Seemingly Comprehensive Review Of Its Field Marred By Dearth Of Bibliography. This is one of those books you pick up randomly because "hey, I don't actually know more than the very rough basics about the American Prairie", and it will actually give you a largely well rounded view of the entire topic, from its ancient origins and pre-European development through the Indian Wars/ Manifest Destiny era and through the Dust Bowl years all the way up to mostly current farming tech/ practices in the region. Yes, the commentary is titled perhaps a touch toward the left side of the dial, but honestly it wasn't anywhere near as pervasive or preachy as some other similar texts tend to get, so eh, it was enough to mention here but now I'm moving on.

No, the real problem, at least with the Advance Review Copy edition I read roughly 6 months before publication, is the dearth of a bibliography, clocking in at just 7% of the overall text - a far cry from even the 15% of my newly relaxing standard for bibliography length, much less the 20-30% of my former standard. So that's the star deduction - for all of the facts presented, there simply isn't anywhere near enough bibliography to back them up - much less the more editorial commentary.

Overall a seemingly strong primer on the topic, I know I learned a lot about a lot here, and I suspect many will as well. I simply wish it had been better documented.

Very much recommended.

I learned so much from this book. Not only was the history of the American prairie fantastic to learn, but the author s tackled some pretty intense subjects in an easy way to understand. As a student of natural histories, I definitely found this book one of the best ones on the subject. Can't wait to recommend it to my book group!

My problem with this book is not that’s it’s irrelevant or poorly written. I have just been reading books that are on overlapping topics having to do with natural history and I was aware of many issues covered in this book. For example, I recently read Timothy Egan’s Worst Hard Time and this book also has a chapter on the dust bowl. I belong to the Native Plant Society and worked at university agriculture research department so I am aware of the issues and learning more all the time. It’s not as grim as people think there are conservation ranching projects like the Bamberger Preserve in Texas that all over the country. Agricultural researchers are looking at alternatives for cattle feed (insects) and biofuels (sea algae) that do not require pesticides and water resources.