Last Stand

George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West

By: Michael Punke

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

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.

Wally would be proud

This is as good a graffiti at Wallace Stagner‘s be on the hundredth Meridian to early for full review god bless you

What an awesome book!

Very good book and very well narrated. If you have any interest in nature conservation, western history or in bisons....listen to this book!

Depressing history of American tragedy

If you could sum up Last Stand in three words, what would they be?

Depressing, essential, thorough.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Last Stand?

The most memorable moments of The Last Stand, in my opinion, are the accounts of the slaughter for commercial and political gain and the accounts of the efforts to protect the Yellowstone bison.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was the capture of poacher Howell in Yellowstone.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's difficult to pick one single moment. What I will say is that my nine-year old was moved to tears by the description of the slaughter of the bison.

Any additional comments?

If I could go back, I would not yet let my nine-year old listen to this book. It is incredibly depressing and angering to listen to.

very well written

very good book about an epic animal and tells how a driven man can do something to change society

great book on how the bison was saved from extinct

A great written in red book about the story Of the American bison and how it was saved from extinction