9+Great Books on Wolves, 2024 Update
Early generation Yellowstone wolf near the area called Artist Paint Pots. Rick McIntyre’s five book series, The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone, documents the lives of individual wolves and packs. Image: Jacob W. Frank, NPS
“How could there be books more compelling than those listed in our first in Great Books on Wolves in 2019?” I thought.
Roberta Kravette, Co-Founder, Destination: Wildlife.
Right from the start of our quest for the Greatest Wolf Books, Brenda Peterson's "Wolf Nation" and the beautiful but tragic "Among Wolves" by Gordon Haber and Elizabeth Holleman had me falling in love with wolves, and Farley Mowat's "Never Cry Wolf" had me laughing at their (and his) antics.
But then I “met” Rick McIntyre's clear-sighted observations. In his five book series, he introduces the personalities—dare I say, "soul” of generations of Yellowstone wolf individuals and families following them through their daily lives. With Rick’s books, you are living with the wolves. They are family, yours and mine. And like any family, there are triumphs and tragedy, laughter and tears.
Science and proven fact are always paramount to understanding and approachable study texts, like Doug Smith et al.'s "Yellowstone Wolves: Science and Discovery in the World's First National Park" and Dave Mech's "Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation"—which for decades was the last word on wolf science, are perfect.
Over the years, personal accounts like "A Wolf Called Romeo" by Nick Jans or "The Grand Lady of Yellowstone” by Brad Bulin added poignancy, wonder - and joy to my wolf reading. John E Marriott’s insightful, personal account, "The Katoony Wolves," is also a volume of magnificent photography. You’ll find all these favorites and more reviewed below.
This year, 2024, we added three more to our Great Books on Wolves list. The first is Rick McIntyre's latest installment.
Thinking Like a Wolf.
Lessons from the Yellowstone Wolf Pack
Rick McIntyre 2024
Rick has hinted that this may be the last of the Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone series - I hope not.
This installment brings us to 2022 with the stories of wolves 755, 970, 1049, and 926. One of the most interesting parts of Rick’s books is that he follows the lineage of the individual wolves. Character traits, strengths, and talents are oft-times passed from one generation to another. The offspring of a great leader tends to become a great leader; pups of mavericks tend to become mavericks. It is fascinating to see how behavior evolves through the generations of wolves.
In this volume, Rick introduces the idea of four wolf personality types. Don;t be surprised when you recognize yourself, family, friends, co-workers, and others in the Disperser, Bider, Rebel, and Maverick. And I promise you will never look at a tree the same way again.
My Life with Wolves
Diane Boyd 2024
"My Life with Wolves" is the inspiring, fascinating, and unforgettable memoir of a woman who studied wolves in the wild for forty years – much of the time alone. Wild wolves were not Boyd’s only challenges in the early years (the 1970s and 80s) of wolf recovery. Weather, terrain, cougars, grizzly bears – and perhaps most unfortunate of all, humans – all added their obstructions and worse.
I met Diane last year. She is a brilliant woman with an easy laugh whose passion for wolves and the natural world is evident in every word. Her story is compelling, thrilling, and a must-read. I’d like this to be mandatory reading for every young woman thinking about a life in field science - or a career in any industry.
Decade of the Wolf – Revised and Updated.
Douglas W. Smith and Gary Ferguson 2025
Initially written in 2005 and later revised, this is the story of the thirty-one Canadian grey wolves released into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and '96. A long-fought reintroduction that helped restore 70+ years of ecological imbalance. The resulting unprecedented access to observing wolf behavior in the wild turned almost everything we "knew" about wolves on its ear.
This book tells of the first ten years of the world's greatest wolf study and includes insights into the incredible men and women devoted to these magnificent animals and the individual wolves you meet in Rick McIntyre's series. This is the forerunner of Yellowstone Wolves:
Science and Discovery in the World's First National Park ©2020 Edited by Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, and Daniel R. MacNulty. See below for the review.
Read on for More of Our Greatest Books on Wolves!
The five non-fiction books we reviewed in 2023, by authors Rick McIntyre and John E Marriott, allow us to be as close to inside a wild wolf pack as any human will ever be. They offer surprising, delightful – and sometimes heartbreaking – insights into the everyday family life of these sentient creatures.
