Based on research of many primary sources, military expeditions and field reports, Dinsmore has created a comprehensive history of the wildlife of Iowa from the arrival of Euro-American explorers to the present day. He examines the dramatic encounters of humans with animals such as black bear, elk bobcats, and many more. Each chapter discusses the animal's status and distribution when explorers first arrived in Iowa, to how it was huted or trapped and how this affected its population, to its current status both in Iowa and nationally. The overriding theme of the book is a sense of wonder at the abundance of wildlife in Iowa, but also a sense of loss at the disapperance of such magnificent animals as the bison and the mountain lion.