American Serengeti
The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains

File under preaching to the choir. Ideally, this book is meant for people who need convincing that the American great plains are a land of majestic beauty. I’m already onboard. I’ve driven across the USA, coast-to-coast, four times. I always joke that there will never be a fifth time. I’d do it in a t......more

a moving snapshot of what we had on the Great Plains and a hanging-by-a-thread dream of what we might have again ... Dan doesn't resort to name calling, rather he paints a picture and in the process gives us a treasure ... none of us will see the Plains as they were intended, as they evolved 10,000......more

Once upon a time, the Great Plains of the western U.S. resembled the Serengeti of Africa, a vast prairie inhabited by abundant wildlife. Each year, during the wet season, grasslands produce far more new biomass than forests do, per unit of land. The greenery converts sunlight into carbohydrates, nut......more

There is an incredible amount of history, both human and wildlife packed into this book. I learned a lot about the Great Plains and the book left me with such a sadness for a place that has been stolen well before I ever had a chance to see it as it was. I have been to the African Serengeti and to t......more

Dances with Wolves and a textbook have a lovechild 2.5. Written with the luxury of 21st century morality and hindsight. The author often diverges from a scientific look at the NA Midwest, pre & post Anglo contact, to hop on the conveniently located soapbox and anthropomorphize the animals of the plai......more