The Wolf
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: December 13, 2017 9:20 PM | Last Updated: December 14, 2017
Nate Blakeslee
Before humans ruled the Earth, there were wolves. Once abundant in the United States, these majestic creatures were hunted to near extinction by the 1920s. But in recent decades, conservationists have brought wolves from Canada back to Yellowstone National Park, igniting a battle over the very soul of the American West.
With novelistic detail, Nate Blakeslee tells the gripping story of one of these wolves, a charismatic alpha female named O-Six. She's a kind and merciful leader, a fiercely intelligent fighter and a doting mother. Beloved by wolf watchers, particularly Yellowstone park ranger Rick McIntyre, O-Six 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 being challenged on all fronts: by hunters and their professional guides, who compete with wolves for the elk they all prize; by cattle ranchers who are losing livestock and have the ear of politicians; and by other Yellowstone wolves who resent her dominance of the stunningly beautiful Lamar Valley. (From Random House Canada)
From the book
Hunting big game was what life in Wyoming was all about, as far as Turnbull was concerned. He couldn't remember the last time he'd bought beef at a grocery store. He might pick up a little suet from time to time, to help make lean elk meat into good burger. But meat to him meant elk. Even though hardwood was difficult to come by in his part of the world, he always found what he needed to smoke his own jerky every winter. With a healthy dose of coarse black pepper and a little garlic, there was nothing like it. He bagged it up and gave it to his friends, at least those who didn't already have sacks full of it themselves.
From The Wolf by Nate Blakeslee ©2017. Published by Random House Canada.