An up-close look at the remarkable, distinctive bison and its cultural significance in the American West.
Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award and the PubWest 2021 Book Design Award: Silver Winner, Photography Books.
2021 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, Finalist: Photography
The first book of its kind, Bison: Portrait of an Icon tells the story of the bison--its history, majesty, cultural significance, and comeback story--through the stunning, dramatic photography of Audrey Hall. Even more, woven throughout these visually captivating photographs is an extended essay by author Chase Reynolds Ewald. Brought back from the brink of extinction, the bison today--with its rugged, primitive build, its remarkable speed and hardiness, its primeval wooly hide, and its sheer strength--is an icon as distinctly American as the bald eagle.
... the nicest coffee table book on Bison that I've come across, hands down."--Jim Matheson, Assistant Director "National Bison Association"
"I am not exaggerating when I tell you that you simply MUST read this book. I lingered over every photograph and devoured every word."--Heather Sandy Hebert, Author
"The true wealth of the book is in Hall's magnificent photos of bison in their habitat, walking single file through deep snow, a cow giving birth in a spring meadow, a herd grazing in front of a mountain backdrop, a close-up of winter fluff on a shedding flank, a winsome calf next to its massive mother, and iconic images of bison next to Yellowstone's thermal pools. Accompanied throughout by quotes from Native elders, politicians, scientists, and historians, Hall's photos sing."--Nancy Bent "Booklist"
"In this stunning and hefty volume, photographer Audrey Hall brilliantly captures the spirit of the American bison and the landscape of the American West. Woven among her images is a beautifully written essay by author Chase Reynolds Ewald, sharing the bison's history, cultural significance, and recovery from the brink of extinction, as well as insights from ranchers, wildlife managers, policy makers, and artists.
A magnificent tribute to this majestic creature."--Melanie Dragger "The Literary West Review"
"Hall's photos are as pleasing to the eye as the words of writer Chase Reynolds Ewald, filmmaker John Heminway and poet Henry Real Bird are to the ear as they tell the story of the bison's rise, fall and rebirth on the North American continent."--Jennifer Theurer "High Plains Journal"
"... two highly regarded Western storytellers have summoned their magical chemistry to produce a gorgeous new book ...
The powerfully moving book offers a deep meditation on the cultural and spiritual resonance, near extinction and hopeful resurgence of the American bison."--Laura Beausire "Mountain Living"
"What Chase and Audrey have done in word and photo is to show us so splendidly the who and the how that restoration [of the Bison] has been and is being accomplished."--Anne W. Semmes "Greenwich Sentinel"
"Montana photographer Audrey Hall captures the beauty and spirit of America's national mammal."--Leslie Gaines "Outside Bozeman"
"The first book of its kind, Bison celebrates this Western icon as distinctly American as the bald eagle, brought back from the brink of extinction."-- "Mountain Living"
"As its title suggests, this book centers on images, and what wonderful images they are. The photos--of buffalo young and old, in herds and solitary, close up and from afar, under big skies, in the snow, behind fences, in front of mountains--speak loudly for themselves. There are no captions. But, yes, there are interesting items to read among the visual treats ...."-- "The HistoryNet"
Chase Reynolds Ewald has been writing about design, travel, and lifestyle for 25 years. A graduate of Yale and the Graduate School of Journalism and U.C. Berkeley, she is currently Senior Editor of Western Art & Architecture Magazine. Residence, Tiburon, CA.
Audrey Hall's images about culture, style, and travel are featured from social media to television. This is her twelfth book. She lives in Livingston, MT.
Gibbs Smith
Pub Date: March 23, 2021
1.0" H x 12.0" L x 10.3" W
224 pages
hardcover