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Grinnell: America's Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West
Before Rachel Carson, there was George Bird Grinnell—the man whose prophetic vision did nothing less than launch American conservation.
George Bird Grinnell, the son of a New York merchant, saw a different future for a nation in the thrall of the Industrial Age. With railroads scarring virgin lands and the formerly vast buffalo herds decimated, the country faced a Could it pursue Manifest Destiny without destroying its natural bounty and beauty? The alarm that Grinnell sounded would spark America's conservation movement. Yet today his name has been forgotten—an omission that John Taliaferro's commanding biography now sets right with historical care and narrative flair.
Drawing on forty thousand pages of Grinnell's correspondence and dozens of his diaries, Taliaferro reveals a man whose deeds and high-mindedness earned him a lustrous peerage, from presidents to chiefs, Audubon to Aldo Leopold, John Muir to Gifford Pinchot, Edward S. Curtis to Edward H. Harriman. Throughout his long life, Grinnell was bound by family and sustained by intimate friendships, toggling between the East and the West. As Taliaferro's enthralling portrait demonstrates, it was this tension that wound Grinnell's nearly inexhaustible spring and honed his vision—a vision that still guides the imperiled future of our national treasures.
George Bird Grinnell, the son of a New York merchant, saw a different future for a nation in the thrall of the Industrial Age. With railroads scarring virgin lands and the formerly vast buffalo herds decimated, the country faced a Could it pursue Manifest Destiny without destroying its natural bounty and beauty? The alarm that Grinnell sounded would spark America's conservation movement. Yet today his name has been forgotten—an omission that John Taliaferro's commanding biography now sets right with historical care and narrative flair.
Drawing on forty thousand pages of Grinnell's correspondence and dozens of his diaries, Taliaferro reveals a man whose deeds and high-mindedness earned him a lustrous peerage, from presidents to chiefs, Audubon to Aldo Leopold, John Muir to Gifford Pinchot, Edward S. Curtis to Edward H. Harriman. Throughout his long life, Grinnell was bound by family and sustained by intimate friendships, toggling between the East and the West. As Taliaferro's enthralling portrait demonstrates, it was this tension that wound Grinnell's nearly inexhaustible spring and honed his vision—a vision that still guides the imperiled future of our national treasures.
19 pages, Audio CD
First published June 4, 2019
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About the author
John Taliaferro
17 books30 followersA graduate of Harvard College, John Taliaferro is a former senior editor at Newsweek.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
May 20, 2019
Is it just me who’s never heard of George Bird Grinnell? I’ve been to Glacier National Park, and must have seen at least the mountain, lake and glacier named for him. But the name meant nothing to me. He was the driving force behind the park. He also played a key role in ensuring that Yellowstone Park remained wild and natural. He founded the magazine that’s now known as Field & Stream. And then there’s the Audubon Society, the U.S. National Park Service, and the roots of conservationism. He disliked General Custer enough that he turned down Custer’s request that Grinnell join him at Little Big Horn. He was friends with Theodore Roosevelt, and travelled with John Muir. Nope, I’d never heard of Grinnell before reading this book. He lived such a big life that he deserves to be better known.
September 6, 2019
This is not my typical kind of book. A biography of Grinnell, it is lengthy (over 500 pages plus notes and bibliography) and very slow going for me--three weeks to read--but I kept plugging along because, in light of the current state of environmental concern in our country, it gave me hope. It emphasizes that we have always had challenges to the environment and there have been people who would stand up and protect it. Grinnell was instrumental in the preservation of both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, not to mention being a spokesperson for Native Americans. I would recommend this to all of my conservation friends and anyone else who needs a ray of hope that we will get through what is happening in our country right now.
May 8, 2020
I had heard of Grinnell but knew very little about him and now I know a great deal about his life and his passion for preservation. This biography details his life and his work as a person, as an hunter, An environmentalist, a birder , an historian and as an advocate for the Cheyenne tribe. He was a contemporary of Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and Edward Curtis. He edited the magazine Forest and Stream later Field and Stream , wrote books and had many adventures on the last vestiges of the West before it was tamed. He visited Glacier National Park when it was a wilderness and fought to preserve it for the American people - the now melting glacier is named for him . He also organized the first Audubon Society. John Taliaferro has accomplished a monumental task in telling Grinnell’s life story.
January 5, 2023
Grinnell is a fascinating character and this book definitely did him justice.
Taliaferro draws on a deep well of letters, journals, and published work to demonstrate Grinnell's evolution into a fierce advocate for Indian tribes and committed conservationist at a time where both of those traits were far outside of the mainstream.
Due to the limitations of the sources and Grinnell's reticence concerning his personal affairs, the book lacks detailed accounts of the relationships between Grinnell, his wife, and a potential relationship with George Gould. The story of Grinnell and Gould is probably the saddest passage in the book.
I really love Glacier National Park. Every 5 pages, it seemed a new person was introduced that I immediately recognized because a peak was named after them. The firsthand accounts of Grinnell's travels west were fascinating. Grinnell's obvious pride when talking about "his glacier" was charming, especially as he grew older.
Dear lord this book is long though. You could cut out so so so much and not miss anything about Grinnell. So many side characters who get an entire life story.
