The story of Bison is the story of the American West; its landscape, indigenous roots, and its hope for restoration.
We’re excited to partner with the Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges on this three-part book club series. For our first meeting we will be meeting at the Land Library’s Globeville home. For our last two books, we will be gathering at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, a perfect metro-Denver site where the buffalo still roam. Here’s the dates for our three books:
- Sunday, March 24, Butcher’s Crossing a novel by John Williams
- Sunday, April 21, Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison by Ken Zontek
- Sunday, May 19, Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch by Dan O’Brien
All books ( new and used copies) will be available for purchase at the Nature’s Nest Book Store, located at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.
Sign up for one of the Bison Book Club gatherings, or for all three!
Join us as the Bison Book Club gets underway with a classic novel of the American West, John William’s Butcher’s Crossing. The Bison Book Club begins on March 24th with Butcher’s Crossing, a novel that follows the trail of 1870’s buffalo hunters, from the plains to a remote mountain valley in Colorado. Written by Denver’s own John Williams, this wonderfully written book has been often compared to Moby-Dick, and the novels of Cormac McCarthy.
“One of the finest books about the elusive nature of the West ever written…It’s a graceful and brutal story of isolated men gone haywire.” –Time Out New York
Butcher’s Crossing Eventbrite Sign-up
The Bison Book Club travels to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to discuss Ken Zontek’s Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison. This on-the-ground account provides insights into the age-old relationship between Native Americans and buffalo, along with current day efforts to restore our continent’s bison herds.
“This is a complete book on Natives and their relationship to bison. It is an important historical record, yet is as up-to-date as today’s headlines in the continuing search for compromise and success in providing wildlife biodiversity once again in the Great Plains.” —Francis Moul, Lincoln Journal Star
Buffalo Nation Eventbrite Sign-up
We gather at the RM Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge to discuss Dan O’Brien’s Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch. This classic book tells the story of a rancher who dared to do something different — bringing bison back to a landscape they shaped for thousands of years.
“I love this book. Buffalo for the Broken Heart is elegant, visionary, and lives intensely with grace and power. A blueprint for dreams and dreamers.” — Rick Bass.
Rocky Mountain Land Library 