Reviews

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

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

Houston Chronicle
"A captivating odyssey, a physical and intellectual journey in which the author blends travel, science, adventure, people and philosophy in his search for how humans and global commerce are affecting life on Earth."

Salon.com
"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."

The Boston Globe
"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..."

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
"An absorbing blend of travelogue, human interest story and scientific tale."

Conservation in Practice
"A journey through some of the world's more devastated ecosystems in the company of a tour guide whose sense of curiosity is matched only by his blazing intellect.... I wish I had written this book. I am glad, at least, to have found it. Burdick's writing exhibits an intelligence and a resonance that few nature writers since Aldo Leopold have managed to master."

OnEarth
"At every turn thought provoking and timely."

Natural History
"One lesson of Burdick's odyssey is that there is no such thing as a 'state' of nature--only a continuous dynamism that challenges our ability to understand, preserve, and manage."

Issues in Science and Technology
"The achievement of Out of Eden lies in its multifaceted view of biological invasions.... [Burdick] seeks a more fundamental truth and has thus produced a fascinating review of how society and nature are entwined in today's global community."

NewScientist
"Highly readable and thought-provoking."

Seattle Times
"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."

Nature Canada
"A first-person narrative that is engrossing, witty and reflective..."

Science News
"A fascinating meditation on the meanings of 'natural' and 'alien.'"

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

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

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

Robert Sullivan
"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...

Mary Roach
"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."...

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