Overrun: Dispatches from the Asian Carp Crisis

”A thorough look at an important — and multifaceted — topic.” — Publishers Weekly

“With a journalist’s critical eye and storytelling ability . . . Overrun is more than an engaging story about nuisance fish. This eye-opening book demonstrates the interrelationship of species, the climate, and the environment.” — Foreword Reviews

“Overrun is a whip-smart romp through the dystopian history of Asian carp, that wrecking ball of aquatic ecosystems in North America. But in telling it, Reeves charts a sustainable future for the waterways that connect all of us on the continent. An environmental writer as good as Reeves gives me hope.” — Harry Thurston, winner of the Lane Anderson Award for Excellence in Canadian Science Writing and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award

“A riveting “can’t put it down” book about fish? You bet! Andrew Reeves takes us on a dizzying journey along the waterways of North America with a rich cast of fish farmers, environmentalists, hustlers, scientists and befuddled politicians as we follow the murderous and seemingly unstoppable advance of Asian Carp that now threaten the Great Lakes themselves. This is a very important book to heed if we want to save this watershed.” — Maude Barlow, author of Boiling Point

“In shining a light on the many facets of one of the most wicked problems besetting the planet — the spread of invasive species — Andrew Reeves shows us how to see with compassion and intelligence, and how to voice a range of perspectives while holding in tension the need to embrace complexity and the urgency of choosing worthy solutions. This book is important not merely for its topic but for its nuanced and thoughtful approach.” — Trevor Herriot, naturalist and author of Islands of Grass, and River in a Dry Land

“His book will win embraces from fellow environmentalists, from marine biologists and from geologists specializing in rivers.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“This is top-notch investigative reporting mixed with some great scene-setting and insightful observations about one of the continent's most pressing environmental issues.” — Outdoor Canada

“A gracefully composed exemplar of the human species’ disputatious struggle to protect its own habitat while those of so many other species are disappearing or shifting.” — Wall Street Journal

“Overall, Overrun presents a saga of human short-sightedness, not evil . . . And so it’s here,  at the intersection of science, politics, economics and the ecology of Asian carp in North America, that we can discover how a single unwelcome fish has changed how we think about invasive species, binational and bipartisan cooperation on the environment and the fate of our rivers and Great Lakes.” — MinnPost

“The definitive narrative of carp in America. Reeves chronicles the complex web of good intentions, imperfect science, and different agencies and entities working at cross purposes that led to the carpification of U.S. waterways. His tour through the quest to regain control is compelling and comprehensive. In the end, Reeves takes a broad and holistic view of the issue, pointing out that fighting a few enemy fish species in the absence of meaningfully addressing the pollution, land management, water management, and climate change that create the conditions for carp to thrive is like dueling with our own shadow. The carp is the symptom, not the disease. A must-read for those who love the Mississippi River watershed and the Great Lakes, for those interested in “invasive” species, for sport fishers and environmental historians.” — Emma Marris, author of Rambunctious Garden

“This detailed account of the invasion of Asian carp into North American waterways reads like a Kurt Vonnegut novel or science fiction. Yet the carp’s unbelievable progress splashes another clear warning about how so-called solutions have become the chief cause of our problems.” — Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Empire of the Beetle

"With deep reporting and smart writing, Andrew Reeves not only illuminates the long, strange tale of the Asian carp in North America but also shows us its underlying truths. This is a story about cities and water, food and soil, humans and other species — and one fantastically troublesome fish." — Michelle Nijhuis, Science Journalist and winner of the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award

“Reeves’s book is original, refreshing, and occasionally surprising because it challenges conventional thinking on how the problem began and what we can do to solve it . . . Along with creatively detailing the introduction of Asian carp and the negative effects on the ecosystem, Reeves gives a thorough accounting of what we're doing to solve the problem. In plain, simple language, he breaks down the complicated control and prevention measures . . . Despite the complexity of the problem and the mitigation methods, Reeves doesn’t get bogged down in jargon. He skillfully connects the dots between scientific intervention and the major policy decisions that affect everyday people.” — Literary Review of Canada