American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West
by Nate Blakeslee
4 stars
Nate Blakeslee has written an engaging and knowledgeable book about the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s and the controversy that started then and continues today. He gives you a 360 degree view with chapters dedicated to the wolf watchers, scientists, ranchers, hunters, and politicians…all of whom have varying opinions on wolves. He also gives background information on wolves in North America including how tightly knit their familial relationships are…almost human-like. A primary focus of his book is O-Six, a wolf matriarch of the Lamar Valley pack in Wyoming, who was born in 2006, hence her name. She is much revered by wolf watchers in the book and even became the star of a documentary. I was enthralled with her savviness and her gripping battles to survive and protect her family. I listened to the audiobook version, and Mark Bramhall does a commendable job as the narrator. This is a well-rounded account of when human forces and nature collide.
Read-alikes
Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani
Rewilding North America: A Vision for Conservation in the 21st Century by Dave Foreman
Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators by William Stolzenberg
