This is a four star book for me. I was raised in Oklahoma so I have a fondness for the plains. This book made me want to go on a road trip to visit some of these wonderful, albeit neglected, places. If you like learning more about the natural world around us and how humans change it, you may enjoy this book. Despite the loss of much of the grassland river ecosystems, Frazier highlights pockets of progress and hope.

The book covers a lot of ground (and water) in exploring 8 different grassland rivers, such as the Missouri, the Kaw, and the South Platte. What you get in this book is the author's trips through segments of these rivers by kayak, the history of the river and how it has changed - and different attempts at recovering and rewilding the grasslands around them. Frazier talks about flora, fauna, soil and sand, water, kayaking, farming, ranching, climate change, unlikely coalitions, parks, and reserves. Lest this sound too dense, he has a colorful way of writing, sometimes whimsical or dramatic. He does not the follow the school of using plain words whenever you can!

Many thanks to Net Galley and the University of Chicago Press for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.