Great Plains

“The Great Plains of America are not for sissies, but those who respond to their haunting beauty will not be driven off. The photographer Michael Forsberg and three of his writing friends show why. Forsberg has spent a long time looking at the Great Plains and now he has shared what he saw.”

“Great Plains strikes me as a signal event in the history of American publishing, a true event where the authors Ted Kooser, David Wishart, Dan O’Brien, and the simply fabulous photographer, Michael Forsberg, are a perfectly graceful mix. Having criss-crossed this area dozens of times it was wonderful to see my grand memories between covers.”

“The beauty and majesty of the Great Plains come alive in the pages of this magnificent book. As a native of Nebraska, I know how little most Americans know about the landscape, wildlife, and history of this vast part of our country. Here, they can appreciate the Plains states in all their quiet glory.”

“Focusing on a massive but neglected part of America, Mike Forsberg has created a masterpiece of stunning and lyrical photos and prose describing the legendary Great Plains. The white man brutally took over the interior grasslands from Native Americans and from charismatic predators such as wolves and bears, and slaughtered the vast herds of bison as well as other creatures. Great Plains tells this amazing story vividly with the passion and verve that the subject deserves. Bravo to Mike Forsberg!”

“Mike Forsberg’s images give us bright openings onto a world. . . . Here on the Great Plains both people and trees and everything else are in some way shaped by wind and weather. This book, too, has been shaped by where it comes from, and that’s just a part of its beauty.”

“It takes a big book to portray such an immense, complex place, and this spacious volume, vividly introduced by poet Ted Kooser, fits the bill. Intrepid photographer Michael Forsberg presents breathtaking images of wide-open spaces and portraits of wildlife from bison to butterflies, bobcats to frogs. Historical geographer David Wishart contrasts the lives of the region’s Native peoples with the deleterious impact of settlers, who plowed up the grasslands, sending countless species into decline and losing precious topsoil to wind erosion. Wildlife biologist, rancher, and writer Dan O’Brien—flinty, funny, and skeptical—dissects the mythology of the Great Plains, the ‘monumental hubris, greed, and lack of common sense’ that led to its near destruction, and, on the upswing, today’s bold restoration efforts. In all, a quintessential and crucial American story, powerfully told.”

“This book cries out to be read and enjoyed. Don’t just thumb through to look at the pictures. Set the book down on a table and read the stories and the histories. It will amaze and engage you. You will view the Great Plains in new and enchanting ways.”