Non-fiction - Rick McIntyre’s Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone Series
Rick McIntyre has spent a lifetime studying and documenting wolves in the wild. Rick has more hours (in rain, snow, heat, and sub-zero weather) chronicling their lives in the wild than any other human in history. He was Yellowstone’s first Wolf Interpreter and has been with the Yellowstone Wolf Project since the first wolf was released in 1995. Through his unprecedented long-term study of daily wolf activity and his resulting thoughtful books, McIntyre has educated generations, helping to dispel the mystery and fear that colored our wolf perception for centuries. The four books of his Alpha Wolf Series, reviewed below, are not to be missed.
Rick’s series are among my very favorite books.
The Rise of Wolf 8:
Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog
Rick McIntyre ©2020
The first of the series, The Rise of Wolf 8, tells the story of one of the original Yellowstone wolves. He was a comparatively small male who became an unlikely Alpha, a patriarch notable for protecting his family against larger, stronger rivals while never resorting to killing an enemy. He and his long-time mate would raise one of the most famous males in Yellowstone’s story, Wolf 21.
When I began this book, I didn't quite understand Rick’s approach. I have read—and loved—quite a few books on wolves (See below!), but most are at least equally about the writer as the wolves. McIntyre's books are biographies—biographies of individual wolves and of the pack—and could only have been written by someone intimately familiar with them.
Like any compelling biography, the subjects are multidimensional, there are heroes and villains, bystanders and trusted allies, all with fascinating personal stories. Yes, McIntyre is on the page, but he is there as our eyes – our witness. Rick McIntyre's books bring you into the life of the pack.
The Reign of Wolf 21.
The Saga of Yellowstone's Legendary Druid Pack
Rick McIntyre 2022
If you are going to read only one book in the series, The Reign of Wolf 21 is the one to choose.
The Druids were the largest wolf pack ever recorded with a huge defended territory - but their Alphas did not kill enemies. How is that possible?
McIntyre relates the Druids’ day-to-day family life in simple, matter-of-fact prose. Its Alpha pair, a big, powerful male, Wolf 21, who, raised by Wolf 8, learned and continued 8’s tradition of routinely allowing enemies to go free rather than kill them, and a savvy, generous female, 42, who might have ended up as an abused and defeated footnote at the paws and jaws of her sister – but rose to change her life.
In the telling of 21 and 42’s story, danger and courage, tragedy and comedy, family responsibility and devotion are all themes. But there is also altruism, selflessness, and love, and, at last, a heartbreak that anyone who has lost a soul mate will understand. This is a Valentine, a love letter, with main characters whose stories, together and individually, will change everything you think you know about wolves.
The Redemption of Wolf 302
From Renegade to Yellowstone Alpha Male
Rick McIntyre 2024
Every parent will recognize Wolf 302 as the neighborhood's charismatic young ne'er-do-well, the one you hope your child will not fall for but invariably does.
We were first introduced to the young 302 in The Reign of Wolf 21 as an annoying thorn in Alpha Male 21's side. Wolf 302 was flirtatious, opportunistic, almost always irresponsible, somewhat cowardly but good-natured, and utterly relentless in pursuing females who invariably found him irresistible.
With so many young solid males to choose from, McIntyre continually wondered why the young female wolves flocked to this one who would sneak into their various territories, flirt, "do the deed," and quickly abandon them, leaving them (and their patient families) to cope with the resulting hungry pups, time and again.
And yet, there was something about 302 that gave you hope that, against the odds, eventually, he would mature and take his place as a responsible Alpha. The years went on. Can a wolf change? With diminishing hope, Rick McIntyre watched - and then…
The Alpha Female Wolf
The Fierce Legacy of Yellowstone ‘06
Rick McIntyre 2024
Who runs the wolf pack? This book is the story of a female who changed the narrative.
A wolf's life is full of play but also full of danger. To survive, the pack must work as a unit, but who is in charge? And can a “lone” wolf, especially a female, make it in the wild?
The young '06 female chose to set out on her own rather than be subordinate to her abusive Alpha sister. But the '06 also had no patience for a long-term partner. This was an independent female, a lone wolf fully capable of taking care of herself, a strong female who became the matriarch of a line of remarkable, independent, successful daughters - a female for our time!
