Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West [B2036]

2020 PB clean, with minor wear. Michael Punke's Last Stand tells the epic story of the American West through the lens of the American bison and the man who saved these icons of the Western landscape. Over 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. Last Stand is the story of the death of the old West and the birth of the new as well as an examination of how the West was really won--through the birth of the conservation movement. It is also the definitive history of the American buffalo, written by a master storyteller of the West.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Really wonderful book about the history of the great western traditions of conservation, hunting, and love of the outdoors. Its main focus is on a Yalie who spent most of his free time exploring the landscapes of Montana and Wyoming, so it resonated with me on a personal level as well."; "After the first few chapters I still wasn't sure where this book was going. Then there was a shift. The story took hold as the focus became clear. That was the point in the book when it grabbed me and I needed to see it through to its ending."; "No one does it like Punke. His ability to write about history and keep you engaged the entire time is unmatched. Last Stand should be required reading in every high school."; "Extremely well researched and at times rather intriguing, picking up the pace as the book goes along. What impressed me the most was the author's ability to relate socio-political issues from the 19th century to present day political challenges, particularly around the environment and climate change. There are several solid lessons we can learn from George Bird Grinnell, Roosevelt, and a whole cast of others that can/should be applied now. Dare I say it, these lessons also bring a modest amount of hope that things can turn around, as they did for the American bison in a nick of time (knock on wood)."