Taliaferro draws on a deep well of letters, journals, and published work to demonstrate Grinnell's evolution into a fierce advocate for Indian tribes and committed conservationist at a time where both of those traits were far outside of the mainstream.
Due to the limitations of the sources and Grinnell's reticence concerning his personal affairs, the book lacks detailed accounts of the relationships between Grinnell, his wife, and a potential relationship with George Gould. The story of Grinnell and Gould is probably the saddest passage in the book.
I really love Glacier National Park. Every 5 pages, it seemed a new person was introduced that I immediately recognized because a peak was named after them. The firsthand accounts of Grinnell's travels west were fascinating. Grinnell's obvious pride when talking about "his glacier" was charming, especially as he grew older.
Dear lord this book is long though. You could cut out so so so much and not miss anything about Grinnell. So many side characters who get an entire life story.
April 18, 2025
I was aware that George Bird Grinnell was an early conservationist because of the places named after him in Glacier National Park, but I had no idea just how important he was to the early conservation movement and how much he accomplished in his life. Grinnell by John Taliaferro tells his life story.
George Bird Grinnell was born in 1849 in New York City and spent his childhood, and much of his life, on John James Audubon‘s property, though only after Audubon’s death. Grinnell was taught for a time by Audubon‘s widow, Lucy, and was an admirer who was inspired by Audubon‘s work in ornithology. Grinnell attended Yale, but nearly flunked out.
In 1870, Grinnell joined a Yale expedition out west, led by his professor O.C. Marsh, to hunt for fossils. It was on this trip that he first met scout Frank North. On this expedition he had adventures, met old fur trappers and visited Yosemite.
After returning to New York City to work for his father, Grinnell went to the western plains again in 1872 to join Pawnee Indians in a buffalo hunt. He considered it one of the greatest experiences of his life.
Grinnell worked trading stocks for his father‘s firm, which was fortunate enough to have Cornelius Vanderbilt as a client. During the financial crash of 1873, however, the firm engaged in some intrigue to shield its money from creditors, which led to controversy associated with the Grinnell name. After the crash, the firm shut down and Grinnell did work for professor Marsh and wrote articles for Forest and Stream, a sportsman’s journal, where Grinnell eventually became an editor in 1876.
In 1874, Grinnell joined a reconnaissance of the Black Hills in present day South Dakota, led by General George Custer. Grinnell hunted for fossils for Marsh on the trip. Gold was found and Custer made sure the news was spread far and wide, setting off a gold rush in the hills the Sioux considered sacred. The resulting conflict led to a war that ultimately cost the lives of Custer and his men in 1876 at the battle of Little Bighorn. Grinnell had been invited to join on the mission that ended at Little Bighorn, but he had declined, likely saving his life.
Grinnell joined another reconnaissance in 1875, this time to the recently created Yellowstone National Park. This trip would be the start of his deep love and connection to Montana and the start of his speaking out against the thoughtless slaughter of wildlife and destruction of nature.
In the summer of 1877, Grinnell visited his friends, the Lute brothers, at their ranch in Nebraska (after Indians had been evicted from the area) and played a bit at being a cowboy (making it one of the early “dude ranches”). Grinnell also earned a PhD in osteology and paleontology.
In 1880, Grinnell became president of Forest and Stream, where he increasingly dedicated the journal to the purpose of advocating for conservation.
Grinnell took a vacation to the Pacific Northwest in 1881 and then returned home and led a campaign to stop the commercialization of Yellowstone National Park through extensive articles in Forest and Stream. Despite decrying the development of the west, Grinnell bought his own ranch in Wyoming, but it never made money and he was forced to sell it years later.
In 1885, Grinnell visited the Saint Mary and Swiftcurrent lakes areas in what is now Glacier National Park and he fell in love with glacier country. He also spent time with the Blackfeet and learned to respect their culture. Grinnell returned home to advocate for better treatment of western Indian tribes. When he returned to the area in 1887, a mountain and glacier above Swiftcurrent Lake was named after him.
That same year, Grinnell met a young politician named Teddy Roosevelt with whom he had much in common, including a love for the west and hunting. They became quick friends.
In 1886, alarmed by the slaughter of birds for women’s fashion, Grinnell founded the first Audubon Society, an organization that worked to convince women not to wear bird feathers. This first Audubon Society would eventually fade and a new one would grow to the organization we know today.
The following year, Grinnell, Teddy Roosevelt, and other aristocratic men founded the Boone and Crockett Club with the intent of preserving the dwindling big games species.
In another trip to the glacier area, Grinnell learned of the mistreatment of the Blackfeet by the assigned government agent and he campaigned for the agent’s removal. Over the years, Grinnell would act repeatedly as a liaison with the government on behalf of the western tribes he knew.
Grinnell interviewed Pawnee tribal members and published, in 1890, a popular book of their stories and culture. This book established him as a recognized ethnologist and anthropologist. Grinnell published a similar book about the Blackfeet in 1892.
In 1891, Grinnell and others from the Boone Crockett Club successfully lobbied to create the first national forest around Yellowstone National Park in an effort to save dwindling elk herds. Two years later, Grinnell defeated a bill that would have allowed a railroad through Lamar Valley in Yellowstone and, in 1894, he helped to convince Congress to pass legislation to provide protection to Yellowstone National Park wildlife and resources. Grinnell also joined good governance reform efforts to fight Tammany Hall in New York City.
With his interest and involvement with western tribes, Grinnell was the first to document the battle of Little Bighorn from the perspective of the northern Cheyenne.
With white prospectors beginning to explore the east glacier region and understanding that they would start taking the land regardless of whether it was legal, Grinnell decided to help negotiate the government purchase of the east glacier region from the Blackfeet. Grinnell mistakenly believed that the Blackfeet, being a plains tribe, didn’t venture into the mountains of east glacier. The purchase was made with the promise that the Blackfeet could continue to hunt, fish and graze cattle on the land… a promise that would be broken with the creation of Glacier National Park.
In 1897, acting on the recommendation of a federal commission that included Gifford Pinchot and John Muir, President Grover Cleveland created numerous national forest reserves across the west, including Flathead National Forest and Lewis and Clark National Forest, both of which included land that is part of today’s Glacier National Park. In the same year, Grinnell was made an honorary chief of the Blackfeet while attending a sun dance at Two Medicine in today’s Glacier National Park.
Grinnell helped plan the Bronx zoo and in 1897 he was the first to record Indian songs on a graphophone. He also helped to free Cheyenne brothers wrongly accused of murder.
In 1899, Grinnell joined John Muir, photographer Edward Curtis, and others in a scientific expedition to Alaska, led by tycoon Edward Herman. On this trip Grinnell studied Tlingit and Umiak culture, but also sadly looted an abandoned Tlingit village. Grinnell later invited Curtis to photograph the Blackfeet medicine lodge, which set Curtis on his iconic career of photographing western Indians.
Grinnell began publishing several novels for boys about the American West intended to teach boys about the west and about living a virtuous life.
In 1901, Grinnell’s friend Teddy Roosevelt became president and Grinnell, together with Charles Loomis, formed the Sequoia League to help advocate for better conditions of the western Indians.
Grinnell married Elizabeth Williams in 1902 and also mediated some disputes between Indians and whites at the request of President Roosevelt.
In 1905, Grinnell joined the board of the newly formed national Audubon Society, advocated for passage of federal protection of migratory birds – which served as the model for the Endangered Species Act – and convinced Roosevelt to reform the Indian Affairs Bureau.
Grinnell helped to establish the National Bison Range in 1908 and began pushing in earnest the establishment of Glacier National Park, which passed in 1910 - a product of his idea and effort.
In 1909, Grinnell became Director of the Society for the Protection of National Parks for the purpose of opposing the Hetch Hetchy dam in Yosemite. This put him on the side of Muir and against his friend, Gifford Pinchot.
Grinnell published a history of the Boone and Crockett Club in 1910, just one of numerous books he published with the Boone and Crockett Club.
In 1911, Grinnell sold Forest and Stream to the owner of the Wall Street Journal.
There was growing conflict in the conservation community between those groups willing to take money from gun companies and those who felt that it compromised their independence in calling for less lethal weapons for hunting. Grinnell supported taking money from gun companies and by 1913 they had worked together to pass a bill protecting migratory birds.
By 1913, Grinnell was complaining about the number of tourists in Glacier National Park. After 20 years of work, he also finally published his history of the Cheyenne battles from their perspective
Grinnell helped to pass the establishment of Mount McKinley National Park in 1917.
During World War I, Grinnell helped defeat plans to suspend wildlife hunting laws for the purpose of increasing the food supply during the war. In 1918, he was elected president of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Grinnell toured ancient Pueblo ruins of the southwest in 1919 and in 1920 he helped lead the fight against proposed dams in Yellowstone National Park.
Grinnell, at the age of 70 in 1921, began advocating for clean water and anticipated the Clean Water Act by 50 years.
In 1922, he finally published his comprehensive anthropological book about Cheyenne culture and also began correspondence with a rising younger conservationist named Aldo Leopold.
Present Coolidge awarded Grinnell the Roosevelt Medal for Distinguished Service in 1923.
Grinnell met with Charles M. Russell, famed Montana landscape artist, in 1925.
In 1928, Grinnell published his final book which told the life story of his friends, Luther and Frank North, two brothers who served as western scouts and participated in the Indian wars.
Grinnell died in 1938 and was hailed by the New York Times as the father of American conservation.
I know this review is little more than a listing of dates and Grinnell’s accomplishments, but he honestly achieved so much during his life that it is hard summarize the highlights without simply listing them. What an extraordinary person. We can thank him for so much conservation that we take for granted today. Living near and loving Glacier National Park, his preeminent accomplishment, makes me appreciate him so much more.
George Bird Grinnell was born in 1849 in New York City and spent his childhood, and much of his life, on John James Audubon‘s property, though only after Audubon’s death. Grinnell was taught for a time by Audubon‘s widow, Lucy, and was an admirer who was inspired by Audubon‘s work in ornithology. Grinnell attended Yale, but nearly flunked out.
In 1870, Grinnell joined a Yale expedition out west, led by his professor O.C. Marsh, to hunt for fossils. It was on this trip that he first met scout Frank North. On this expedition he had adventures, met old fur trappers and visited Yosemite.
