"WHAT IS IT THAT CONFERS THE NOBLEST DELIGHT? What is that which swells a man's breast with great pride above which any other experience can bring him? Discovery! To know that you are walking where none others have walked; that you are beholding in the human eye has not been seen before; that you are breathing a virgin atmosphere. To give birth to an idea, to a discovery of great thought-an intellectual nugget, right under the dust of a field that many a brain-plough had gone over before. To find a new planet, to invent a new hinge, to find a way to make the lightnings carry your messages. To be the first-that is the idea...." There are books so alive that you're always afraid that while you weren't reading, the book has gone and changed, has shifted like a river; while you went on living, it went on living too, and like a river moved on and moved away. No one has stepped twice into the same river. But did anyone ever step twice into the same book?

LIMITED EDITION OF 150 • 6" x 9" Hardbound • 250 text pp. • Illustrations • Author & artist sigs. • $70 TRADE EDITION • $40

PRAIRIE AUTUMN John D. Taylor • Denny Burkhart Illustrations         CULTURALLY, BIOLOGICALLY AND HISTORICALLY prairie grasslandsand the creatures connected to it have shaped North America's destiny, and continue to do so. Prairie, not forests, represent North America's most significant type of vegetation, covering 15 percent of the continent, some 9.3 million square miles from western Canada south through Texas. prairie.Yet prairie-real prairie-is vanishing at an alarming rate: Depending on location, of North America's three prairie types (tallgrass, mixed grass and short grass), between 99 and 35 percent of is gone.         Since 1830, for example, more than 90 percent of the tallgrass prairie, the "sea of grass" that reached as high as a horse's belly across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Indiana has been destroyed. Shortgrass and mixed grass have fared somewhat better, depending on location, yet the prognosis is not good: In Manitoba, 99 percent of the mixed grass is gone, in Nebraska 75 percent, in the Dakota's nearly 70 percent, in Texas, 30 percent. Saskatchewan has lost 86 percent of its shortgrass, Texas 80 percent, South Dakota, 35 percent.         In Prairie Autumn, award-winning author John D. Taylor takes a hard look at North America's prairie; its past, present and future; the wildlife and people connected to these wild spaces.         A lifetime of prairie-roaming-including a focused effort last fall that included the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas-gathering stories, has gone into the preparation for this book.         Taylor examines what prairie is all about, how it was created, why it is significant in the North American landscape, its influence on all our lives. He examines why the prairie attracts some people, repels others; and considers the spiritual nature of this vast wild space. The prairie's past-specifically what was here prior to European contact-and what remains is an important focus, along with the prairie's abundant life.         Prairie's birds-particularly those explored with a brace of DeCoverly Kennels English setters, and a side-by-side: sharptails, prairie chickens, sage grouse, Hungarian partridge, pheasants and quail-are of Taylor's vehicle of discovery, yet this is more than gunning stories.         Prairie Autumn looks to be a fascinating read from this award-winning author. Denny Burkhart will again team with Taylor to provide the illustrations for this book. The book is scheduled for the Winter 2006 publication. Pre-publication orders receive a 15 percent discount. Go Back | Buy Now