and also george kaplan was an artist and export came to this region, painted in this area wrote aboutis descriptions of prairie fires were immensely popular in the early and mid-19th century. 's as a place of adventure yeah it was in the early literature it could be found and appreciated. but most of the literature after the official about the conquering of the prairie. willa cather's books are really about the transformation of wild prairie into cropland. so oftentimes you'll hear this region referred to as prairie but they're not talking about actual prairie. they are talking about grazing grasses, talking about cropland. so part of the motivation for this book is to correct that inaccuracy. so what happened i think essentially was that, there are a number of reasons why the prairie was destroyed. most importantly the utilitarian value of it as cropland as a place to grow food. the first people look at this place and is on the trees and they thought it can't be fertile so they skipped over it and went west. but then they discovered these dark soils created by the prairies were immen

are prestigious like george washington dropping these requirements, like temple, i think the people are going to suffer most those places that do tutoring for sat's. >> like the kaplan school? >> yes, like half a day in there all day. >> yes. but, you know, to get into a good school, you're willing to pay that. >> sure. >> i think it is good, too because a lot of people like i was are not goodnessly good test takers, and it is not a reflection of your real ability. they're right. your grades, your extra curricular activities, how you performed overall in high school, much better. >> i think these schools are missing out on quite a few intelligent, talented kids, who don't do well like on a saturday morning taking the stinking test. >> and such a long test, too and the pressure, like i remember i physically felt sick. it was so much pressure. my gosh, i have to do well. this is like the rest of my life. >> real. and they are your scores doesn't necessarily reflect how well you will do in college. >> do you think ed rendell will respond with another book, turning the country of whoos'. are we getting snot. >> i thought about that, too. >> me too. >> well, i had to tak

and clark he describes describes this area "-begin-double-quotes wildlife and diversity and also george kaplan who was an artist and explorer that came through the region. these descriptions were immensely popular in the early and mid-19 century soon as a place of adventure it could be found and appreciated. but it's really about the transformation of my old prairie into cropland so often times you would hear it referred to as prairie that they are talking about the cropland support of the book is a part of the book is to correct that inaccuracy. there's a number of reasons it was destroyed. people looked at this place and skipped over it and went last but then discovered these torques legals created and that's when it began in the middle of the 19th century through now with the introduction of the steel plow that hastened the destruction. i grew up in iowa and i knew nothing about the prairie. i wouldn't have been able to identify it so i had no emotional connection to my home landscape. there were a lot of cornfields and agricultural areas in north central iowa. it wasn't until 93 by elias a