After returning to New York City to work for his father, Grinnell went to the western plains again in 1872 to join Pawnee Indians in a buffalo hunt. He considered it one of the greatest experiences of his life.
Grinnell worked trading stocks for his father‘s firm, which was fortunate enough to have Cornelius Vanderbilt as a client. During the financial crash of 1873, however, the firm engaged in some intrigue to shield its money from creditors, which led to controversy associated with the Grinnell name. After the crash, the firm shut down and Grinnell did work for professor Marsh and wrote articles for Forest and Stream, a sportsman’s journal, where Grinnell eventually became an editor in 1876.
In 1874, Grinnell joined a reconnaissance of the Black Hills in present day South Dakota, led by General George Custer. Grinnell hunted for fossils for Marsh on the trip. Gold was found and Custer made sure the news was spread far and wide, setting off a gold rush in the hills the Sioux considered sacred. The resulting conflict led to a war that ultimately cost the lives of Custer and his men in 1876 at the battle of Little Bighorn. Grinnell had been invited to join on the mission that ended at Little Bighorn, but he had declined, likely saving his life.
Grinnell joined another reconnaissance in 1875, this time to the recently created Yellowstone National Park. This trip would be the start of his deep love and connection to Montana and the start of his speaking out against the thoughtless slaughter of wildlife and destruction of nature.
In the summer of 1877, Grinnell visited his friends, the Lute brothers, at their ranch in Nebraska (after Indians had been evicted from the area) and played a bit at being a cowboy (making it one of the early “dude ranches”). Grinnell also earned a PhD in osteology and paleontology.
In 1880, Grinnell became president of Forest and Stream, where he increasingly dedicated the journal to the purpose of advocating for conservation.
Grinnell took a vacation to the Pacific Northwest in 1881 and then returned home and led a campaign to stop the commercialization of Yellowstone National Park through extensive articles in Forest and Stream. Despite decrying the development of the west, Grinnell bought his own ranch in Wyoming, but it never made money and he was forced to sell it years later.
In 1885, Grinnell visited the Saint Mary and Swiftcurrent lakes areas in what is now Glacier National Park and he fell in love with glacier country. He also spent time with the Blackfeet and learned to respect their culture. Grinnell returned home to advocate for better treatment of western Indian tribes. When he returned to the area in 1887, a mountain and glacier above Swiftcurrent Lake was named after him.
That same year, Grinnell met a young politician named Teddy Roosevelt with whom he had much in common, including a love for the west and hunting. They became quick friends.
In 1886, alarmed by the slaughter of birds for women’s fashion, Grinnell founded the first Audubon Society, an organization that worked to convince women not to wear bird feathers. This first Audubon Society would eventually fade and a new one would grow to the organization we know today.
The following year, Grinnell, Teddy Roosevelt, and other aristocratic men founded the Boone and Crockett Club with the intent of preserving the dwindling big games species.
In another trip to the glacier area, Grinnell learned of the mistreatment of the Blackfeet by the assigned government agent and he campaigned for the agent’s removal. Over the years, Grinnell would act repeatedly as a liaison with the government on behalf of the western tribes he knew.
Grinnell interviewed Pawnee tribal members and published, in 1890, a popular book of their stories and culture. This book established him as a recognized ethnologist and anthropologist. Grinnell published a similar book about the Blackfeet in 1892.
In 1891, Grinnell and others from the Boone Crockett Club successfully lobbied to create the first national forest around Yellowstone National Park in an effort to save dwindling elk herds. Two years later, Grinnell defeated a bill that would have allowed a railroad through Lamar Valley in Yellowstone and, in 1894, he helped to convince Congress to pass legislation to provide protection to Yellowstone National Park wildlife and resources. Grinnell also joined good governance reform efforts to fight Tammany Hall in New York City.
With his interest and involvement with western tribes, Grinnell was the first to document the battle of Little Bighorn from the perspective of the northern Cheyenne.
With white prospectors beginning to explore the east glacier region and understanding that they would start taking the land regardless of whether it was legal, Grinnell decided to help negotiate the government purchase of the east glacier region from the Blackfeet. Grinnell mistakenly believed that the Blackfeet, being a plains tribe, didn’t venture into the mountains of east glacier. The purchase was made with the promise that the Blackfeet could continue to hunt, fish and graze cattle on the land… a promise that would be broken with the creation of Glacier National Park.
In 1897, acting on the recommendation of a federal commission that included Gifford Pinchot and John Muir, President Grover Cleveland created numerous national forest reserves across the west, including Flathead National Forest and Lewis and Clark National Forest, both of which included land that is part of today’s Glacier National Park. In the same year, Grinnell was made an honorary chief of the Blackfeet while attending a sun dance at Two Medicine in today’s Glacier National Park.
Grinnell helped plan the Bronx zoo and in 1897 he was the first to record Indian songs on a graphophone. He also helped to free Cheyenne brothers wrongly accused of murder.
In 1899, Grinnell joined John Muir, photographer Edward Curtis, and others in a scientific expedition to Alaska, led by tycoon Edward Herman. On this trip Grinnell studied Tlingit and Umiak culture, but also sadly looted an abandoned Tlingit village. Grinnell later invited Curtis to photograph the Blackfeet medicine lodge, which set Curtis on his iconic career of photographing western Indians.
Grinnell began publishing several novels for boys about the American West intended to teach boys about the west and about living a virtuous life.
In 1901, Grinnell’s friend Teddy Roosevelt became president and Grinnell, together with Charles Loomis, formed the Sequoia League to help advocate for better conditions of the western Indians.
Grinnell married Elizabeth Williams in 1902 and also mediated some disputes between Indians and whites at the request of President Roosevelt.
In 1905, Grinnell joined the board of the newly formed national Audubon Society, advocated for passage of federal protection of migratory birds – which served as the model for the Endangered Species Act – and convinced Roosevelt to reform the Indian Affairs Bureau.
Grinnell helped to establish the National Bison Range in 1908 and began pushing in earnest the establishment of Glacier National Park, which passed in 1910 - a product of his idea and effort.
In 1909, Grinnell became Director of the Society for the Protection of National Parks for the purpose of opposing the Hetch Hetchy dam in Yosemite. This put him on the side of Muir and against his friend, Gifford Pinchot.
Grinnell published a history of the Boone and Crockett Club in 1910, just one of numerous books he published with the Boone and Crockett Club.
In 1911, Grinnell sold Forest and Stream to the owner of the Wall Street Journal.
There was growing conflict in the conservation community between those groups willing to take money from gun companies and those who felt that it compromised their independence in calling for less lethal weapons for hunting. Grinnell supported taking money from gun companies and by 1913 they had worked together to pass a bill protecting migratory birds.
By 1913, Grinnell was complaining about the number of tourists in Glacier National Park. After 20 years of work, he also finally published his history of the Cheyenne battles from their perspective
Grinnell helped to pass the establishment of Mount McKinley National Park in 1917.
During World War I, Grinnell helped defeat plans to suspend wildlife hunting laws for the purpose of increasing the food supply during the war. In 1918, he was elected president of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Grinnell toured ancient Pueblo ruins of the southwest in 1919 and in 1920 he helped lead the fight against proposed dams in Yellowstone National Park.
Grinnell, at the age of 70 in 1921, began advocating for clean water and anticipated the Clean Water Act by 50 years.
In 1922, he finally published his comprehensive anthropological book about Cheyenne culture and also began correspondence with a rising younger conservationist named Aldo Leopold.
Present Coolidge awarded Grinnell the Roosevelt Medal for Distinguished Service in 1923.
Grinnell met with Charles M. Russell, famed Montana landscape artist, in 1925.
In 1928, Grinnell published his final book which told the life story of his friends, Luther and Frank North, two brothers who served as western scouts and participated in the Indian wars.
Grinnell died in 1938 and was hailed by the New York Times as the father of American conservation.
I know this review is little more than a listing of dates and Grinnell’s accomplishments, but he honestly achieved so much during his life that it is hard summarize the highlights without simply listing them. What an extraordinary person. We can thank him for so much conservation that we take for granted today. Living near and loving Glacier National Park, his preeminent accomplishment, makes me appreciate him so much more.
January 1, 2021
This book definitely took me a while to get through but was very much worth the effort. Grinnell is an under-researched, underappreciated pioneer of American environmentalism, and this book fills a big gap in defining his role in the conservation movement. I loved reading Grinnell's impressions of the changing West throughout his nearly century-long life, and I felt transported to what are now Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks in their wild early days.
There were definitely some challenges to this book as well. I would describe it as the definitive biography of Grinnell, but because it may be the ONLY big biography of Grinnell, I felt like the author didn't want to leave anything out, and there were definitely points at which it was over-detailed. The book is told very strictly chronologically, and sometimes things like the information on exactly every stop they took in their travels feels extraneous. It is also hard to read about Grinnell's ethnological studies through a modern lens. I think Taliaferro does a good job of putting Grinnell's studies of indigenous Americans in context--Grinnell was certainly far ahead of his time in his thinking in terms of the respect and value he placed on native cultures, but when viewed with modern sensibilities Grinnell comes off as consistently paternalistic and often downright racist. I was glad to see this finally acknowledged outright in the book's epilogue. Like many early conservationists, Grinnell is a complicated figure, and I appreciate that Taliaferro doesn't downplay that conflict.
In all, this was an excellent read for anyone interested in the history of conservation and the American west.
There were definitely some challenges to this book as well. I would describe it as the definitive biography of Grinnell, but because it may be the ONLY big biography of Grinnell, I felt like the author didn't want to leave anything out, and there were definitely points at which it was over-detailed. The book is told very strictly chronologically, and sometimes things like the information on exactly every stop they took in their travels feels extraneous. It is also hard to read about Grinnell's ethnological studies through a modern lens. I think Taliaferro does a good job of putting Grinnell's studies of indigenous Americans in context--Grinnell was certainly far ahead of his time in his thinking in terms of the respect and value he placed on native cultures, but when viewed with modern sensibilities Grinnell comes off as consistently paternalistic and often downright racist. I was glad to see this finally acknowledged outright in the book's epilogue. Like many early conservationists, Grinnell is a complicated figure, and I appreciate that Taliaferro doesn't downplay that conflict.
In all, this was an excellent read for anyone interested in the history of conservation and the American west.
February 24, 2021
Its... long, and it took me forever to push through.
