"A terrific piece of ecological reporting" I love its dispassionate tone and broad, ultimately sanguine perspective."
--Washington Post

"Burdick’s account of the researchers who struggle with this largely thankless work is graceful and inviting."
--The New York Times Book Review

"For people trying to figure out how our species fits, or doesn't, into the natural order, there is no more interesting subject than the blending of the native and the exotic. And no more interesting an introduction than this fine book... One of the most comprehensive and readable accounts of the phenomenon..."
--Bill McKibben in the Boston Globe

"His tour through the burgeoning discipline of invasion ecology is nuanced, judicious and often delightful; in the finest tradition of science writing, Burdick delivers the hard stuff on a granular level while also pursuing a more philosophical and personal muse."
--Salon.com

"Highly readable and thought-provoking."
--NewScientist

"A wonderful book for anyone interested in the least about the mysteries of ecological dynamism, our considerable role in shaping it and often lame attempts to control it."
--Seattle Times

"A captivating book with wide-ranging appeal."
-- Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"A silkily written excursion into the evolution of ecosystems and the possible threats to biodiversity from newcomers."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Surprising, delightful and sobering — it will take your breath away."
--Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink

"Out of Eden is an expertly reported and deftly detailed field trip — to Tasmania, to the high seas, to a sewer-like California catchbasin — that reads like a mystery you can't put down. What Alan Burdick so dramatically reveals (and what science is just beginning to fully understand) is that nature is drastically more dynamic and more constantly changing than we ever imagined. It may be that no land was ever unspoiled, that Eden was full of so-called pests — that nature never really existed."
--Robert Sullivan, author of Rats

"Combining personal meditation, travel narrative, and excellent reportage, Out of Eden creates a rich and panoramic view of life on our planet."
--Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams

"Alan Burdick is my new favorite writer. I love the quiet poetry of his prose; his pitch-perfect wit; and his calm, potent mastery of the facts. I actually stop and think, 'Wow,' as I'm reading."
--Mary Roach, author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers