Never Cry Wolf : Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves

Book Description

More than a half-century ago the Canadian Wildlife Service assigned the naturalist Farley Mowat to investigate why wolves were killing arctic caribou. Mowat's account of the summer he lived in the frozen tundra alone-studying the wolf population and developing a deep affection for the wolves (who were of no threat to caribou or man) and for a friendly Inuit tribe known as the Ihalmiut ("People of the Deer")-is a work that has become cherished by generations of readers, an indelible record of the myths and magic of wild wolves.

Customer Reviews:

Slapstick Adventure.......2007-09-18

This classic defense of wolves never strays into preaching; it makes its points through slapstick adventure. A hapless young biologist named Farley Mowat gets shipped off into the bush by the Canadian government and instructed to conduct meticulous observations of wolves. He is to disembowel a lot of wolves and prove that the ravening beasts are decimating the caribou. Instead, the wolves disprove his assumptions at every turn. He becomes an ardent fan of their family life, sense of humor, restraint, and good nature. He decides to skip the disemboweling. An Eskimo named Ootek helps to illuminate wolf nature and plays the wise straight red man to Mowat's buffoon. Mowat hides under his canoe from wolves that turn out to be huskies; he ogles a she-wolf he has christened Angeline. Some of his antics could come right out of a Chaplin movie. Perhaps Chaplin should have done a movie in the far north not about Gold Rush prospectors who eat shoes, but about wildlife biologists who eat creamed mice to test their nutritional value. In one scene, Mowat jumps up naked from sunbathing to run off after a pack of wolves in hopes of observing a caribou hunt. When the wolves ignore the caribou, Mowat runs at the pack, swearing, in frustration. An Eskimo lad tells his mother, who never speaks to the mad white nudist again.

This nature writing does not sing. It is not meant to. When Mowat mentions the tundra plains around him, he calls them dreary. Nor does he praise the wolves' appearance much. What's more, enough experts have questioned the veracity of his observations that Barry Lopez labels Never Cry Wolf a "fictionalized account" in his book Of Wolves and Men. Yet Lopez still recommends Never Cry Wolf as an introduction to the species. The truth is that the book doesn't need beauty or literal truth to draw us closer to nature. Through Mowat's stories, we come to share his affinity for wolves, and we understand the hunger for connection that propels his scientific curiosity.

Never Cry Wolf .......2007-09-09

Very interesting read about the study of wolves. Farley is also a very amuzing writer which makes the subject matter easier to read. If you are a Wildlife lover, this is a must read.

A Must Read for Wolf Lovers.......2007-04-13

I am blessed to be the "Mom" of 2 wolf mix rescues and am a volunteer at a wolf preserve. This book accurately describes his experiences with wolves in a humorous yet realistic way. The author honestly describes the problems with the human factor in the wolf world through his adventures as a biologist working for the government of Canada.

Never Cry Wolf.......2007-01-20

I did not see the condition of the book as it was a gift for my nephew. I have read several of Farley's books and loved them. I have not read this one his most recognized title as I wantd to read those I had never heard about or saw the movie. I can only trust that it is great, as are his other books that were not made into movies.

Should be read by every person alive........2007-01-11

This book is breathtaking in its scope and majesty... Or perhaps that is just the wolves the author is describing. Whoever has any doubts at all about the wolves should be blown away by this gripping and revealing book.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT mistake this book for fiction. It is nonfiction, and though many bookstores and libraries mistake it for fiction, it is pure, cold, truth.

Read it. Period.

Average customer rating:

Possibly the best general-purpose book about wolves
Fantastic subject-matter, uninspiring style.

Arctic Wolf
David Mech
Manufacturer: Voyageur Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

Possibly the best general-purpose book about wolves.......1999-01-08

David Mech is probably the world's foremost authority on wolves. He began publishing in the early 1960s and hasn't stopped since. This is one of his best general-readership books; it contains one-of-a-kind pictures and an easy, engaging account of the team's summer stay, literally among the wolves. Reminiscent of Farley Mowatt's "Never Cry Wolf," except that Mech came prepared, and didn't need to eat mice!

Well worth tracking down, "Living with the Wolves" is out-of-print, but happily, Mech has just published a ten-year followup! Look for "The arctic wolf: ten years with the pack", ISBN 0896583538, which Amazon now has.

This guy's been at it so long that there's even a book ABOUT him: "Wolfman: exploring the world of wolves", by Laurence Pringle, ISBN 068417832X. And for an excellent accompaniement to the book, view the National Geographic video "White Wolf", where you can see many of the same wolves you met in this book.

Fantastic subject-matter, uninspiring style........1997-03-17

L. David Mech (NOT David L.) achieved something that most biologists could only dream about: he gained the trust of a wild pack of wolves on Ellesmere Island, in the high Arctic. You may have read the National Geographic article he wrote about it.
The book is more or less a filled-out version of the NG article. It's simply laid out and nicely presented with lots of photographs.
Most of the book concerns the pack's everyday activities and behaviour - socialising, hunting, feeding pups, and so on. There's some information on wolves in general, for people who are completely new to the subject. Mech also tries to describe the almost overwhelming emotion of making contact with the pack.

Mech has a scientist's style. His first priority is to make the text totally truthful, and his second is to make it clear and readable. He does very well on both points.
This scientific approach has a drawback: it's very difficult to write a 'hard' scientific book that still has the spark of delight in it. Like most people, Mech doesn't really have the knack. The main let-down is the way Mech sometimes explains the hard facts, gives a tiny, tantalising glimpse of the wolves' nature or personalities - and then changes the subject. I got the impression that he was leaving out some of the most fascinating insights, maybe because he couldn't back them up scientifically.

Book Description

This 100th Anniversary Edition presents the timeless tale of Humphrey Van Weyden, pressed into service aboard the seal-hunting Ghost, led by the brutal, enigmatic captain Wolf Larsen. This volume also includes four of London's acclaimed short stories.

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A thrilling epic of a sea voyage and a complex novel of ideas, The Sea Wolf is a standard-bearer of its genre. The vivid story of a gentleman scholar's rescue and subsequent ordeal at the hands of a hunting schooner's brutal captain and devious crew, it remains one of Jack London's finest achievements.

Customer Reviews:

An American Classic.......2007-10-07

I was quite surprised by Jack London's novel, The Sea Wolf. In fact, I rather enjoyed reading this book about a man at sea, Humphrey Van Weyden, aboard the ship, The Ghost, appropriately titled and a good metaphor. Aboard the ship, Van Weyden narrates his life at sea and the battles aboard the ship amongst the other sailors and the Captain Wolf Larsen who is also known as the Sea Wolf. The arrival of Maud Brewster adds romance to lonely Humphrey's sailing career. They have quite a story to tell as they leave the ship for Endeavor Island where they learn to survive in the Alaskan landscape in the early 1900s with barely the clothes on their back and their limited knowledge. It's like survivor without television cameras and there is only two people, a man and a woman on a desert island. Remember that question about who you would like to be stuck with on a desert island? Well, this book must have inspired such a philosophical question or wish. Maud and Humphrey get their wish to be alone but it's a struggle against nature. Jack London's writing style comes across with such flair that I believe he is the one of the most under-rated of American writers. Granted, we read his books in middle or high school but the older reader would gradually benefit and understand the depth of the narrator's voice with this book. Jack London should be regarded as one of America's foremost authors even with his focus on nature that his books are still selling and classic story-telling.

Fear and loathing on the high seas........2007-08-15

Loaded with imagery. The wickedness of Captain Wolf Larsen and the affection between Humphrey Van Weyden and Maud Brewster seems exaggerated but the author is using these things for higher purposes.
Also, it's hard to believe that there could be another Wolf Larsen-type character in existence (the other being Wolf's brother, Death Larsen, captain of the ship Macedonia) but Jack London wants us to realize that animalism and death exist, are related, and ever present. Only love (the kind Hump and Maud develop) and work offer respite from this gloomy reality.
London adds emphasis through his choice of name for the ship -- The Ghost (the boat piloted by Wolf Larsen, signifying how body and animalism dominate the soul during earthly life). Traveling through the soul (or "ghost"/spirit) is the best way to combat life's travails that spring up like sudden storms upon the sea.
"The Sea Wolf" succeeds in a way that most great works of literature do -- a popular story that can be enjoyed by the masses but also containing deep parables for elevated hearts and minds. London's story falls into the great convoy of ocean adventures that include the biblical book of Jonah (check out the Vilna Gaon's superb commentary on Jonah -- Aderes Eliyahu) and Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" that teach timeless lessons.
Wolf Larsen proves the truth of F.A. Hayek's theory that the strict rationalist tends to become a barbarian. I found my pro-life convictions challenged by Wolf's superficially appealing utilitarian explanation of why people guard their lives. It's true but not the whole story. I dove deeper into pro-life principles to refute Larsen's materialism uber alles. To wit, why would life (human adults) fight to preserve other life (unborn children) that, in most cases, it doesn't even know. Wouldn't adult life be afraid of what incoming life could potentially take away? The answer there is yes and that helps sustain the pro-abortion impulse. But the fact that there are adults willing, at cost to themselves, to seek protection for lives of coming generations that they have no acquaintance with suggests to the reasonable mind that the soul exists and is at work in such rescuers.
This phenomenon doesn't exist in the animal world (animals only fight for their own kind). It shows that the soul makes humans qualitatively different from the rest of existence.