But the subject matter is one I've gained growing respect for since learning about him. Too often historical conservation figures push for the genocide of my race in order to have a play ground.
While Grinnell's view points come off as racist today they were monumental for his time, and honestly better than most people believe of Natives even in 2021.
But the subject matter is one I've gained growing respect for since learning about him. Too often historical conservation figures push for the genocide of my race in order to have a play ground.
While Grinnell's view points come off as racist today they were monumental for his time, and honestly better than most people believe of Natives even in 2021.
October 20, 2024
Grinnell is definitely the unsung hero of conservation! He was an adventurous explorer who fed his passion in the West, beginning by gathering fossils and bones with college colleagues. He wrote of his exploits in the weekly 'Forest and Stream' and later became editor and later President / Publisher of this magazine which was dedicated to conservation. Through Forest and Stream, Grinnell helped to launch the National Audubon Society, was an early sponsor of the national park movement and supported the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. He was also one of the founding members of the 'Boone and Crockett Club', along with his friend Theodore Roosevelt which was dedicated to restoration of America's wildlands.
Over the years that he explored the West, Grinnell witnessed the steep decline of birds, whose feathers adorned women's hats, and the decimation of the buffalo, deer and elk herd. He befriended Native American men and women and wrote books about their culture, which was quickly being exterminated, along with the buffalo.
He witnessed buffalo herd that took 3 hours to pass, men who shot these majestic animals for shear sport, Native Americans who starved when pushed into reservations, with limited food supply, and felt a sense of duty to change the tide of these atrocities.
His stories reached the right people that could make a difference. Due in part to his voice, we now have National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges to protect the national treasures; rules and regulations to strategically manage wildlife; restored buffalo herds on private and public lands; restitution to Native American tribes for failure to follow historic treaty acts.
The book is written from letters Grinnell wrote over his lifetime. The author applies great empathy to the changing world that Grinnell was seeing pass before his very eyes. It is a great read, one that will make you rethink about the 'why' of expansion.
Over the years that he explored the West, Grinnell witnessed the steep decline of birds, whose feathers adorned women's hats, and the decimation of the buffalo, deer and elk herd. He befriended Native American men and women and wrote books about their culture, which was quickly being exterminated, along with the buffalo.
He witnessed buffalo herd that took 3 hours to pass, men who shot these majestic animals for shear sport, Native Americans who starved when pushed into reservations, with limited food supply, and felt a sense of duty to change the tide of these atrocities.
His stories reached the right people that could make a difference. Due in part to his voice, we now have National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges to protect the national treasures; rules and regulations to strategically manage wildlife; restored buffalo herds on private and public lands; restitution to Native American tribes for failure to follow historic treaty acts.
The book is written from letters Grinnell wrote over his lifetime. The author applies great empathy to the changing world that Grinnell was seeing pass before his very eyes. It is a great read, one that will make you rethink about the 'why' of expansion.
May 5, 2022
I enjoy learning, and this book taught me many things about life in the 1850s to early 1900. George Bird Grinnell lived in New York, was a contemporary of Theodore Roosevelt, Audubon, John Muir, and many historical figures we know today.
His visits west gave us written history, as the editor of Field and Stream, of the Native Americans. While many may criticize his work today, he stood in the gap for many Native Americans when the country was cruel, greedy, and hateful toward them. He defended them, demanded better conditions, and befriended many in his adventures of the west. It is easy to look back and criticize, and yet he made a difference and learned, as well as taught others, about the many tribes.
He also championed the designation of National Parks, National Forests, and the protection of wild animals from hunting. Glacier National Park was his 'discovery' and the beauty described in the book makes me want to visit that portion of the US.
It was interesting to see how he learned from his many experiences throughout his lifetime. He saw (and hunted) when the bison were still plentiful. He saw the butchery of hunters who slaughtered to slaughter. And he learned that there must be respect of what we have, or we will no longer have it. We should be thankful for his efforts and that while not perfect in his understanding, he made a difference.
His visits west gave us written history, as the editor of Field and Stream, of the Native Americans. While many may criticize his work today, he stood in the gap for many Native Americans when the country was cruel, greedy, and hateful toward them. He defended them, demanded better conditions, and befriended many in his adventures of the west. It is easy to look back and criticize, and yet he made a difference and learned, as well as taught others, about the many tribes.
He also championed the designation of National Parks, National Forests, and the protection of wild animals from hunting. Glacier National Park was his 'discovery' and the beauty described in the book makes me want to visit that portion of the US.
It was interesting to see how he learned from his many experiences throughout his lifetime. He saw (and hunted) when the bison were still plentiful. He saw the butchery of hunters who slaughtered to slaughter. And he learned that there must be respect of what we have, or we will no longer have it. We should be thankful for his efforts and that while not perfect in his understanding, he made a difference.
January 27, 2022
A good biography tells the story not only of the man but of the times he endured.
Taliaferro's excellent biography of George Bird Grinnell certainly praises its subject for his contributions to conservation and ethnology but also fits him with large developments in his personal circles with many other notable names and the public discourse of 19th and 20th century America. It is remarkable how Grinnell not only witnessed events like Lincoln's funeral and the creation of national parks but was instrumental in climbing and naming peaks and recording the stories of both Anglo and Indian participants of the Indian Wars (and he even narrowly missed being at Little Bighorn). We also get a rounded portrait of the man, long a bachelor, and his relations with friends, colleagues, and family.
