Reviews for For the Greatest Achievement: A History of the Aero Club of America and the National Aeronau...

The average rating for For the Greatest Achievement: A History of the Aero Club of America and the National Aeronau... based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-08-31 00:00:00 Stephen Klocke The book starts off with geography, describing where and what the prairie is and how its many various designations differ across an area that is truly immense. Savage then continues with geology, and she is again thorough, bringing us current all the way from its early formation millions of years ago. Following this comprehensive opening, it is then a careful review of the prairie’s soil, vegetation and animals – big stuff and small (and some infinitesimally tiny) – along with pieces on ranching and farming with its effects on the land, both positive and negative. It concludes with an assessment, and an attempt at general prediction, of the prairie’s future. It’s an absolutely beautiful book, full of stunning photos, illustrations and maps (if you have this as an ebook, go and get yourself a paper copy as I did). Throughout the book there are plentiful sidebars and shorter pieces on particularly interesting facets of life on the prairie. It is excellent.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-02-16 00:00:00 Vernon Nikunen I've had this book on my "am reading" shelf for a while, because I've read it more than once this year; the first time for my own pleasure, and then again as a supporting text book for my course "Ecology Through the Writer's Lens". Savage provides a great introduction to the grasslands of North America, a spectacular and often under-appreciated ecosystem. I would judge the writing very accessible for the non-scientist, but then again, I'm an ecologist so what I judge as accessible may not be so to other eyes. This worked well as a textbook for my non-majors course on prairie ecology. However, general principles tend to get lost in the numerous stories of individual species, both plants and animals. To compensate for this, I gave my students study questions to help guide and synthesize their reading. Recommended for all fans of natural history. A wonderful tribute to the vast history and compelling diversity of North American prairies.