Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch

Buffalo for the Broken Heart

Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch

2001 • 272 pages

For twenty years Dan O’Brien struggled to make ends meet on his cattle ranch in South Dakota. But when a neighbor invited him to lend a hand at the annual buffalo roundup, O’Brien was inspired to convert his own ranch, the Broken Heart, to buffalo. Starting with thirteen calves, “short-necked, golden balls of wool,” O’Brien embarked on a journey that returned buffalo to his land for the first time in more than a century and a half. Buffalo for the Broken Heart is at once a tender account of the buffaloes’ first seasons on the ranch and an engaging lesson in wildlife ecology. Whether he’s describing the grazing pattern of the buffalo, the thrill of watching a falcon home in on its prey, or the comical spectacle of a buffalo bull wallowing in the mud, O’Brien combines a novelist’s eye for detail with a naturalist’s understanding to create an enriching, entertaining narrative.

Become a Librarian

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

There are no reviews for this book. Add yours and it'll show up right here!


Top Lists

See all (0)

List

46 books

Owned

Making Hay
The Titan's Curse
Contact
The Indian Agent
The Hotel New Hampshire
The rural life
The Tale of Despereaux

List

20 books

Favorites

The Partly Cloudy Patriot
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Ready Player One
Neverwhere
The World According to Garp
The Road
The Old Man and the Sea