Here I must praise Taliaferro for providing hypotheses about Grinnell's actions and exchanges but recognizing that his portrait is built on incomplete data. Many biographers would fabricate or suggest outcomes but this bio is well aware of the limitations of documented evidence.
This is a story not only of a changing man but of a changing world and how with a bit of luck and a lot of work, individuals can protect the wild things of life for posterity.
Taliaferro's excellent biography of George Bird Grinnell certainly praises its subject for his contributions to conservation and ethnology but also fits him with large developments in his personal circles with many other notable names and the public discourse of 19th and 20th century America. It is remarkable how Grinnell not only witnessed events like Lincoln's funeral and the creation of national parks but was instrumental in climbing and naming peaks and recording the stories of both Anglo and Indian participants of the Indian Wars (and he even narrowly missed being at Little Bighorn). We also get a rounded portrait of the man, long a bachelor, and his relations with friends, colleagues, and family.
Here I must praise Taliaferro for providing hypotheses about Grinnell's actions and exchanges but recognizing that his portrait is built on incomplete data. Many biographers would fabricate or suggest outcomes but this bio is well aware of the limitations of documented evidence.
This is a story not only of a changing man but of a changing world and how with a bit of luck and a lot of work, individuals can protect the wild things of life for posterity.
January 6, 2022
Like most reviewers, I knew nothing of this man. He has been called The Father of American Conservation, and rightly so. Although a Yale man and a New Yorker, he was, as the book’s title indicates, a man of the West, in the noblest sense of that term. He knew icons from Roosevelt to Muir to Custer to Buffalo Bill (those last two being dubious icons), but his true friends were the scouts and guides he traveled the West with and the Native American tribes whose rights he championed. And his true passion was for conservation of America’s wild places and wild game, causes he fought tirelessly for in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, in particular through his advocacy for creation of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.
The last half of the book has a certain “Groundhog Day” aspect to it as he annually revisits the same haunts, often with the same companions, but it is definitely worth sticking with it, if only to render this man the honor he deserves. Some may say why honor the man if he had ample means and connections to accomplish what he did, but to those skeptics I’d say, why aren’t there thousands more like him?
The last half of the book has a certain “Groundhog Day” aspect to it as he annually revisits the same haunts, often with the same companions, but it is definitely worth sticking with it, if only to render this man the honor he deserves. Some may say why honor the man if he had ample means and connections to accomplish what he did, but to those skeptics I’d say, why aren’t there thousands more like him?
October 25, 2022
Well-researched, -written, and informative. I'm not sure I agree with Taliaferro's contention that Grinnell was gay. It's absolutely possible, but given the volume of source material, positive evidence for Grinnell's sexuality seems a little sparse. Of course, given the times, he almost certainly wouldn't have been open about it, and it's true that some of his letters to his long-time friends come across as romantic, especially to modern sensibilities. But it's also possible that Grinnell was just affectionate with his closest friends in a way that is less common now. I don't mean to reject the possibility, only to observe that I wasn't completely convinced by Taliaferro's evidence and arguments (he doesn't really do much to support this claim in the text, and honestly it's not even that big a part of the overall book).
In general, though, an interesting read about Grinnell and his work to preserve western wilderness, Glacier NP in particular.
In general, though, an interesting read about Grinnell and his work to preserve western wilderness, Glacier NP in particular.
Want to read
October 8, 2019I don't quite recall how I came to find out about this biography, and the man who greatly influenced the early days of the environmental movement in the US, although it wasn't called that in the late 1800's & early 1900's. He was an explorer, a conservationist, an author, and a chronicler of a fast disappearing 'wild and unsettled' west and the impacts on the Native Americans(using the US terminology) living there. He was the leading force for the formation of Glacier National Park, and keenly interested in Yellowstone national park. He was also one of the leaders forming the Audubon Society and the Boone & Crockett Club.
I haven't gotten much beyond the introduction & the photos section, due to competing books & other activities, but would like to return to this biography at another time.
I haven't gotten much beyond the introduction & the photos section, due to competing books & other activities, but would like to return to this biography at another time.
August 27, 2019
This book was on the New shelf of my local library, and the name Grinnell immediately attracted my attention as I have pleasant memories of Grinnell Mountain, Grinnell Glacier, and Grinnell Lake.
This is a well-written and well-researched biography of George Bird Grinnell who had such a full life and made such an effort to protect natural areas and the history of the West before they disappeared.
There were words used in the correspondence of educated men of the 19th century that sent me to my dictionary, and I am pleased to add them to my vocabulary. It is a long book but the last quarter of the book is Notes, Bibliography, and Index so that it may encourage research for others.
I recommend it for any reader who enjoys biography.
This is a well-written and well-researched biography of George Bird Grinnell who had such a full life and made such an effort to protect natural areas and the history of the West before they disappeared.
There were words used in the correspondence of educated men of the 19th century that sent me to my dictionary, and I am pleased to add them to my vocabulary. It is a long book but the last quarter of the book is Notes, Bibliography, and Index so that it may encourage research for others.
I recommend it for any reader who enjoys biography.
