Reviews

Where The Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie by John Madson

christopherwater's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

4.25

sjgochenour's review against another edition

2.0

I would read the sections on the botany and geology of the plains and put this book back after that. The writing is lovely, but his social observations have not aged well. A natural history of the plains that treats its native peoples with total disinterest while casting white farmers as near-mythological heroes is not the thing in 2019.

odorothy's review against another edition

5.0

Call it the Heartland, Corn Belt, Breadbasket, or just the Midwest. This region of the United States that now produces corn, soybeans, wheat, and other staples owes its fertility to the prairie grasses that thrived in the region for thousands of years before John Deere. Today, almost none of the original prairie remains, but poetic author John Madson vividly portrays the vast tallgrass prairies of Iowa that will make you long for the romantic frontier life.

Madson’s story grabs at the imagination and memory with his descriptions of towering thunderheads and treacherous blizzards. The fears of the first settlers are palatable in his stories of people and livestock becoming lost in the thick grasses that could swallow the largest beasts. And you will be inspired to plant your own prairie garden by his delightful descriptions of the native flowers and grasses.

If you grew up in the prairie plains, this book will take you home. So start reading it today.

spennock's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful tribute to the tallgrass prairies of the Midwest from the big bluestem grasses to the prairie chicken to the people who worked the land with endurance and independence. Rich in detail and with poetic imagery , Madson describes the splendor and hardships of the prairies and provides some information about the efforts being implemented for prairie restoration.