Prepare to be inspired by the ‘06 female.
Coffee-table Book Meet Citizen Science
The Katoony Wolves
Five Years Following a Wild Wolf Pack
2022. Photographer and conservationist John E. Marriott is an Associate fellow in the International League of Conservation Photographers, a Canon Ambassador, and the author of many books on Canadian wildlife. He co-founded, with Kim Odland, The Exposed Wildlife Conservancy (EWC), to effect change in the wildlife conservation landscape. John is based in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, on the outskirts of Banff National Park, and has a Bachelor of Sciences in Forestry and Wildlife.
Kootenay Was No Ordinary (five year) Photo Session. Wolf-image coffee table books are almost ubiquitous, but two important points set “The Kootenay Wolves” a world apart from the other glossy volumes.
The first difference is the setting. Kootenay wolves are wild, not captured, and living in a "wild-like setting" as are most other wolf photography books. And, importantly, these are not Yellowstone wolves, which, while wild and free, are also somewhat habituated to the smell and sound of their human roadside audience. Marriott spent five years alone, tracking an uncollared, unstudied, wary, and elusive wild wolf family while dodging persistent wolf hunters, other photographers, heavy truck traffic, grizzlies - and a mountain lion.
Marriott persevered through long stretches without a wolf sighting, wondering if the Kootenay family was still alive – or had become hunter's trophies. And he routinely abandoned his hard-won wolf-watching sites if discovered by his subjects – not because he feared for his safety - but because he feared for theirs. An ardent conservationist first, Marriott makes it very clear that allowing wolves to habituate to him, just a photographer - could be the death knell for a wild pack with no legal protection.
The second difference is Marriott’s accompanying story. While McIntyre and Marriott share a love and respect for wolves and write intimately about their lives, John is a photographer, not a career naturalist. He watches the interactions with untrained eyes as you and I would. Every sighting is a new and wonderous discovery – and every observation acknowledges the precariousness of the wolf's existence.
The Kootenay Wolves is a book to display, read, thumb through, and then read again. It makes the perfect gift for a wolf lover or anyone interested in wildlife, conservation, or beautiful photography.
Read On! For more Great Books on Wolves.
Roberta Kravette, Co-founder, Destination: Wildlife. Yes, lots changed in the last few years - including my hair color!
2021 Edition -
Greatest Books on Wolves
A few years ago, I heard about a population of grey wolves on Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island that have some particular environmental adaptations. I started asking questions. What answers I found were limited, sketchy, and somewhat conflicting - a situation consistent almost anytime I inquired about a (possible) local wolf population. And so began my quest for hard facts about the mysterious Canis lupus.
Cherished Additions - Not Replacements
My desire for ‘wolf answers’ has never waned. The more I learn, the more I respect and love wolves. That is the origin - and the evolution - of this 9 Great Wolf Books list, now approaching 19 volumes! The new titles are cherished additions - not replacements.
Hint: read down. You will find all my favorite wolf picks: First up: 2021 Editor’s Choice(s) Then all the best picks in Wolf Reference and Science, Non-Fiction and First-Person Accounts, followed by Best Wolf Books for Young Adults and Kids, and of course, a coffee table book of great wolf images. Enjoy! .
2021: Editor’s Choice(s)
Yellowstone Wolves:
Science and Discovery in the World's First National Park
©2020 Edited by Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler, and Daniel R MacNulty
This book is a milestone in grey wolf research, the culmination of twenty years of intense study of Yellowstone’s reintroduced wolf population. This is the #1 MUST HAVE for anyone interested in wolves.
With wolves extirpated from nearly all their former range, studying wolves in the wild was, until recently, almost impossible. As a result, most of our wolf perceptions came from captive studies, urban legend, or mythology. However, in 1995 Yellowstone's grey wolf re-introduction allowed scientists daily access to wolves behaving the way they have done in the wild for millennia, for the first time.
Read Yellowstone Wolves: Science and Discovery in the World’s First National Park, for the bioscience, or to understand how an ecosystem regains balance, or for the love of wolves. With a foreword by Jane Goodall and chapters, articles, and guest essays by the greatest names in wolf research, this is a book you will pick up time and again.
