The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephen R. Jones
Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.53
You Save: $8.42 (42%)
New (23) Used (13) from $2.91
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 732330
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 007135347X
Dewey Decimal Number: 508.782
EAN: 9780071353472
ASIN: 007135347X
Publication Date: May 23, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Running 100 miles from north to south and 200 miles from east to west, the Sandhills make up about a quarter of the state of Nebraska and constitute the largest grass-stabilized dune field in the Western Hemisphere. Sparsely settled, the region has inspired a fine literature, numbering books by Jim Harrison, Mari Sandoz, and Merrill Gilfillan, among other writers. Stephen Jones's The Last Prairie is a welcome, elegant addition to that library. An inspired blend of science, natural history, ethnography, and memoir, it recounts Jones's travels along the Niobrara River and deep into the heart of dune country--once the province of buffalo, cranes, and scattered bands of Pawnee and Cheyenne Native Americans, now the site of huge ranches and, as Jones notes, an army of white-tailed deer and other former denizens of wetland forests that edged out onto the plains with the disappearance of large predators. "When it comes to ecosystem disturbances," Jones notes, "the white-tailed deer are just the tip of the iceberg," and indeed the Sandhills are threatened at every turn by industrial agriculture and other manifestations of putative progress. Jones considers some of the programs that have been advanced to save the area, including the apparently ill-advised "Buffalo Commons" preserve that residents fear would make the region an unnatural zoo; he suggests instead a more modest prairie preserve that would attract tourists and provide new revenue for the region's residents, now dependent on ecologically destructive ranching. But Jones's book is less a program for action than a literate, attractive celebration of a place unlike any other--a book that will inspire readers to go and have a look for themselves. --Gregory McNamee
Product Description
It is an area that has captivated and inspired travelers, philosophers, and artists for centuries. Long celebrated as one of the most visually stunning regions of the American landscape, it is also one of the most historically significant. And now, this vast, 25,000-square-mile expanse known as the Nebraska Sandhills is brought to life with passion, perspective, and ecological timeliness in an unforgettable collection by Stephen Jones. The Last Prairie is an extraordinary triumph of the essayist's art. By turns graceful and penetrating, introspective and universal, ruminative and prescient, the 20 essays in The Last Prairie embodies the essence of Sandhills life. Jones delivers a series of riveting accounts of the Sandhills, flora and fauna, wildlife, and rich cultural history. Fascinating descriptions of bald eagles, trumpeter swans, and the annual migratory flight of a half-million sandhill cranes stand alongside equally vivid accounts of trailblazing homesteaders, range wars, and devastating prairie fires. Jones speaks eloquently to such timeless themes as humanity's search for community and the ties that bind man and nature.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Leaves of grass . . . September 5, 2008
I grew up in Nebraska and return to the Sandhills whenever I can. Unlike nearly every other part of the US, this area is not crossed by an interstate highway, and the resulting isolation allows you to feel a little of the vast distances that used to be the West. To experience these rolling hills of grass, with not a tree in sight, especially in stormy weather, is to feel yourself totally absorbed in a great sweep of landscape - a living carpet of flora and mostly unseen fauna. Jones' book does much to recreate that experience in words. And he deepens the experience with his knowledge of geology and history, explaining how the Sandhills came into existence and in more recent times became peopled by the Plains Indians, cattle ranchers, and homesteaders.
Jones is especially knowledgeable about the birds that inhabit the Sandhills - noting those that are long-time residents and those that have been introduced over time with the changing ecology. It is amazing, as I have heard it myself, to hear a chorus of birds from every direction, all hidden by the grass and not a tree in sight. He also provides an accounting of the white-tail deer and pronghorn that range across this land, undeterred by barb wire fences. His stories of the Indians, the Pawnee, Lakota, Cheyenne, and Ponca are respectful and poignant. He also takes time to visit the grave of writer Mari Sandoz and to describe her life as the daughter of a Panhandle homesteader. This is a fine collection of essays for anyone who enjoys good nature writing. Readers may also enjoy Ian Frazier's "Great Plains."
Essays for laying on a hill January 21, 2008
When I read this for the first time, I said "I've read this before....". Then I realized it's very much in the style of William Least Heat Moon. Good for laying on a hill, watching the clouds, listening to the birds and animals.... and that's just what the book is!
A lyrical book about a fragile habitat June 26, 2001
Mr. Jone's admiration, appreciation and concern for this very special ecosystem shines through this lovely book. In it, he intertwines Native American myth, Plains history and well researched scientific data into a cohesive and readable overview of the Sandhills of Nebraska. Through his eyes, we visit and experience a landscape of beauty, solitute, history and rich wildlife. It is, in turns, thought provoking, humourous, enlightening, yet never preachy. Steve is most respectful of the current private owners of these lands, and integrates their ongoing stewardship into well reasoned suggestions to insure the long-term integrity of this fecund habitat for posterity.
Sandhills Classic July 12, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal is an astonishing blend of nature, myth, and love of the land--richly textured with wry wit and something very close to wisdom. It's so deeply rooted in love and its own particular landscape that it transcends locality and becomes universal. In other words, it's a classic, akin to Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Writing, details, and a sensibility to treasure.
A lovesong to an alluring, little-known place June 16, 2000
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Stephen Jones notes in the book that the Sand Hills of Nebraska make up one of the few "dark spots" on those wall posters featuring a satellite view of the United States at night. It is, truly, a wide open space, and he does the landscape great justice with his evident love for the land, its wildlife, its people and history.For those who think Nebraska is simply home to a football team and endless acres of corn, "The Last Prairie" should open some eyes. Jones is a prose poet. He makes the Sand Hills live and breathe right there on the page. An excellent, deeply-felt homage to one of America's little-known (thankfully?)great natural treasures.
|
|
|
