Return of the Bison, Roger Di Silvestro
Return of the Bison, Roger Di Silvestro
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Return of the Bison
A Story of Survival, Restoration, and a Wilder World

Author: Roger Di Silvestro

Narrator: Asa Siegel

Unabridged: 10 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/01/2023

Categories: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals


Synopsis

Return of the Bison is the story of how this symbol of the American West was once almost lost to history and of the continuing journey to bring bison back from the brink. Author and naturalist Roger Di Silvestro explores the complex history of the bison's decimation and how a rising awareness of their possible extinction formed the roots of many modern wildlife conservation approaches. Weaving in natural history and fascinating historical context featuring personalities such as Teddy Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, and William T. Hornaday, Di Silvestro traces the decades it took to begin to save the bison, often with little hope and plagued by discouraging setbacks. Di Silvestro explores the key role in the story of America's Indigenous people, whose fate was intertwined with the bison's and whose conservation work is important not only for the animal's recovery but also for their own cultural renewal.

Di Silvestro also examines the plight of European bison and the latest challenges facing the species in the US: Are the bison doomed to be treated like cattle, fenced and contained? Or will they be listed as an endangered species, requiring us to treat them like the wild animals they are?

About Roger Di Silvestro

Roger Di Silvestro is a former writer and editor for Defenders of Wildlife, the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, and other organizations, as well as a former communications director for the National Parks Conservation Association. He is the author of ten books, including Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands: A Young Politician's Quest for Recovery in the American West and In the Shadow of Wounded Knee: The Untold Final Story of the Indian Wars. He lives in Virginia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on December 12, 2023

A beautiful, tragic, triumphant, and optimistic story of an iconic animal and human beings. I had just finished watching PBS and the Ken Burns documentary The Amercian Buffalo a few weeks before picking this book up at the library. Both tell the story brilliantly. To me, this is more a story about h......more

Goodreads review by Cody on June 26, 2024

What did the dad say to his son when he left for college, “Bison”! We as a society need to step up and make a difference before we lose wildlife and nature like the bisons for our future generations.......more

Goodreads review by Katie on November 11, 2024

2.5 - read for the FWS book club. The topic is interesting, this book (oftentimes) is not. It’s repetitive, it feels like it’s missing a core argument, it’s just not the most compelling presentation of what really should be a compelling topic......more

Goodreads review by MacK on September 06, 2024

I'm a bison. Or I was...or I always will be? My high school mascot was the Bison, the "Mighty Bison" to be precise, and, like most teenagers, I didn't spend much time thinking about the "Bison" part of "Bison Pride". I just gave a lot of energy and enthusiasm to my friends, my classmates, and (occasi......more

Goodreads review by Littia on March 13, 2024

Incredibly detailed history of the efforts to bring bison back from near extinction. This book is NOT focused on the years when buffalo were hunted and all but eradicated- it is purely about recovery efforts. I liked the thorough history, but I felt like the last four chapters drew it out too long,......more