Wolf Larsen is pure epical pirate to the core.......2007-07-09

Jack London I only discovered over the past five years, which by all relative standards is very strange, since I studied creative writing in college, and was an avid reader of the classics as a youth. I despised the classics as a youth, :), but now appreciate most of them during my formative years of understanding literature and the novel.

'Call of the Wild' certainly ingnited my senses to the prose power of London, and it was by an odd encounter and chance that a distant friend handed it to me in passing, that I discovered the magic talent of London and his epic sea story of 'The Sea Wolf.'

Arguably, "Wolf Larsen" is one of the greatest characters in literature. He is vibrant, total, fitting for the role in which he is written; belivable, enigmatic and actually quite charming in that raw sense of hostility.

However even though Wolf slowly descends into the abyss of madness, he has the mental capacity to be childlike and endearing. In this passage in particular...

{"Wolf Larsen underwent another bad attack of headache which lasted two days. He must have suffered severely, for he called me in, and obeyed my commands like a sick child...at my suggestion, however, he gave up smoking and drinking; though why such a magnificent animal as he should have headaches at all puzzles me."}

...we see an almost patent adolescence in Wolf, and London paints the potrait of the ironclad rascle, as human, with emotions and tenderness that even in the rank hollowness of declamation and ruthlessness, we can see a yearning for sympathy.

That is magical.

This is one to give to grandkids, your own kids, or to share with others. It holds a special place in my heart this book, and on my shelf next to "Master and Commander."

Thank you.

Cast Away.......2007-05-31

Although the time frame of this book is set in the 1700's, the language used makes the book so masterful. It should not be read by people with a low reading skill, as it can be hard to understand in some parts, which is what makes it such a interesting book. After reading a page or two so much can be analyzed. For instance, in the end of the book it can be similar to the movie Cast Away. The same scene takes place and two of the main characters are fighting for their lives. The novel is full of adventure and action takes place constantly. It may be epic fighting scenes or terrific storms, but know matter what this novel will keep you reading on edge.

The Sea-Wolf.......2007-05-25

The Sea-Wolf was our study book this month. The main characters
are described fully together with actions to help us visualize
the description. Sea-Wolf is a merciless captain who torments his
underlings in dreadful ways. The man, Humphrey, who is rescued from a shipwreck is both admired by Wolf for his intellect and scorned for his lack of life skills. The woman who boards the ship is a writer; and she
is also criticized for her position in life. Her presence aids Humphrey in his discovery of physical skills and power. An exciting adventure!!

White Wolf: Living With an Arctic Legend

Average customer rating:

wonderful
Beautiful Photos
It takes a village-the wolf still knows what we've forgotten
like nature-this book will fascinate and teach men for ever

White Wolf: Living With an Arctic Legend
Jim Brandenburg , and James S. Thornton
Manufacturer: Northword Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0942802950

Customer Reviews:

wonderful.......2001-07-02

This is a wonderful book with lots of amazing wolf and landscape pictures. While some people might be disturb by some of the dead animals in the picture, as a animal lover I reckon this book had shown the reality of the nature truthfully, and I really love this book.

Beautiful Photos.......2000-07-08

This is an excellent book on artic wolves. I enjoyed reading about their lives. If you are not in the mood to read the photos are worth the cost of the book.

It takes a village-the wolf still knows what we've forgotten.......1999-09-02

Brandenburg's experience shows the wolf as a loving and compassionate family-oriented animal that is as wild at heart as they come. These highly intelligent creatures seemed to stay a step ahead of their distant watchers. This leads to some hilarious encounters and a tear jerking ending. Follow this up with "Brother Wolf."

like nature-this book will fascinate and teach men for ever.......1997-12-21

nature : men still has to learn wolf : learn men how to understand nature a must for wolf-lovers

The Arctic Wolf: Ten Years With the Pack

Average customer rating:

Wonderful

The Arctic Wolf: Ten Years With the Pack
L. David Mech
Manufacturer: Voyageur Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Arctic | Polar Regions | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0896583538

Book Description

Dr. Mech has been studying the same pack of wolves in the Arctic since the mid-1980s. He shared his original discovery and adventures in his bestselling classic The Artic Wolf: Living With the Pack. Now, a decade later, Dr. Mech invites you to celebrate ten years with the pack in this special anniversary edition in which he shares dozens of new photographs and the latest news about the pack along with his original text and photographs.

