Buffalo (Look West)

This compact book packs a big punch. You smell hear, see, touch, taste, understand, and marvel over a huge, hairy American icon.

The American bison, commonly called the buffalo, is the largest mammal of North America. Symbolically this magnificent animal has come to represent American strength and perseverance. To many Native tribes the buffalo represents the goodness of the gods, bestowed through the gift of food.

From the bison beautifully depicted in ancient cave paintings to the birth of the legendary white buffalo, Buffalo offers fascinating insights into the life and lore of this great beast, whose slaughter nearly eradicated the Plains Indians. In this authoritative, handsome book, noted Western writer Win Blevins uses art, legends, and history—and draws upon his own Native American heritage—to explain why the buffalo, now back from near-extinction, has become a respected symbol of the American spirit. 35 photos.

About the series: Look West: What do you find? Wide, wild landscapes...extraordinary plants and animals...rugged people rich in history...ghost towns and working ranches...ancient pueblos and ultramodern urban areas. In the West, coyotes howl. Native Americans endure and flourish. Kokopelli, the mythical humpbacked flute player, prances across the cliff dwellings and into popular culture—and thousands of curio shops. Every small, handsome book in Rio Nuevo Publishers' Look West series presents a unique aspect of the American West. Using words and pictures, each volume explores a special Western topic or phenomenon, and all have been written and illustrated by regional experts. Each of these attractive 6 x 6-inch hardcover books contains 64 pages of text, illustrations, and photographs. And each one allows the reader to capture the spirit of the West in the palm of a hand.

Win Blevins is the author of more than sixteen books, including Give Your Heart to the Hawks and Dictionary of the American West. Blevins received the 2004 Spur Award for his novel So Wild a Dream, and he was names the 2003 Writer of the Year by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. He lives in Utah's Canyonlands with his wife, Meredith, also a writer.