Synopses & Reviews
These unique and remarkable photographs of the Great Plains, taken by Georg Joutras over the span of two decades, show the breathtaking grandeur of prairie and sky, the sometimes nuanced, other times brilliant colors of earth and evening light, the titanic scale of clouds and sun and horizon, and the intimate postures of its wild creatures.and#160;Joutras's Great Plains are photographed from the heart, with reverence and wonder at the miraculously preserved ancient environment through which he pilgrimages. His powerful images conduct an unmediated sensuous immersion in nature, evoking the feel of the wind, the smell of earth, the sounds of sandhill cranes, the wary, watchful eyes of predators or prey, and an aura of simultaneous wildness and repose. These photographs, executed with boldness yet conceived and understood in humility, are glimpses of a transcendent world of light, color, and suspended time that we are privileged to witness.and#160;These magnificent imagesand#8212;including both landscapes and wildlife portraitsand#8212;are accompanied by a searching examination of all that it means to photograph the plains and its creatures. Beyond the physical challenges, the distances trekked, and the opportunities lost, what emerges is the joy in sharing the wildness and the vastness, the antiquity and the innocence, the fragility and the vitality of this unique land bounded by earth, sky, and light.
Review
“David Owen has beautifully captured the rhythms of the Nebraska Sandhills in his new book. His essays and photographs convey his affection and deep respect for the land and the people, and he captures the essence of this distinctive and magnificent American place.”—David J. Wishart, editor of The Encyclopedia of the Great Plains Nebraska Life
Review
"Whether you've driven the back roads of America's Great Plains or simply dreamed about it, this book allows armchair travelers to experience the heartland up close and personal."—Sandy Amazeen, Monsters and Critics David J. Wishart
Review
"Owen's account would not be the rich anthology of the Sandhills that it is without the stories of the people living there, and the very land itself that, like a wind-sculpted dune, made those people who they are."—Alan J Bartels, Nebraska Life Alan J Bartels
Review
"Reading this book is as pleasant an experience as actually viewing the tall, gently waving prairie grasses and pastoral scenes that Jones describes."and#8212;Library Journal
Review
and#8220;[A] gem of Great Plains environmental writing. Stephen Jones has given us a collection of his undated journal entries that represent an interesting combination of nature writing, history, and anecdote. . . . The strength of this work for this reviewer is its acknowledgment and investigation of the intimacy indigenous peoples had with this environment. One finds the footprints of Mari Sandoz, Aldo Leopold, and John Neihardt in this must-read for Sandhills enthusiasts. As Jonesand#8217;s own and#8216;love song to the plains,and#8217; The Last Prairie captures the regionand#8217;s rich history with a depth often overlooked in other writings on the Great Plains.and#8221;and#8212;Douglas Harvey, Journal of the West
Review
and#8220;Jones does a remarkable job of capturing the variety, texture, and integrity of the Sandhills environmentand#8212;including the plant and animal life as well as the ranching community and the historical fabric that work to create this complicated landscape. . . . An interesting contribution to the field of nature writing in several respects. First, it richly describes a region of the United States that few people might be familiar with. Second, it works to show how landscape, wildlife, culture, and history are always interconnected. In his introduction, Jones writes, and#8216;the grass around me, the limber pines, the clams and 80-million-year-old ocean that spawned them, and I were all made from the same stuff, our lives woven together by the same currents of time and place.and#8217; Finally, the book works to make a compelling argument that because of human dependence upon and connection to landscape and all lie, regions like the Sandhills deserve consideration and preservation.and#8221;and#8212;Sarah Hulme Hill,
Western American LiteratureReview
and#8220;If you want to stop and smell the goldenrod in Nebraska, turn to Alan Boye: He should be able to tell you where it grows, why it is there and who planted it. . . . [The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska is] a mile-by-mile guide to the sights, history and oddities to be found or learned about along almost every road in Nebraska.and#8221;and#8212;Gerald Wade, Omaha World-Herald
Review
and#8220;If thereand#8217;s a book that captures the quirky spirit of the original Federal Writers Project guide, this is it. . . . Throughout the book, the authorand#8217;s opinions and reflections add charm to the entries. . . . Stories, trivia, opinions, back road directions and#8211; Boye is an engaging travel companion. Heand#8217;ll charm you into looking closer at Nebraska.and#8221;and#8212;Nebraska Life
Review