Also recommended: The Way of the Wolf, A Society of Wolves, The Wolves of Yellowstone, Polar Bears.

An internationally acclaimed wildlife research biologist, "wolfman" Dr. L. David Mech has studied wolves and their prey full-time since 1958, except for a four-year period when he studied radio-tracking. During his long career as a wolf biologist, he has published five books, including the original version of The Arctic Wolf: Living With the Pack, an international bestseller published by Voyageur Press in 1988.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2000-07-08

I enjoyed reading about the lives of these wolves. I only wish I could have been there. The books also contains some great photos.

Average customer rating:

Julie's Wolf Pack
Jean Craighead George
Manufacturer: Recorded Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

Product Description

Recorded on 4 cassettes (4 1/2 hours). Comes in clamshell case.

The Arctic Wolf (The Library of Wolves and Wild Dogs)

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The Arctic Wolf (The Library of Wolves and Wild Dogs)
Fred H. Harrington
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0823957667

Average customer rating:

A howling good story!
Marvelous!
The Newest Addition to the Julie Books Makes Me Growl

Nutik, the wolf pup
Jean Craighead George
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0439365767

Amazon.com

When a little Eskimo boy named Amaroq is given a sickly wolf pup to nurse back to health, his sister Julie warns him, "Don't fall in love, Amaroq, or your heart will break when the wolves come and take him away." But it's too late. One look in the pup's golden eyes and Amaroq is smitten. Soon enough, Nutik the wolf has grown fat and well, and he and Amaroq are never apart. When the wolf pack comes back to reclaim their cub, Amaroq must be strong enough to let him go. Now can the two friends be strong enough to remain apart?

Do some of these names sound familiar? They should. First told in the novel, Julie's Wolf Pack, this adventure is a young reader's picture-book introduction to Jean Craighead George's classic trilogy for older children, The Epic Adventures of Julie and Her Wolves, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves. George crafts an exquisite story for a new generation of readers sprung from those who grew up with many of her more than 80 outstanding children's books. Acclaimed illustrator Ted Rand traveled to the Arctic tundra to research the pictures for this book; the result is splendidly evocative of the beauty and desolation of Alaska, both in daylight (which lasts for three months in the summer) and at night. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

In an Eskimo village at the top of the world lived a little boy whose name was Amaroq. Named for the great wolf leader who saved the life of his big sister, Julie, Amaroq loved wolves as much as his big sister did.

One day Julie brings home a sickly wolf pup named Nutik for Amaroq to feed and tend. "Don't fall in love with Nutik," Julie warns, "or your heart will break when the wolves come to take their pup home." Amaroq feeds and cares for Nutik, and soon the fuzzy little pup is romping and playing and following Amaroq everywhere. Amaroq and Nutik become best friends, but soon it's time for Nutik to rejoin his wolf family. Will Amaroq be strong like the great wolf leader he was named after and be able to let Nutik go?

In this adventure-first told in Julie's Wolf Pack, sequel to the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves Jean Craighead George brings the Arctic world of Julie and her family to a picturebook audience.

Customer Reviews:

A howling good story!.......2001-10-31

In an Eskimo village at the top of the world lives a little boy whose name is Amaroq, so named for the great wolf leader who saved the life of his big sister, Julie. One day Julie brings home a sickly wolf pup named Nutik.

When his big sister puts Nutik into Amaroq's arms, she tells her little brother to feed & tend the pup. She also warns her brother not to fall in love with Nutik as she has promised the wolf pack that when both pups are fat & well, they will be returned.

Amaroq says he is strong & sets about feeding the bedraggled pup. Together through a magical summer, pup & boy, frolic in the tundra of the land of the midnight sun.

When, at last, the sun does set & the long dark winter comes upon them & Nutik is strong & healthy, the wolf pack comes to the edge of Amaroq's village, calling Nutik home. Amaroq is not as strong as he once thought, especially when his beloved pup takes him out into the star filled night to meet his wolf family.

This is a poignant & magical look at the love between a boy & a wolf pup, at the rightness of our actions, the pain of duty & the rewards of responsibility.

Lovely, lovely read!

