Wild Idea: Buffalo and Family in a Difficult Land

Wild Idea: Buffalo and Family in a Difficult LandFor more than forty years the prairies of South Dakota have been Dan O'Brien's home. Working as a writer and an endangered species biologist, he became convinced that returning grass fed, free roaming buffalo to the grasslands of the northern plains would return natural balance to the region and reestablish the undulating prairie lost through poor land management and overzealous farming. In 1998 he bought his first buffalo and began the task of

For more than forty years the prairies of South Dakota have been Dan O'Brien's home. Working as a writer and an endangered-species biologist, he became convinced that returning grass-fed, free-roaming buffalo to the grasslands of the northern plains would return natural balance to the region and reestablish the undulating prairie lost through poor land management and overzealous farming. In 1998 he bought his first buffalo and began the task of converting a little cattle ranch into an ethically run buffalo ranch.
Wild Idea is a book about how good food choices can influence federal policies and the integrity of our food system, and about the dignity and strength of a legendary American animal. It is also a book about people: the daughter coming to womanhood in a hard landscape, the friend and ranch hand who suffers great tragedy, the venture capitalist who sees hope and opportunity in a struggling buffalo business, and the husband and wife behind the ranch who struggle daily, wondering if what they are doing will ever be enough to make a difference. At its center, Wild Idea is about a family and the people and animals that surround them--all trying to build a healthy life in a big, beautiful, and sometimes dangerous land.


Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Bison Books
Published: 09/01/2014
ISBN: 9780803250963
Pages: 272
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.84h x 5.90w x 0.95d
Award: Spur Awards - Finalist

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 09/15/2014