Plot:

American Wolf shares the life story of O-Six, a wolf born and raised in Yellowstone. She was an Alpha, fiercely leading her pack and raising pups and creating a legacy, in the midst of a controversial time for wolves. Avid wolf watchers in Yellowstone grew to admire O-Six. Elk hunters saw her kind as competition for their prey. Cattle ranchers resented the loss of their livestock to wolves. This book explores not only O-Six’s life, but also the greater cultural context in which she lived. I listened to this in audiobook format, and would highly recommend it – Mark Bramhall is such a wonderful narrator, and he brings this story by Nate Blakeslee to life.

What I loved most:

Humans, y’all. We think we know best, and we’re just wrong sooo much. It was fascinating to hear the story of humans trying to manage wildlife – from “oh there are too many wolves, let’s kill them” to “wait we need more wolves, let’s create a new program to bring the wolves back” and everything in between. This is the kind of book that makes you ponder what life would have been like back in ye old days, before we chopped down all the trees and paved all the roads, when animals were able to roam in their natural habitats and just live their lives.

Read this book if you like:

Nature, conservation, animals, celebrating God’s creation, considering the impact of human intervention

Book details:

• Author: Nate Blakeslee
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
• Date of Publication: October 17, 2017
• Interest Level: Adult