American Chestnut: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree [Hardcover]

Susan Freinkel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0520247302 | ISBN-13: 978-0520247307 | Edition: 1

The American chestnut was one of America's most common, valued, and beloved trees--a "perfect tree" that ruled the forests from Georgia to Maine. But in the early twentieth century, an exotic plague swept through the chestnut forests with the force of a wildfire. Within forty years, the blight had killed close to four billion trees and left the species teetering on the brink of extinction. It was one of the worst ecological blows to North America since the Ice Age--and one most experts considered beyond repair. In American Chestnut, Susan Freinkel tells the dramatic story of the stubborn optimists who refused to let this cultural icon go. In a compelling weave of history, science, and personal observation, she relates their quest to save the tree through methods that ranged from classical plant breeding to cutting-edge gene technology. But the heart of her story is the cast of unconventional characters who have fought for the tree for a century, undeterred by setbacks or skeptics, and fueled by their dreams of restored forests and their powerful affinity for a fellow species.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the first years of the 20th century, a mysterious blight began to infect the majestic American chestnut trees of the east. Thirty years later, as many as four billion had been felled by a virulent scourge from Asia, sweeping like a relentless wildfire through forests from Maine to Georgia. Freinkel's enthralling synthesis of science and sentiment chronicles the devastating impact of the chestnut tree's precipitous disappearance on generations of hardscrabble Appalachian homesteaders, who lost a flavorful nugget of nutrition that got their families through bitter winters, and on flummoxed but determined botanists, who battled with politicians in the early 1900s about the best way to halt the blight's inexorable advance. As the presence of towering stands of the perfect tree faded into melancholic memory, she shows that resolute citizens and scientists have set out, with almost religious fervor, to resurrect the dead—with signs of success. Detailed explanations of the science of crossbreeding, hypovirulence (fighting disease by infecting the infection) and genetic engineering often make for heavy if informative slogging. But time after time, this impassioned book strikes resonant emotional chords that transform dry facts into dynamic prose. (Nov.)
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Review

"A moving portrait. . . . Freinkel's fine reportage sparkles."--Natural History

"A tale of the functional extinction of what was once one of the most economically valuable and ecologically important trees."--American Scientist

"Engrossing and compelling."--American Studies Journal

"Will not disappoint!"--Picayune Item

"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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (November 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520247302
• ISBN-13: 978-0520247307
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #935,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Freinkel writes about the intersection of science, culture and the environment. Raised in Evanston, IL, she studied history at Wesleyan University, and journalism at Columbia University. After working several years as a daily reporter for the Wichita Eagle-Beacon, she moved to San Francisco to cover legal affairs and the business of law for The Recorder newspaper and American Lawyer magazine. She got interested in science when she started writing about health and medicine as a staff writer for Health magazine. Now a free-lancer, her work has appeared in national publications including the New York Times, Discover, Smithsonian and Reader's Digest. Her interests run wide: she's covered stories ranging from mad cow disease to a vitamin treatment for bipolar disorder, from adoption to the case for zoos to the quest to develop a blue rose. A story about a disease plaguing California oak trees led to her first book, American Chestnut: The Life, Death and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree. It won a 2008 National Outdoor Book Award. After immersing herself in the natural world for that book, she turned her attention to the unnatural world for her next book, Plastic: A Toxic Love Story.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent book, worthy of its subject November 24, 2007

By Jack Flack

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Somehow over the last 100 years the American public has come to believe that the oak tree is THE all American tree, THE symbol of strength and longevity. Well, this book reminds us of what the American public has forgotten, that the oak tree once had a big brother, a tree that grew faster, grew taller, and lived longer. A tree that produced a wood as rot resistant as redwood, and every fall gave us very tasty and highly nutritious nuts. It was indeed as close to a perfect tree as you can imagine.

This is a great book not only because it tells the tale of the American chestnut and its near demise so well, but also because it goes into great detail about the current restoration efforts and the often hidden "political" battles inside the major organization fighting to restore the chestnut, the American Chestnut Foundation.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet as a Nut December 8, 2007

By Dr. Eugene S. Morton

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a biologist with an intense avocational interest in the American Chestnut, I planted nearly a hundred seeds on my property in PA way back in 1972. After 8 years of beautiful growth, the blight hit them. I joined the American Chestnut Foundation and discovered a hypovirulent chestnut on my property that I shared with professionals studying the blight fungus. But my interest in chestnuts waned, in part because of the ACF's backcrossing program, until I read Susan Freinkel's marvelous book! The people I knew only as names became personalities--Burnham, Rutter, Hebard--and she introduced me to others, such as Gary and Lucille Griffen, whose work she described finally explained to me why the hypovirulent inoculants I applied to my chestnuts back in 1980 didn't help at all. It's the combination of genetic resistance with hypovirulence that is needed. What an eye opener and what a fantastic book she has written, one that has rekindled my youthful interest in restoring the role of the American Chestnut. Her book supports the huge role natural history plays in producing good science. Passion for a species is a natural element in knowing it.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars eloquent and wry October 23, 2007

By A. Bartlett

Format:Hardcover

In Freinkel's eloquent and wry telling of the story of the American chestnut tree's demise and subsequent attempts to revive it, she raises compelling questions: what does it mean to lose a species, and what do our efforts to bring it back say about us? At the start, it made me want to find a lovely tree to curl up under and read all day. At the end, it made me look at trees and those who are working to save them with new appreciation. Equal parts mystery and poetry, history and science, comedy and tragedy, American Chestnut's reach is as wide and gracious and impressive as this tree's branches once were.