Marvelous!.......2001-03-15

When she was younger and lost and starving, Julie was saved by wolves who shared their food and kept her safe and warm. Now many years later, Julie brings her brother, Amoraq, a small sickly wolfpup to feed and take care of. She tells him, "When he is fat and well, the wolves will come and get him." Amoraq looks into the golden eyes of the pup, Nutik, and it's love at first sight. "Don't fall in love, Amoraq", Julie warns him, "be strong." As time goes by and the three months of summer light begins to fade, Nutik becomes fat and healthy and soon the wolves call for him. At first, Amoraq takes Nutik and runs away. But soon, the wolves call again and Nutik knows it's time to go home where he belongs..... Jean Craighead George has written a memorable picture book introduction to her Julie and the Wolves books, a whole new generation will treasure. Her text, full of imagery and magic will capture your youngster's heart and Ted Rand's expressive illustrations of the Alaskan tundra will mesmerize children with their vivid beauty. Together, they've authored a special book of love, friendship and respect your kids will want to read again and again. And, just like her Julie books, Nutik the Wolf Pup is sure to become a classic in the years ahead.

The Newest Addition to the Julie Books Makes Me Growl.......2001-01-13

First of all, I must say I was a bit disappointed when I got this book. I am a huge Jean Craighead George fan, but I am not so fond of the illustrations. I am much more fond of John Schoenherr and Wendell Minor, who illustrated the other Julie books. Also I don't think the same beautiful effect of the Julie novels is present in this young children's story. But overall, it's a fine addition to the Julie trilogy. Julie's story begins, of course, in the magnificent Newbery-Award winning JULIE OF THE WOLVES. Next comes the thought-provoking sequel, JULIE, and then, my personal favorite because of my love of wolves, JULIE'S WOLF PACK. It is in the latter that Nutik, the wolf pup, and his sister Uqaq are born and raised by Julie and her little brother, Amaroq (the main character in this story). The wolves try to take Nutik back, but Amaroq resists them. Nutik belongs to a human pack now, just as, for a long time, Julie, the human, belonged to a wolf pack. Or does he? I think one of the main reasons I actually appreciated this somewhat disappointing book was because it helps to extinguish cruel and misleading thoughts about wolves. Young children should grow up reading books like this instead of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, and older kids should read books like JULIE OF THE WOLVES, JULIE, and JULIE'S WOLF PACK. Whichever one of Ms. George's eighty or so books one reads, one always comes away with a feeling of a deeper respect and love for our natural world.

Average customer rating:

An easy read about real life with a wolf cub - pro and con

Shunka: Life With an Arctic Wolf
Marika Lumi Morgan
Manufacturer: J.N. Townsend Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Veterinary Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1880158094

Amazon.com

Maligned by many humans, protected and respected by others, the wolf remains a mysterious ancestor to our beloved companion, the dog. Shunka, an orphaned cub adopted by the author's family, relates best to children as if he senses their innocence in the bloody history between human and wolf. Like The Hidden Life of Dogs, this book is full of descriptions of animal behavior that delight and amaze, revealing the great intelligence, loyalty, and social commitment of the wolf. Included are pictures of Shunka at work (he starred in a television commercial) and play, pictures that will haunt you at the story's end.

From the Publisher

When the author and her husband adopted an orphaned wolf cub, their lives were suddenly turned upside-down. Shunka's story offers a glimpse into the true nature of these mysterious and wonderful creatures.

Customer Reviews:

An easy read about real life with a wolf cub - pro and con.......2005-08-12

This is the true story of a well-intentioned couple who wanted to raise a wolf cub, and did their very best to do so in a healthy way. Because the story is true, it chronicles both the wonderful joys of life with a wild animal, and the many drawbacks associated with life with a wolf. This isn't an educational book about wolves - there are plenty of those out there - this is a story of day to day life with a wolf cub and adolescent wolf. It's an easy and enjoyable read, and you may find surprising the many contrasts between the dog and the wolf in this family, who grow up together - but are wired quite differently. If you love wolves and have ever dreamed of raising an orphaned cub, this book is a must-read, and sets out why that is not a good idea without disparaging wolves. Wolves, while wonderful creatures, have not evolved to be man's best friend like the dog - and for good reason, as man remains their enemy for the most part. An enjoyable read for the dog lover, wolf lover, or anyone who wants to read a good story about life with animals we are not usually privileged to know well.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating, beautiful book

The Arctic wolf: Living with the pack
L. David Mech
Manufacturer: Voyageur Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0896580997

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating, beautiful book.......2004-08-03

Because they avoid humans, it's very hard to observe wolf behavior in the wild. Mech managed to do it at a remote site in the arctic. Some of his observations confirm the conventional wisdom, others do not. This makes his book a must for those interested in real wolves as opposed to mythologized wolves or the semi-domesticated wolves in wolf parks. The book is also full of gorgeous, full-color pictures.

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