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Title details for American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee - Available

American Wolf

A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West

by Nate Blakeslee
Mark Bramhall
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    October 17, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525493303
      • File size: 265615 KB
      • Duration: 09:13:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Mark Bramhall's gravelly voice is a perfect match for this timeless yet contemporary story of history and progress in the American West, featuring a particularly tenacious wolf known as O-Six. The recent reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone has proven to be a flashpoint between conservationists, businessmen, and politicians. By focusing on the origin, life, and death of O-Six, listeners meet a cast of characters representing all sides of the conflict. Bramhall's steady narration moves smoothly from scenes describing wolf behavior to those detailing relevant legal history. Though a concerted effort is made to avoid anthropomorphism, the admiration that arises out of endless hours of wolf observation is clear, and even without names, the wolves become quickly discernible with personalities and traits all their own. A.S. 2018 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 27, 2017
      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.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 7, 2017
      Blakeslee (Tulia), a writer at large for Texas Monthly, brings the feeling of a celebrity biography to the story of the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park and its aftermath. He centers on the rise, reign, and family life of O-Six, matriarch of the Lamar Canyon pack and so well-known to park visitors that the New York Times gave her an obituary. Blakeslee derives his beautiful, detailed descriptions of the interactions between wolves from a massive amount of observational material meticulously collected over years by wolf watcher Laurie Lyman and park wildlife expert Rick McIntyre. The latter receives a complementary profile here that almost works as a secondary biography in its own right. Blakeslee escorts readers up close to interpack conflict as well as human enemies of wolf preservation. He details legislative moves, which vary from state to state and are based in ranching politics more than science, that seek to remove wolves from the endangered list prematurely and establish hunting zones just outside of park limits—and within the ranges of the Yellowstone packs. Most extraordinarily, Blakeslee interviews the hunter who legally shot O-Six in 2012 (“She didn’t tell me she was famous before I shot her”), offering a close and unsympathetic view of the other side. Agent: David R. Patterson, Stuart Krichevsky Literary.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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