American Wolf
A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The enthralling true story of the rise and reign of O-Six, the celebrated Yellowstone wolf, and the people who loved or feared her.
Before men ruled the earth, there were wolves. Once abundant in North America, these majestic creatures were hunted to near extinction in the lower 48 states by the 1920s. But in recent decades, conservationists have brought wolves back to the Rockies, igniting a battle over the very soul of the West.
With novelistic detail, Nate Blakeslee tells the gripping story of one of these wolves, O-Six, a charismatic alpha female named for the year of her birth. Uncommonly powerful, with gray fur and faint black ovals around each eye, O-Six is a kind and merciful leader, a fiercely intelligent fighter, and a doting mother. She is beloved by wolf watchers, particularly renowned naturalist Rick McIntyre, and becomes something of a social media star, with followers around the world.
But as she raises her pups and protects her pack, O-Six is challenged on all fronts: by hunters, who compete with wolves for the elk they both prize; by cattle ranchers who are losing livestock and have the ear of politicians; and by other Yellowstone wolves who are vying for control of the park’s stunningly beautiful Lamar Valley.
These forces collide in American Wolf, a riveting multigenerational saga of hardship and triumph that tells a larger story about the ongoing cultural clash in the West—between those fighting for a vanishing way of life and those committed to restoring one of the country’s most iconic landscapes.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bramhall gives an excellent reading of this fascinating look at the lives and deaths of the pack of wolves at Yellowstone National park, specifically the wolf known as O-Six. Blakeslee's book begins with a prologue set in 2012, as a hunter prepares to shoot O-Six. Bramhall eloquently brings to life the moments prior to the hunter taking the shot that ended the wolf's life. Bramhall's calm, relaxed delivery recounts the rest of the story, not just of the life of remarkable O-Six, who was a fierce hunter, protective parent, and dynamic leader, but also the history and controversies surrounding the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone. It is a story as informative as it is emotionally moving, and Bramhall presents it with a skillful, even-handed delivery. Blakeslee reads the book's epilogue that recounts his disturbing but intriguing meeting with the unrepentant hunter who shot O-Six. A Crown hardcover.
Customer Reviews
American Wolf
Heartbreaking story that seems to never go away. Humans don’t know the correlation that wild animals have to each other and to humanity.
Worth reading
Good nature story. Animals are people too. As different from one to the other as humans are.
American Wolf
A moving and informative account of the animals, people and issues involving the Yellowstone wolves. Although certainly “pro wolf”, the author presents opposing views and even goes to great effort to humanize one of the hunters involved. The author succinctly explains the complexities, politics, and tensions between human interests, while also grippingly involving the reader in the lives of the wolves. Both heartbreaking and uplifting!