February 16, 2021
A detailed, comprehensive biography of one of conservation's original champions and a founder of Audubon. He truly led a remarkable life, spending lots of time with the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, Stephen Mather, Aldo Leopold, John Muir and prominent Indian leaders including White Calf of the Blackfoot Tribe. He was the main driver of the establishment of Glacier National Park, a key driver for Yellowstone and other national parks. In addition, he chronicled and championed Indian tribes, such as the Cheyenne and Blackfeet, to the point where he was made an honorary Blackfoot chief. He also led a checkered past and would not pass muster under current definitions of political correctness. But on balance, his legacy is a proud one.
April 2, 2022
4.7 stars. Grinnell was a man with many accomplishments yet his most noticeable quality is his humbleness. I cannot believe how many major organizations of today he influenced. He helped found Field and Stream, Yellowstone and Glacier National Park, New York Zoological Society, Audubon Society, and Boone and Crockett Club. He helped save the Buffalo and was friends of the Cheyenne and Piegans, as well as Theodore Roosevelt. It is amazing to see how many of his comments are relevant today, especially him recognizing how the creation of the national park, while saving something, often harmed the Native Americans and the beloved scenery he once knew. The best biography I’ve read in a while. Grinnell, RIP.
August 9, 2025
I spotted this book in the gift shop before setting off on the "strenuous" rated Grinnell Glacier hike, and I said I would buy WHEN I finished the hike. Reading it in the days during my first visit to Glacier NP and surrounding area made it all the better as there were so many connections. It is the perfect book for a national park lover. To know more intimately the history of how our natural spaces came to be preserved is important as continued threats against them persist. Kudos to the author on piecing all of Grinnell's documents together for this book.
November 28, 2021
It was so inspirational to read and walk in the footsteps of the real WHITE man that first explored and held in high regard as to ensure that Glacier National Park was maintained as the crowning gem that it is for all future generations.
I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have visited Glacier NP this fall and experienced firsthand, including transversing Going to the Sun Road at daybreak, climbing up to Grinnell Glacier, and Virginia and St. Mary Falls.
I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have visited Glacier NP this fall and experienced firsthand, including transversing Going to the Sun Road at daybreak, climbing up to Grinnell Glacier, and Virginia and St. Mary Falls.
January 26, 2023
I read this biography for my bird club book club. It was well researched, but bored the reader by way too many details. I didn't need to know that in year....he went out west and then wrote about his experiences, then in year....the same thing---almost ad infinitum. Grinnell left a prodigious number of papers/records/letters etc, so many that I finally started feeling sorry for the researcher. Brevity on this 650 page book was in order.
January 30, 2025
An excellent biography of a man that quietly made the right connections at the right time and transformed the American environmental movement through his writing and advocacy. The book takes a deep dive into the details of Grinnell's life along with perspectives on his actions and attitudes. The only part I cared little for were some of the tangents into his side writing projects and the publishing business/process. I would nonetheless, highly recommend it!
February 23, 2020
George Bird Grinnell led a full, active life. I enjoyed reading about his efforts to preserve nature and to get to know different tribes of Native Americans. Grinnell was alive at the time when conservation was just beginning to become a concern. This book was just rather long and got tedious to read at times.
May 28, 2020
I love Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and my wife got this for me for a gift. She knows me well. This was a readable life story of a person whom I'd not really heard of before. The changes in the West during this one lifetime were amazing, and the man himself was fascinating. Conservation would not have been the same without Grinnell. Check it out.
May 26, 2024
A collection of endless short stories on a man who was at the heart of preservation and conservation of the mountain west. While the book at times seemed to give equal weighting to all stories, no matter how seemingly irrelevant, when viewed at a higher level, the stories reveal a great man who dedicated himself to the west.
August 16, 2019
This is a rather long but fascinating biography about multi-dimensional man who was instrumental in establishing our National Parks and entities such as The Audoben Society, Boone and Crockett Club and many others.
November 9, 2019
Fascinating, but only partly because Grinnell's story is interesting. Also interesting to learn about the native Americans he interacted with during his life and their mistreatment by our government. Book motivated me to plan a visit to Glacier National Park next summer.
December 18, 2019
Great book, amazing man, but a little dry. I'm trained as an environmental lawyer, and I love the outdoors, backpacking, hiking and the national parks, so I found it fascinating and truly appreciated Grinnell's commitment to the outdoors and to native Americans.
December 31, 2019
I picked this book up because Glacier National Park has a special place in my heart and you cannot dissociate Glacier from Grinnell. It's a well documented book, not only on Grinnell but on the times and events during his lifetime.
July 7, 2020
What a wonderful biography of a great man who has inspired me to be more ambitious in life. George Grinnell worked and travelled tirelessly to conserve nature and make lives better for American Indians and Americans in general.
August 21, 2020
Grinnell: America's Environmental Pioneer is full of adventure and history!! It is very informative and encouraging for those who are interested in conservation, wildlife and the history of the U.S. and the relations with the Native Americans. Grinnell was quite a man!!
April 22, 2023
What an amazing life George Bird Grinnell had lived. Yes this is a rather long biography, but nonetheless a very interesting read. It is just unfathomable to imagine all the changes he had seen in his life, all the experiences he had, and all the friends he had made along the way.
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