in The Last Three Decades Of The Nineteenth Century, An American Buffalo Herd Once Numbering 30 Million Animals Was Reduced To Twenty-three. It Was The Era Of Manifest Destiny, A Gilded Age That Viewed The West As Nothing More Than A Treasure Chest Of Resources To Be Dug Up Or Shot Down. Supporting Hide Hunters Was The U.s. Army, Which Considered The Eradication Of The Buffalo Essential To Victory In Its Ongoing War On Native Americans.   into That Maelstrom Rode Young George Bird Grinnell. A Scientist And A Journalist, A Hunter And A Conservationist, Grinnell Would Lead The Battle To Save The Buffalo From Extinction. Fighting In The Pages Of Magazines, In Washington’s Halls Of Power, And In The Frozen Valleys Of Yellowstone, Grinnell And His Allies Sought To Preserve An Icon. Grinnell Shared His Adventures With Some Of The Greatest And Most Infamous Characters Of The American West—from John James Audubon And Buffalo Bill To George Armstrong Custer And Theodore Roosevelt. last Stand Is A Strikingly Contemporary Story: The Saga Of Grinnell And The Buffalo Was The First National Battle Over The Environment. Grinnell’s Legacy Includes The Birth Of The Conservation Movement As A Potent Political Force.
audubon “michael Punke’s Meticulously Researched last Stand Chronicles The Transformation Of The Great Plains From Untouched Wilderness In The Mid-19th Century To A Land, Less Than 30 Years Later, Where The Future Of Wildlife Hung In The Balance.” — audubon (editors’ Choice)

Michael Punke

Bison Books

United States, United States of America

Lincoln, Nebraska, 2009

Lincoln, c2009

Originally published: New York : Smithsonian Books, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to twelve. It was the era of Manifest Destiny, a Gilded Age that treated the West as nothing more than a treasure chest of resources to be dug up or shot down. The buffalo in this world was a commodity, hounded by legions of swashbucklers and unemployed veterans seeking to make their fortunes. Supporting these hide hunters, even buying their ammunition, was the U.S. Army, which considered the eradication of the buffalo essential to victory in its ongoing war on Native Americans.Into that maelstrom rode young George Bird Grinnell. A scientist and a journalist, a hunter and a conservationist, Grinnell would lead the battle to save the buffalo from extinction. Fighting in the pages of magazines, in Washington's halls of power, and in the frozen valleys of Yellowstone, Grinnell and his allies sought to preserve an icon from the grinding appetite of Robber Baron America. Grinnell shared his adventures with some of the greatest and most infamous characters of the American West — from John James Audubon and Buffalo Bill to George Armstrong Custer and Theodore Roosevelt (Grinnell's friend and ally). A strikingly contemporary story, the saga of Grinnell and the buffalo was the first national battle over the environment. In Grinnell's legacy is the birth of the conservation movement as a potent political force.

This is a strikingly contemporary story: the saga of George Bird Grinnell and the buffalo was the first American battle over the environment. Grinnell's legacy includes the birth of the conservation movement as a potent political force.

xvi, 286 p. : 23 cm
Originally published: New York : Smithsonian Books, 2007
Includes bibliographical references and index

2023-06-28