Kim Todd

Chrysalis, Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis
Before Darwin, before Audubon, there was Merian. An artist turned naturalist known for her stunning butterfly images, she was born just sixteen years after Galileo proclaimed that the earth orbited the sun. But at the age of fifty she sailed from Europe to the New World on a solo scientific expedi­tion to study insect metamorphosis—an unheard-of journey for any naturalist at that time, much less a woman. When she returned she produced a book that secured her reputation, only to have it savaged in the nineteenth century by scientists who disdained the work of “amateurs.”

Tinkering with Eden, A Natural History of Exotics in America
Tinkering with Eden, a Natural History of Exotics in America, 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.

Dad Reckoning
Grist Magazine, June 15, 2006
How my father taught me to leave cars behind.

Tracking the Snow Cat
Sierra Magazine, March/April, 2003
Hot on the trail of the lynx--the northern woods' most secretive predator

Are You Big Foot?
Sierra Magazine, January/February, 2003
Most Americans—even those of us who consider ourselves environmentalists—use far more than their share of the planet.

Botanically Correct
Grist Magazine, November 6, 2002
A new language is needed to win the day for native species.