这是一本关于北美大草原（或大平原）的生物以及生态的指南书，它并非一本非常技术性的书，任何喜欢自然科学以及大草原的读者们都能阅读。作者探讨了它的深厚历史、未来的无限可能以及当下的境况。整个大草原地区拥有超过350万平方公里的面积（50万在加拿大，其余在美国），大草原占据了北美洲的心脏地区，北到加拿大的艾伯塔省，南到美国德州，从洛基山脉到密西西比河。它是一整个国家的大小，也是北美最大的生态系统，以及直到最近是世界上最富有、最壮观的草原，但因为受到全球暖化影响，已经不再是了。
 
全书充满全彩图片以及黑白线图，充分呈现了北美心脏地区的优美以及多元化。本书的原版有图，2020年出版的版本只有文字没有图，但增加了关于全球暖化效应的内容，两个版本都能够授权。新版内容包括：

• conservation of threatened species, including the black-tailed prairie dog
• grassland loss and conservation
• the health of rivers and the water table
• the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on prairie wetlands
• the benefits of regenerative agriculture

 
关于作者：
Candace Savage是超过20本书的作者，包括A Geography of Blood，这本书获得Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction。
 
好评：
"Savage shares her enthusiasm for her subject as easily as she shares facts about prairie ecosystems." -Publishers Weekly

"Prairie: A Natural History is a heavy, lovely book, with impassioned prose and sprawling pictures. It's easy to feel the author's passion for the plains - regarded by many to be desolate - as she explores their richness and the delicate dance of animals, plants, and the local geology . . . It's equally easy to share her concern for the poor health for this endangered area, for its recovery and restoration. This passion is lovingly rendered in the almost poetical prose and a plethora of engaging images on nearly every page from the ever-shrinking grasslands." -Sacramento Book Review

"Savage uses beautiful photography and captivating prose to portray these landscapes as the home of essential species and magnificent sights." -Finding Solutions

"Savage's verbal account, laden with its wealth of current scientific discovery and impelled with its sense of the miraculous in nature, eclipses the beauty of its own visuals." -Globe & Mail

"Prairie enthusiasts will love this comprehensive, non-technical guide to the biology and ecology of the grasslands of North America . . . This second edition incorporates new information about declining bird species, enhanced protection of bison, the effect of industrialization on prairies, and the effect of the increase in coyote numbers on native foxes. Savage includes a comprehensive list of connections and resources. The book is well-written and beautifully illustrated with color photographs and black-and-white line drawings." -Niobrara Valley Habitat News

"With stunning photography, lyrical prose, and impeccable research, Savage's book guides readers through the prairie's grasslands, wetlands, rivers, and even riparian woodlands, explaining the wildlife, plants, geology, and climate that embody this vast mid-continental ecoregion." -Montana Outdoors