"The culmination of two decades of photographing the landscapes, back roads, and wildlife of the American West, Joutras's coffee-table book records a world that is vanishing before us. Its 117 photographs range from vivid, detailed, and color-saturated impressions of nature, such as the forgotten hills and valleys of the Great Plains, to intimate and elusive glimpses of the creatures that inhabit the prairie. Although every image in this book is of high caliber, Joutras shows unusual skill in capturing the personalities of wildlife and how animals interact with others of their species."and#8212;Library Journal
Review
"[A] colorful celebration of the Great Plains with a nostalgic streak."and#8212;The Bloomsbury Review
Review
and#8220;Breathtaking photographs of the Great Plains show the grandeur of prairie and sky, the sometimes subtle, sometimes brilliant colors of earth in the evening light, the enormous scale of the clouds and sun and horizon, and the wild creatures that live in this remarkable environment.and#8221;and#8212;Forecast
Review
and#8220;A stirring look at seas of dried grasses and grand bluffs, and at the wildlife that populates the prairie.and#8221;and#8212;Denver Post
Synopsis
Covering nearly twenty thousand square miles, the Sandhills of Nebraska is a rich and layered region that is home to one of the most productive ranching areas in the country. In 2008 and 2009, photographer and storyteller David A. Owen traveled through western Nebraska to capture the unconventional beauty of the geography and singular way of life of the residents there. Connecting the everyday activities of the ranchers and residents he encounters to the vast, isolated landscape, Owen provides a fascinating window into this dazzling area of America.
Through Owens fine ear and eye, Like No Other Place takes the reader on a memorable journey into an out-of-the-way destination that is part of a modern American West and yet still organically linked to its past. Owens photographs and stories tell of a remarkable region where history, legend, memory, and reality are all intertwined.
Synopsis
History of Nebraska was originally created to mark the territorial centennial of Nebraska and then revised to coincide with the statehood centennial. This one-volume history quickly became the standard text for the college student and reference for the general reader, unmatched for generations as the only comprehensive history of the state. This fourth edition, revised and updated, preserves the spirit and intelligence of the original. Incorporating the results of years of scholarship and research, this edition gives fuller attention to such topics as the Native American experience in Nebraska and the accomplishments and circumstances of the stateand#8217;s women and minorities. It also provides a historical analysis of the stateand#8217;s dramatic changes in the past two decades.
Synopsis
The Nebraska Sandhills are the largest remaining relic of the majestic prairies that once extended from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains. This vast but fragile expanse comes to life in
The Last Prairie, a collection of twenty essays by Stephen R. Jones ranging from fascinating descriptions of dancing prairie-chickens, courting fireflies, and the annual migratory flight of a half-million sandhill cranes to equally vivid accounts of trailblazing homesteaders, range wars, and devastating storms.
The Last Prairie is both a paean and an elegy for a place where you can walk for miles through shoulder-high grass or sit on a hill for hours with only the cry of the curlew and the hiss of the wind for companyand#8212;a place Jones sought for decades and for whose survival he now fears.
The author's vast historical canvas lends a rare perspective and urgency to the book's discussion of recent efforts to save the Niobrara River from dams and developers. Jones speaks eloquently to such timeless themes as humanity's search for community and the ties that bind us with nature. Infused with quiet pathos and vibrant imagery, The Last Prairie is a triumph of the essayist's art.
Synopsis
The second edition of The Complete Roadside Guide to Nebraska represents a major enlargement and revision of the first edition, making this the most comprehensive guide to the state ever written. The book covers over twelve thousand miles in all ninety-three counties of the and#8220;state where the West begins.and#8221; Here readers can become acquainted with numerous folklore tales and discover the locations of thousands of historical sites, burials, pioneer roads, museums, and other wonders of the Cornhusker State.
About the Author
Alan Boye is a Nebraska native with an affinity for back roads and offbeat historic moments. He is a professor of English at Lyndon State College in Vermont and the author of Tales from the Journey of the Dead: Ten Thousand Years on an American Desert (Nebraska 2006) and Holding Stone Hands: On the Trail of the Cheyenne Exodus, available in a Bison Books edition. Ron Hansen, a Nebraska native, is the author of Isn't It Romantic? and Hitler's Niece. Wright Morris was a native Nebraskan and the author of Field of Vision and Plains Song, both winners of the National Book Award.