Webblog

Dr. Isern's book focused on how the people and the environment make the Great Plains a unique and special place. Throughout the book Isern talks about his travels across the plains and all of the interesting people he met. All of these stories seem to build on a sense of just what makes the plains unique. One thing that makes the Great Plains unique are all the man made monuments.

I don't know if there is any other place in the world that has so many huge man-made monuments. Not many of them are works of art but they all seem to have their own unique purpose. Some are their to honor wildlife that is a popular part of plains history like the buffalo or now a popular part of its economy in pheasants and walleye. Some really have no connection to the land but are erected just to make the town standout like Harvey's gorilla. Besides huge monuments Isern also talks about things like paddlefishing, winter survival kits, plum butter, and the lost forests of the plains. All of these topics touch on how the people of the plains adapted to their environment. In both the chapters about paddlefishing and plum butter Isern touches on how people use fish and fruits that are found on the plains to make dishes that are truly unique to the plains. To go along with the dishes Isern talked about a few books that were made to instruct people on how to prepare and turn paddlefish and even carp into something you would enjoy having on your dinner table. Finally, Isern gets into the topic of out migration that faces the Dakota's in the chapter title "Parking for North Dakotans". In the chapter he talks about how so many North Dakotans left the state for Washington state and other places. The first part of the chapter definitely paints a bleak picture of the future of the state but in the end Isern ends on a interesting note saying that all the country may have needed was to sift through a number of people before finding the right ones.

Dakota Circle was the best book I have read this semester, no offense to Webb or Sharp but Dr. Isern wrote a book that was easy to relate to and hard to put down. Each chapter seemed to present a window into a certain aspect of life on plains and when put together it showed just how people are able to make life worthwhile and enjoyable on the Great Plains.