From the host of the Travel Channel’s “The Wild Within.”
A hunt for the American buffalo—an adventurous, fasc... read full description
A hunt for the American buffalo—an adventurous, fasc... read full description
reviews
Dec 11, 2011
Zach
rated it: 
I'm an outdoor writer (fly fishing magazines), so I have what you might call a professional appreciation for Rinella and his work. I've also interviewed him and I like him personally. Clearly, I am squarely in his target demographic, a hunter and fisherman as well as someone who is forced by realistic circumstances to live in a big city (Atlanta).
All that said, this is my favorite of the "microhistories" which have weighed down booksellers' shelves in recent years, in lar More...
All that said, this is my favorite of the "microhistories" which have weighed down booksellers' shelves in recent years, in lar More...
Nov 08, 2011
Taylor
rated it: 
Steven Rinella has created a masterpiece with American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon. From the very beginning Steven draws you in with his personal story with buffalo. The book itself is a very well written book. At the same time Steven weaves together two stories constantly changing between the present and the harsh past that buffalo have faced.
Since the author changes back and forth between stories one would assume that this is a very hard book to follow. This is not the case. The b More...
Since the author changes back and forth between stories one would assume that this is a very hard book to follow. This is not the case. The b More...
Nov 08, 2011
Ian
rated it:
The Great American Icon
American Buffalo by Steven Rinella is an intriguing narrative about the author’s journey to investigate the buffalo and its history. The history of the buffalo is not well understood. The book was well constructed; Rinella puts various bouts of humor into his adventure in Alaska, while still making the volume factual and engaging. The plot, however, got repetitive. There were only so many times that he could follow uninh More...
American Buffalo by Steven Rinella is an intriguing narrative about the author’s journey to investigate the buffalo and its history. The history of the buffalo is not well understood. The book was well constructed; Rinella puts various bouts of humor into his adventure in Alaska, while still making the volume factual and engaging. The plot, however, got repetitive. There were only so many times that he could follow uninh More...
Feb 13, 2011
Scott
rated it:
Enthralling from the beginning to the end. Rinella manages an ode to the buffalo told in the context of myth, history and science. And relates his own personal journey from the discovery of a buried buffalo skull in a Montana forest to a grueling hunt for buffalo in the wilds of the Alaskan wilderness.
In all the stories and anecdotes provided, there is both knowledge and entertainment. Humor is plentiful here, though perhaps not as emphasized as one might find in a book by Bryson. More...
In all the stories and anecdotes provided, there is both knowledge and entertainment. Humor is plentiful here, though perhaps not as emphasized as one might find in a book by Bryson. More...
May 21, 2009
John
rated it:
We humans have little comprehension and find it difficult to make sensible decisions when we are confronted with what I will refer to as the efficacy of booms. The slaughtering of 50,000 buffalo in a single day or J. Wright Mooar personally killing 25,000 in a lifetime and their virtual disappearance and near extinction is terribly sad. Buffalo/Bison -- Rinella tells us they are genetically one and the same -- ranged from southern Alaska through the 4 western provinces of Canada and 36 states al
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Feb 24, 2011
Magila
rated it: 
there were a number of times i couldn't help but feel like the information provided about the great big buffalo was superfluous. take for example reproduction, gonads, and the like. really? really? i will permanently have the image of a bull buffalo mounted on a cow, and the bull's back hooves popping off the ground in his moment of animalistic ecstasy. and now you will too!
i expected more about the quest, one man's efforts to legally hunt a buffalo and his experience. what i got was More...
i expected more about the quest, one man's efforts to legally hunt a buffalo and his experience. what i got was More...
Feb 06, 2009
Kyra
rated it:
Okay so I don't hunt. Nor am I remotely attracted to or interested in buffalo. So why did I like this book ? First of all, there is something to be said for what Alex Gram once said to me: If you can't or are not prepared to kill it, you shouldn't eat it. I understand the intent behind that belief, I just have never had to test it. So back to the book: the author wins one of the few & desirable permits to find & shoot a buffalo in a remote wilderness area in Alaska. The book follows the hunt and
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Dec 15, 2008
Mike
rated it:
Initially, I was put off by this book. I did not think I was interested in a hunting memoir. However, I have always been fascinated by the buffalo and, eventually, decided to read this book.
I was not disappointed. In 2005, Richella was one of 24 hunters selected in a lottery to hunt buffalo near Alaska's Wrangell Mountains. The book is in part the story of that hunt. But, it is much more than that. It is the story of a man and his obsession with an animal that he loves and reve More...
I was not disappointed. In 2005, Richella was one of 24 hunters selected in a lottery to hunt buffalo near Alaska's Wrangell Mountains. The book is in part the story of that hunt. But, it is much more than that. It is the story of a man and his obsession with an animal that he loves and reve More...
