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Prairie: Images of Ground and Sky
Terry Evans
University Press of Kansas, 1986, 72 pages
ISBN 0-7006-0287-9

Prairie – land that has never been farmed or cultivated in any way – is a fascinating ecosystem, although most people would probably not notice anything special when looking at it. These photographs by Terry Evans, however, reveal the true beauty of the prairie.

The heart of her book are the photographs of the prairie ground, taken by pointing her square format Hasselblad camera downwards. These photos, in both b&w and color, reveal the intricate nature and amazing variety of prairie plant life. Brief captions identify the plants featured in each photo. These detailed photographs are supplemented by traditional wide view landscape photos, aerial photos, and a few photos of the sky and clouds, all of them also in square format.

The book is light on text, with three short introductory essays, and a variety of quotations scattered throughout the book. Despite its brevity, there is a lot of information in the text, making this book an excellent introduction to the prairie.

Recommended.