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 19th century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to 23. 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 US 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.

©2009 Michael Punke (P)2016 Random House Audio

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

Great! Highly recommend

Who knew about this early origin in the conservation movement? Very interesting book and made connection between some people such as Audubon and Marsh that I had no idea about. But you don't have to know about who Othniel Marsh was to really enjoy this book.

superb

Superb history of the North American bison and the progressive change in attitudes that enabled the preservation and restoration of at least some small parts of the natural environments that we inherited. THANK YOU, regulations and regulators.

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!

Great book on Conservation History!

I was able to learn a lot, and able to see the historical gaps that I was taught in school. this book was able to show me all that we were and all we can be.

life saving

a book that everyone that loves nature must read thank u
it has change my view in people not everyone has to b a native to fall in love with nature and help to protect it

everyone must read!

it is amazing how history repeats itself. it is just a constant reminder that our special lands need constant protection.

One person CAN make a difference!!

What an amazing book and an amazing story that every person who loves America and cares about wild animals should know. Along with Dian Fossey's single-handed determination to save the mountain gorillas, George Bird Grinell clearly devoted much of his life and energy towards saving the bison from extinction..and for that, we all owe him the debt of knowing his name and to some degree his story. Knowing his story gives me hope for species on the brink of extinction today..many of which of few or no one to sound the alarm for their march towards extinction..but we don't need an army to sound the alarm, just a handful, or even one, determined voice that will not stop until they have secured safety for one more wild animal forced to walk the earth alongside humans in our destruction of it.

A must read if searching for hope for humanity.

It is said that you can't pick up the world, but you can pick up what is within reach. The book shows how far that reach can extend if you really try

Wow! That was a powerful story.

I have been enamored with the great outdoors my entire life. I belong to conservation organizations and consider myself a Hunter-Conservationist. I deeply respect wildlife, the land, and sea and admire the conservationists that truly blazed the trail before me. The story of the Buffalo and George Bird Grinnell is elemental to understanding our responsibility as stewards of this great earth. Please read and encourage your children and grandchildren to read and know this amazing story!