Jan 13, 2010
Tripp
rated it:
American Buffalo is such a great read that I am surprised I haven't heard of it sooner (presumptuous of me, I know). The book is part memoir, part meditation on the American relationship with nature, part social commentary and part outdoor adventure tale. It takes quite a writer to weave that many strands together in a short book without derailing the narrative, but Steven Rinella makes it look easy.
Rinella's tone is that of a self deprecating conversationalist. He hops from topic to More...
Rinella's tone is that of a self deprecating conversationalist. He hops from topic to More...
Jun 09, 2009
Jkimballcook
rated it:
This book was super enjoyable. Two parts John Krakauer, one part Norman Maclean, with a dash of Cormac McCarthy and a pinch of Sarah Vowell. This book is about Rinella's obsession (one which I share) with the American Bison. He goes some into the natural and cultural history of the buffalo in America---how they came here, and what we've done with them, both physically and culturally---and then describes his own relationship with the beast. The latter part of the book is his own experience hu
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Mar 12, 2009
Noah
rated it:
This guy could have written a straight up history of the buffalo as a species (which he also does here to an extent), but he lucked out and got a chance to legally hunt a buffalo in Alaska, which makes the story all the more powerful. I've never hunted and never will, but reading Rinella's account of his own hunt gave me a whole new respect for people who do it the right way. He's no trophy hunter, and when you read about the difficult butchering process and how Rinella attempts to use as many p
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Nov 09, 2011
Kyle
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American Buffalo is an enlightening tale of America’s most iconic beast. We follow author Steven Rinella’s Journey to unlock the truth about buffalo. He seamlessly mends past present and future into an interesting narrative that spans countless generations. His journey into the Alaskan wilderness leaps into the buffalo’s historic and biologic past, as well as its mysterious future. The story is structured to follow Rinella’s buffalo hunt but integrates flashbacks to his previous experiences as w
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Jun 20, 2011
Joel
rated it:
wow, I bought this book because I like the picture of the buffalo on the cover. I always had a thing for buffalo I guess. I read the book during a beautiful day when I could have been off running or doing some exploring, but got lost in the book until I turned the last page. I think the reason for this is that you feel like you are along side the author on his adventure and he doens't really give you a reason to step away. I will look forward to finding more books by this author.
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Apr 13, 2009
Andy
rated it:
American Buffalo is a wilderness adventure—well, more specifically, it’s a hunting memoir—padded-out to a full-length book with some writing on the natural history of the American bison, an exploration of the author’s obsession with buffalo, and an understanding of the Krakauer-ian force that draws young men (and women) to the remote wilderness. Rinella’s writing can be, at times, eloquent and moving, as when he describes taking part in a spontaneous buffalo vigil with protestors in Yellowstone.
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Feb 14, 2009
Amanda
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I wish I could mark this 3.5 stars. Rinella is a good writer and at no point in the book did I ever think to myself, "man, I wish I was done reading this book so I can read something else." Essentially, the book is about the author hunting a buffalo, but he mixes in the entire history of the buffalo and it's relationship to man. I liked the history parts, the hunting parts dragged a little (five or six chapters could be summed up by "I hiked around, shot a buffalo, was really c
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Mar 25, 2009
Kirsten
rated it: 
I heard an interview with the author on NPR and bought this book for my father. I have to say, he sounded a lot more articulate and focused in the interview than he does in the book. This book rambles a lot about buffalo and their place in the American psyche and little trivia bits, but it also goes on at great length about a buffalo hunt (the author drew a buffalo tag in an Alaskan hunting lottery), and that part was frankly boring to me. He also tended to insert a lot of himself into those
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Jan 26, 2009
Steve
rated it:
A fascinating book about one man's account of his own search for a buffalo (he drew a tag for one in Alaska) masterfully blended with a historical review of the American buffalo. Written in a no-nonsense style the book is at times gritty- as he describes the challenge of getting into a remote part of Alaska to find wild buffalo, while at others keenly insightful- as he reviews the history of the buffalo. And the historical backdrop is overwhelming. Its difficult to justify the horrific cultur
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Feb 16, 2009
Beau
rated it:
This is part adventure book, part hunting book, part history book and all wonderful. Author Steven Rinella not only takes you on his hunt for Buffalo in Alaska, but he gives you all kinds of history on the animal that should be America's national animal. Rinella does a wonderful job in making you feel as though he is sitting across the table from you sharing his story and adventure. One can only imagine a couple of cold beers sitting in front of you.
This is a book that I have alre More...
This is a book that I have alre More...
