American Chestnut The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree

“Reads smoothly, like a well-written novel. . . . A thoroughly absorbing book.”—Library Journal

“Delivers a spellbinding microhistory teeming with tales of conviction, ambition, frustration, and just plain luck. With poetic sensibility and crystalline objectivity, Freinkel artfully explains the effect of this historic annihilation and cogently explores the practical and philosophical challenges that lie ahead.”—Booklist

“A moving portrait. . . . Freinkel’s fine reportage sparkles.”—Natural History

“Not about the goods produced from the great trees but about the way humans have tried to intervene in a natural process that has taken a material from their midst.”—Winterthur Portfolio: Journal of American Material Culture

“Engrossing and compelling. . . . The last word of this very good book is ‘hope.’”—American Studies Journal

“(Freinkel) makes a fine narrator. . . . You’ll find yourself rooting for a cure.”—Utne Reader

“Highly recommend it to anyone who cares about nature and perhaps this should be a required reading for all biology/ecology/environmental science students.”—Wildlife Activist

“Describes those who witnessed the American chestnut's demise, such as seeing hillsides of “gray ghosts” - skeletal remains of still-standing trees. People also reported hearing the sickening “thuds,” audible from the front porch, as yet another giant would topple to the ground. . . . If this tale has whetted your appetite for learning more about chestnuts, [it] will not disappoint!”—Picayune Item

"In prose as strong and quietly beautiful as the American chestnut itself, Susan Freinkel profiles the silent catastrophe of a near-extinction and the impassioned struggle to bring a species back from the brink. Freinkel is a rare hybrid: equally fluid and in command as a science writer and a chronicler of historical events, and graced with the poise and skill to seamlessly graft these talents together. A perfect book."—Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Spook

"A spellbinding, heart wrenching, and uplifting account of the American chestnut that asks the vastly important question: Have we learned enough, and do we care enough, to begin healing some of the wounds we've inflicted on the natural world?"—Scott Weidensaul, author of Return to Wild America and Mountains of the Heart

"This is a beautifully written account of the passing of one of the botanical wonders of the North American landscape, the American chestnut tree, which was nearly extirpated by a plague that entered the ecosystem and swept these great trees away. Freinkel, a gifted writer whose research is impeccable and whose reporting is topnotch, tells of the impassioned work of scientists over the past century and up to today, trying to bring the American chestnut back from the brink of extinction. Only a person in love with trees could have written this lovely book."—Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone and The Wild Trees

"Graceful, provocative, and inspiring. Thoreau would be proud."—Alan Burdick, author of Out of Eden, a 2005 National Book Award finalist

"In this beautifully written volume, Susan Freinkel ably describes the marriage of science and passion that is being brought to bear to save this majestic American tree from extinction. The people whose ancestors lived among chestnut trees and their places come alive for the reader, as does the appearance and spread of the blight and the heroes who are struggling with it today. The book concludes with a tantalizing vision of chestnuts in the forests again—a thought of making the world right where it has gone wrong."—Peter H. Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden