Customer Reviews

Prairie: A Natural History

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The Great Plains of the North America extend from Alberta to Texas and from the Rockies to the Mississippi river. It's the heartland of America.

This book, profusely illustrated and reverantly written is the story of the heartland. While it is the story of people, it's more the story of the land itself. It's the story of ancient seas, of Tyannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, and grass. Grass, seemingly engless miles of grass. Tall grass, short grass, drought resistent grass, food for the buffalo that wandered here in vast herds.

Of course the book talks about man's impact on the land. Farming plants a handful of crop species, where 5,000 wild plants grow in the Great Plains.

The future has to be discussed in a book like this, and for once the news is not all bad. To be sure, there are species at risk, but the overall picture is certainly one of hope.

A fascinating book on an area that is rarely thought about, let along the subject of books.

I love the prairie, no doubt about that, and I'm proud to have been born and raised in the vast expanse of the middle of the great continent. The prairie brings a unique feeling of solitude, quietude, and openness that can be found not many places else in the world. I fully recommend this book to those that love the prairie, but also to those who are not interested at all in the vast expanse, who, as the book asserts, would rather get across it as quickly as possible. Scientifically and emotionally written, it is a beautiful book, with many illustrations, one that is worthy to be read.

I found this to be a well written, high quality book that should prove to be a great read for anyone. The language is easy to understand which makes it a good leisure read but at the same time it provides a wealth of information about wildlife, habitats, environments, and interactions that, as a grad student, I still found very interesting and informative.

The book is very well written, and the many artful photos in the book really make me wish I could spend a whole summer in the prairies. The author knows what she's talking about for certain. I could just keep on reading such educating books.

"PRAIRIE: A Natural History" (second edition) by Candace Savage

Candace Savage has done an absolutely phenomenal job with this book. It is coherent and eminently knowledgeable. It is comprehensive and yet thorough. It is wonderfully "readable" and beautifully illustrated. It is, I'm certain, a book that John Muir, Aldo Leopold and Rachael Carson would all be thrilled to read. Any reader with even the slightest interest in the prairie world will find "PRAIRIE: A Natural History" a delight.
I have one serious criticism to offer, however, though not of the text or author. The book was printed and bound in China and, to me, that is extremely disappointing.

An excellent book. Well written and scientifically accurate. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is enchanted with the beauty and grandeur of the North American prairie.