May 12, 2010
Mklosner2
rated it:
Whether you are a hunter, or not, an ecological minded individual, or not, this book will put you into both the food chain and the history of this this country (the U.S.)and it's dominion over land and beast. Although an avid and skilled hunter, Rinella does not separate himself from that which he hunts and kills. He proudly eats his prey accompanied with great spiritual awareness. His awareness of animals -especially the buffalo, at the same time separates and makes him one with all people, eve
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Jan 20, 2010
Steve
rated it:
A fascinating read, and despite struggling through the earlier chapters I ultimately found it really satisfying. Later chapters focused on the details of the author's own buffalo hunt are strongest, because the details of history are woven into the forward momentum of his narrative. Earlier chapters of historical background often lacked that momentum, becoming catalogs of facts and figures without a clear throughline, and that made the dramatic amount of description feel overdone (e.g., an extra
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Feb 17, 2009
Jonathan
rated it:
Rinella seems to be at his best when he is narrating his hunting escapades. Unfortunately, this book is only partly a hunting narrative. The other part of this book is a history of the buffalo in America. As a history book it is somewhat interesting, but Rinella is no scholar, and writing memoirs is much more his area of expertise (which is why his previous book was much more enjoyable). Also, it seems that there just isn't enough buffalo history to fill a book. Even with Rinella's adventur
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May 18, 2011
Helen
rated it:
This is a very interesting book that explores the natural history and adaptations of the largest land mammal in North America, the buffalo. It also relates how the demise of this iconic animal came about. In doing so, it explores aspects of American history in the 19th century. His narrative forms around his own private buffalo hunt in Alaska, where he has won a hunting permit for one buffalo; this hunt takes on something of Herculean task for the author. Someone had left it at my house ,and I p
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Jan 05, 2009
Tuck
rated it:
pretty good and a good read if you do not know much about buffalo, history, or environmentalism. also he shoots and kills a cow in alaska, so there is that too.
some better pop sci buffalo books are, well not the greatest, but others are:
better "A buffalo in the house :the true story of a man, an animal, and the American West" by R.D. Rosen. new press 2007
not as good "Last stand :George Bird Grinnell, the battle to save the buffalo, and the birth More...
some better pop sci buffalo books are, well not the greatest, but others are:
better "A buffalo in the house :the true story of a man, an animal, and the American West" by R.D. Rosen. new press 2007
not as good "Last stand :George Bird Grinnell, the battle to save the buffalo, and the birth More...
Jul 06, 2011
Madeline
rated it:
This book is kindof like meeting a cute guy at a party and wondering why nobody else is talking to him. Then you realize why b/c he keeps talking and talking and talking and rambling and entertaining noone but himself with his limitless amount of detail and running off on tangents that you definitely don't want to follow him off on but there is just no time to break in and even mention needing a bathroom break. Finally you manage to get that bathroom break, but then you realize he might be a dia
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Nov 29, 2010
Foster
rated it:
An incredibly sweeping masterpiece that holds everything you would ever want to know about buffalo in North America. The book also contains many historical insights presented in a very accessible fashion - in particular I learned a lot about how the buffalo, and later the horse, influenced changes in the lifestyles of what we now call native Americans of the "plains."
What put the book over the top, for me, was how the author worked in the account of his own buffalo hunt in a More...
What put the book over the top, for me, was how the author worked in the account of his own buffalo hunt in a More...
Aug 09, 2011
gina
rated it:
I am thoroughly enthralled by this book. Rinella does such a good job of blending together everything. I had no idea when I started this book that it would be full of so many facts. It covers history of early Americas, it's animals and early people, their uses of the buffalo, and how in the past few hundred years the buffalo has changed the landscape and ecosystem of the US. From nearly being extinct to their return (albeit a restricted and often fenced in one) we travel alongside Rinella as he
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Oct 10, 2008
David
rated it:
The author wins 1 of 24 slots passed out annually to hunt Buffalo in the Wilds of Alaska(out of 1,200 applicants) and goes on a journey sans planes, auto, heli, or airplane to seek out his prey. Alternating chapters tell of the actually hunt which is fascinating with repsect to everything from privately held indian reservation holdings which must be avoided, Grizzly dangers, the Lord of the Rings like tundra itself, and the enviornmental advantages of burning buffalo dung and simply staying warm
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Feb 21, 2010
Lindsay
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The topic of this book (history of buffalo mixed with a story of his own buffalo hunt in Alaska) was right up my alley. Buffalo hold a special place in my heart, though I don't know how they got there. I learned alot while having fun reading this book. My only criticism is the random tangents he would insert as footnotes throughout the book. They were also interesting, but there were too many of them. He could have thought harder about how to weave those stories nicely into the overall plot of t
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Jan 08, 2012
Lewis
rated it:
Great historical account of buffalo and man's relationship with each other. The beginning seems like a story of six degrees of separation, but the historical accounts are woven in pretty well with the hunting story. The historical stories are really fascinating, right down to the detailed footnotes. As one who does not hunt, the hunting of the buffalo was also really interesting, too. The author took on a lot of hard work in severe conditions and potential bear encounters. The pictures were
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Mar 01, 2009
MJ
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Dave sent this to Brad and as soon as he finished it I grabbed it. I've read Steven Rinellas's articles in Outside magazine and looked forward to this book. What a great read! You learn a lot about buffalo, about our relationship not only to this creature but man's relationship (or lack of it) to the natural world. This is well written, thoughtful, entertaining, informative and sometimes funny book.
