Bison

The first book of its kind, Bison: Portrait of an Icon tells the story of this distinctly American species--its history, majesty, cultural significance, and comeback story--through the stunning, dramatic photography of Audrey Hall. Tying together these visually captivating photographs is an extended essay by author Chase Reynolds Ewald, who weaves through her narrative voices of ranchers, policy makers, artists, and Native American tribal herd managers throughout the Great Plains and Mountain West.

Having been saved 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 a distinctly American icon. With a foreword by prominent natural history presenter and filmmaker John Heminway and an essay by Montana Poet Laureate Henry Real Bird, Bison: Portrait of an Icon is a book of beauty, depth, and lasting significance.

The first of its kind, Bison: Portrait of an Icon tells the story of this distinctly American species--its history, majesty, cultural significance, and comeback story--through stunning, dramatic photography and the voices of ranchers, policy makers, artists, and Native American tribal herd managers throughout the Great Plains and Mountain West.

Audrey Hall has been working with a camera for two decades. Her career in the visual arts includes over a hundred feature, commercial, documentary, book and fine art projects for a wide variety of national and international clients. A Rotary scholar, she studied photography at the renowned Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. She lives in Montana.

Chase Reynolds Ewald has been writing about design, travel and lifestyle for 30 years. She is senior editor of Western Art & Architecture magazine and the author of a dozen books. She resides in Tiburon, California.

"... 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" (3/3/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"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" (4/2/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"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" (4/5/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"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" (3/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)
"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" (3/1/2021 12:00:00 AM)