The prairies of the American Midwest and West have always been special to me. I grew up in a rural farming community in Kansas, a place where thunderstorms and tornadoes were both pedestrian and awe-inspiring. Much of the land I grew up on gets a bad reputation for being flat, but nothing makes you feel smaller than sitting in a vast ocean of corn staring up at the night sky. Living further north (and in a major city), I miss the stars, the silence, and the swaths of empty space from the prairie.
Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie is a deep exploration. It begins by tracing the history of the prairie at a large scale: from its importance to indigenous communities to the current cash crop craze of corn and soybeans. Following that, it devotes time to specific topics: insects, soil, nitrogen, bison, etc. It shifts between testimonials, scientific research, and case studies as it makes its case for the ecological and societal importance of the great American prairies.
Continue reading “Sea of Grass – A Foray into Nonfiction”
Marked for Plot 