I loved this book, which manages to be both kind of depressing and pretty inspirational. Dan O'Brien gets at the loneliness and economic heartbreak of the great plains better than anything I've read since _Giants in the Earth_--it's amazing how little has changed in a century. Just when you think all is lost he discovers buffalo ranching, and the beauty and organic nature of that enterprise is enhanced by all the failed efforts at cattle ranching that preceded it. While I'm excited about buying some of Dan's all-natural bison meat, the book is far more than a lengthy advertisement or even any kind of polemic against conventional beef raising on the plains. To me, this guy has a wonderful writing voice...straightforward, not self-indulgent, to the point...I say that's great plains style at its best.
I picked this up a few days ago during a stop in South Dakota on my way from Wyoming back to Chicago. It's been a pleasure having it around to share my trip with. The only downside is that I'm almost finished, and I'm dying to know what's happened to the people, the land, and (naturally) to the buffalo herd since the book was published in 2001.
It's clear how much he loves his subject and there were times reading his descriptions of the Great Plains that it was all I could do to get back in the car and keep heading East. It's hard to explain why landscape that can be so harsh and unforgiving can be so easy to love, but Mr. O'Brien does it a fair turn. If you're thinking of heading out to South Dakota and you have any interest in what life is like for the people who struggle to survive there, then this book is a good place to start.
First hand knowledge of the Great Plains struggle
As I've been involved in agriculture my whole life, I tense up when I start reading generalizations about the industry. But this author has lived it himself and presents alternatives and kindly criticism in a very non judgmental way. It was interesting, provocative, and exciting to see someone so passionate about their calling in life. A great read for entertainment or to make you think.
A Dose of Optimism
These are tough days for those of us who care about wild places. Our society is embarked on a blind crusade to fragment, pave and develop landscapes at all possible speed. Our environmental movement is stuck in the mud, beset with clashing personalities, fighting the wrong battles, and spending more time squabbling with its natural allies than fighting real foes. Into this scene comes a book with a plan. Dan O'Briens' proposal to return the native fauna to his ranch in the west isn't new, but his novel advances the idea with force, grace, and even a certain magic. He makes a strong case for an alternative set of values, one that reminds me of Aldo Leopolds' Ecological Land Ethic. O'Brien makes a case that by being responsible stewards of the land we will save not just ecological communities, but also our own souls. It is a much needed message of hope. A friend lent me the book saying only "I think you will like it". Like it I did. Dan O'Brien gets it like few people do, and his writing complements the power of his ideas. This guy is flying under the radar, but I'm glad to have stumbled across this book.
