking ammount of effort spent trying to contain some of them. A must read for conservationists and anyone interested in the world we live in and how we interact with it.
2 people found this helpful
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Bugs
5.0 out of 5 stars The History and Results of Introduced Species in the U.S.
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2005
This is a powerful statement of the intentional to the inadvertent introduction of exotic species in America- history, biology, botany, sociobiology, anthropology and entomology all expertly woven together to produce and outstanding mural of cause and effect of our penchant for tinkering with Nature and it`s all too often deleterious side effects.

Kim Todd has joined the long list of other fine scientist who have learned to package their important observations in an accessible, fascinating, flowing, down to earth, easy to follow format- and she did all of this in her first book!

This book is well researched with fascinating and profound conclusions that culminate in a strong note of historically learned caution about the efficacy and advisability of "Tinkering with Eden"- indeed, it's not nice [or smart] to mess with Mother Nature!

Picture Laurel and Hardy in that famous line of consternation from Ollie, "Well, here's another fine mess you've gotten [us] into!", and to that we might add: Now look at what they're eating, whose bright idea [of species introduction] was this?

There are so many potent observations in this book that my copy is thoroughly marked-up. Starting just inside the front-cover flap is the gist of where the introduced species problems began: "When Europeans arrived in North America they saw on the one hand, a paradise, and on the other, a place that needed some work. Far from home and seeking to recreate the landscapes they'd left behind, or determined to improve on what they found, they introduced to their[?] new terrain an amazing array of exotics-plants and animals not native to this continent".

Some exotics were fairly benign and some were disturbingly ravenous as we see in chapter after chapter filled with examples exotic species-caused boondoggles and the desperate attempts to balance the damage with further introductions thereby creating a never ending vicious cycle.

On pigeons introduced by the French and left behind, there is: "They flew from Atlantic to Pacific as the Americans took the aftermath of their own revolution and built a nation with liberty, justice, and pigeons for all" (p 23)- all too true, unfortunately.

The beautiful front cover artwork is done by illustrator Claire Emery as are the fine line drawings throughout the book.
2 people found this helpful
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Mel Lippmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Science combined with beautiful writing.
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2001
A wonderful work that combines diligent scholarship with a fluid and literary prose style. As each section informed me of the circumstances leading to and the effects resulting from the introduction of non-native species to a virgin environment, I found myself enchanted by the beauty of the language and the strength of the narrative flow. Each chapter reads like a literary short story.
6 people found this helpful
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P. D.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good intro to invasive species
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2005
Todd's book is a great introduction to the topic of invasive species. The layperson can easily read through this book and not worry about dry scientific methodology getting in the way for the information Todd presents. Kim Todd writes a smooth account of various, some lesser known exotic species that have made a home for themselves in North America.
2 people found this helpful
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