Books
Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters”
A vivid history that brings to light the “girl stunt reporters” who went undercover and into danger to expose the rot at the heart of the Gilded Age.
In the waning years of the nineteenth century, female journalists across the United States risked reputation and their own safety to expose the hazardous conditions under which many Americans lived and worked. In various disguises, they stole into sewing factories to report on child labor, fainted in the streets to test public hospital treatment, posed as lobbyists to reveal corrupt politicians. Inventive writers whose in-depth narratives made headlines for weeks at a stretch, these “girl stunt reporters” changed laws, helped launch a labor movement, championed women’s rights, and redefined journalism for the modern age.
For a preview, read my article on stunt reporters in Smithsonian.
Praise for Sensational:
“In Todd’s able hands, we learn about these daring young women, about their lives and times, their work, their editors and mentors, their torments and loves, their interconnections, and, best of all, their real legacy. These young reporters demonstrated the power of personal narrative to rivet public attention on society’s seen and unseen ills and incite the quest for remedy — a tradition that endures today.” — Brooke Kroeger, author of Nellie Bly: Daredevil. Reporter. Feminist
“Sensational brings the stories and battles of Gilded Age newspaperwomen to gritty, effervescent life. The greatest achievements of undercover journalism — public health reforms, labor protections, and heightened awareness of our flawed criminal justice system — can be traced back to this fascinating group of writers, whose close-held dreams and professional compromises feel all too familiar today.” —Stephanie Gorton, author of Citizen Reporters
“The perfect read for these crazy days. I was transfixed and inspired by the stories of women who dared to cross boundaries and report the truth. I plan to send copies to my mom, sisters, and brilliant female friends — Sensational, The Hidden History of America's ‘Girl Stunt Reporters’ gave me hope and reminded me, as Todd writes, of 'life's rich possibility.'”— Amanda Ward, author of The Jetsetters
“Kim Todd's spirited tour of Gilded Age "girl reporters" casts a welcome light on these trailblazing women determined to make their mark. The beam is even keener on American journalism shouldering its way toward our own media-drenched world. Nellie Bly, a heroine here, has never faded from cultural memory, but Todd presents a whole sisterhood of intrepid correspondents.” — Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day and The Florist's Daughter
“At the height of the turn-of-the century newspaper wars, these “girl reporters” did their work for the same reasons men did — a keen sense of social justice, along with a taste for adventure and writerly fame. Their gender (and the anonymity it provided) often gave them a leg up in reporting, drew in hordes of excited readers — and, of course, held back their careers and suppressed their pay. Sensational is an illuminating look at female pioneers working at a key moment in American journalism.” — Liza Mundy, author of Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II
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Interested in reading Sensational in your book club? Check out this discussion guide to get you started.
Sparrow
Innocent. Invader. Lover. Thief. Sparrows are everywhere and wear many guises. Able to live in the Arctic and the desert, from Beijing to San Francisco, the house sparrow is the most ubiquitous wild bird in the world. They are the subject of elegies by Catullus and John Skelton and listed as “pretty things” in Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book—but they’re also urban vermin with shocking manners that were so reviled that Mao placed them on the list of Four Pests and suggested they be killed on sight. Sparrow explores the bird's complex history and biology, and examines the recent decline of house sparrows in cities globally. The disappearance of a bird that seemed hardwired for success remains an ornithological mystery.
“Todd’s aim in this charming celebration is to enrich our appreciation of the bird named from the Old English for flutterer.” — The Guardian
“As part of Reaktion’s wonderfully eccentric modern bestiary, Sparrow hops around that space between popular culture and natural history, poking at attitudes, pinching stories from across the globe, and being cheeky and serious at the same time.” — BBC Wildlife magazine
Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis
Before Darwin, before Audubon, there was Maria Sibylla Merian. Chrysalis tells the dramatic story of a woman's scientific expedition to the New World to study insect metamorphosis at a time when such a journey was almost unthinkable. In 1699, at age 52, Merian sailed from Amsterdam to South America. For two years she stalked the tropical wilderness looking for the caterpillars that were her passion and sketching her discoveries on scraps of parchment. Her careful observations of iridescent blue morpho butterflies and giant flying cockroaches laid the groundwork for modern-day biological science, particularly ecology. But her accomplishments were mostly dismissed and then forgotten in the nineteenth century when scientists feared they would be discredited if they built on the work of "amateurs."
"A breathtaking example of scholarship and storytelling, enriched by ample illustrations of Merian’s work." —Kirkus (starred review)
"In this spellbinding biography, Todd interweaves the life of Maria Sibylla Merian, a German artist and naturalist who became famous in the seventeenth century for her engravings of caterpillars, with the intellectual and scientific history of metamorphosis." —The New Yorker
"Todd (Tinkering with Eden, 2001) emulates Merian’s richly contextual approach in her vivid descriptions of every facet of her subject’s vibrant world as she insightfully chronicles Merian’s extraordinary life as the daughter of a prominent Frankfurt publisher, an artist’s wife in Nuremberg, a member of an isolated religious community, a renowned scientist and artist in progressive Amsterdam, and the practitioner of pioneering fieldwork in the rain forest of Surinam. In spite of systematic misogyny, Merian made invaluable discoveries in sync with Leeuwenhoek’s development of the microscope and Linnaeus’ grand classification scheme, yet was soon forgotten. Todd’s discerning analysis and deep appreciation resurrect Merian and reclaim her still vital achievements, ensuring that Merian will stand as the resourceful and courageous visionary she truly was." —Booklist (starred review)
Now available as an audiobook.
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Interested in reading Chrysalis in your book club? Check out this discussion guide to get you started.
Tinkering with Eden: A Natural History of Exotic Species in America
Since Europeans arrived in North America, exotic species have flooded in, becoming so prevalent that many Americans can't tell which species are native and which are not. Tinkering with Eden tells the stories of seventeen of these species, from the starling, introduced in 1890 by a man who wanted to bring all the birds mentioned in the plays of Shakespeare to New York's Central Park, to the gypsy moth, imported by a naturalist who was trying to breed a silk worm that would survive New England winters. The book details the disasters unleashed with many exotics, as well as the few success stories, like the Vedalia ladybug from Australia that saved the California citrus industry.
"You really can't fool Mother Nature, as Kim Todd vividly shows in her fascinating, cautionary first book." —New York Times Book Review
"Tinkering with Eden is that rare thing, a profoundly important cautionary tale that is at the same time, both illuminating and entertaining." —William Kittredge, author of Nature of Generosity
"Reaching back to the original farmers, crackpots, and scientists who opened this biological Pandora's box, Todd uncovers a Greek tragedy of human heedlessness. . . . [B]eautifully written natural history." — Outside Magazine
"Tinkering with Eden—a fascinating narrative enhanced by Todd's far-reaching research and rich story-telling abilities—explores nature and humankind's relationship to it. A former newspaper reporter, the author has a fresh voice, an inquisitive mind and the instinct to ask questions about ordinary things the rest of us take for granted. Her book will interest any caring observer of our environment or lover of mystery." — Bookpage