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.