Of Wolves and Men
©️1978 By Barry Lopez
Scribner Non-Fiction, Finalist National Book Award
How could I have missed this classic before now? Barry Lopez delves into the history, myth, and mystique of wolf/human relations with sensitivity and insight. He melds scientific fieldwork, indigenous peoples’ wisdom, his own experience living with captive and free-ranging wolves, and multicultural folklore, building a rare window into the wolf's world and our perceptions of it.
The beautifully written books takes us into the heart of what was, and in a much diminished state still is, wild and beautiful in our United States - and it made me wonder why it is that we are so afraid. There are a few facts in the first chapter slightly dated by the new research coming out of Yellowstone – however, Of Wolves and Men remains an essential and unequaled book.
The Grand Lady of Yellowstone & Other Yellowstone Stories
©2020 Brad A. Bulin
For Bulin, mountain lion researcher, videographer, long-time Yellowstone educator, and wolf-guide, wolves were just one of many species he enjoyed watching. Or so he thought.
Bulin describes experiences with the same wolf individuals described in Yellowstone Wolves: Science and Discovery in the World's First National Park, (see above) making The Grand Lady of Yellowstone an excellent companion piece. I found it fascinating to read about incidents from two different perspectives; a witness describing life events of familiar individuals and the researchers studying the behaviors of same.
Bulin's self-published short stories are elegant in their simplicity and detail. There is no sentimentality here, just first-person accounts of wolf-life in Yellowstone. In the end, Bulin found himself surprised by the impact that watching specific individuals over their lifetimes had made on him. I highly recommend his book.
New in 2021: Wolf Fiction
The Wolves of Mirr
©2021 Paul S. Piper
The Wolves of Mirr is the first novel for adult readers included in this list, and frankly, I wondered if fiction belonged. But if you enjoy a well-told mystery entwined with a bit of Greek myth, a love interest, and, of course, wolves, this book is a fun read. It also shines critical insight into the real-life challenges of wolf conservation.
The story is set in the present day and centers on a small Montana community split by rising passions (and violence) regarding the return of once-extirpated wolves.
While many of us cheer wolf recovery, this book offers a window into the "other side," the real-life tensions and controversy in communities nationwide caused by the reappearance of the much-feared wolf.
Paul S. Piper is a writer and librarian at the Upper Washington University Library
Our Original Picks from 2019 - and Still Among My Favorites!
Wolf Reference and Research
Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation
©2007 L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani (Editors)
For almost two decades, the definitive reference book on wolves - Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation is the foundation for modern wolf understanding.
The various chapter authors share over 350 person-years of wolf study, experience, and knowledge.
Dave Mech has been a leader in modern wolf research for over 50 years. Luigi Boitani is a world-renowned conservation biologist. With his book, Mech and Boitani gave the world its first comprehensive volume displacing myth and captive wolf anomalies with wild wolf fact.
You may not sit and read the volume from cover to cover, but for comprehensive and documented information on wolves, this book remains an invaluable addition to your wolf library.
Wolf Almanac, New and Revised: A Celebration Of Wolves And Their World
©1995, 1998, 2007 Robert Busch
In his preface, Robert Busch writes of his ...hope that the the book would serve to fill the gap between wolf myths and wolf reality with facts.”
Written in an informative but accessible style, this widely respected book on wolves covers many aspects of these magnificent creatures: evolution, distribution, anatomy, behavior, and their impact on human culture. Busch then reviews the history of wolf-human interactions including the trapping for furs, hunting, conservation, and reintroduction programs.
Be sure to purchase the “new and revised” edition (2007); it includes updated photographs and information gathered from the wolves of Yellowstone, and a more recent survey of wolf status around the world.
Among Wolves:
Gordon Haber's Insights into Alaska's Most Misunderstood Animal
©2013 Gordon Haber and Marybeth Holleman
In 2019 we invited a guest expert, Maggie Howell, executive director of The Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York, to share her best wolf book pick.
From Magee Howell: [Among the Wolves] allows the reader a unique opportunity to learn from the late Dr. Gordon Haber and his fascinating 43-year study of Alaska’s wolves that resulted in an unwavering commitment to advocating for their preservation in the wild.
Although the crash of Dr. Haber’s research plane in Denali National Park in 2009 ended his life in an untimely manner, reading his field notes and journals, and hearing stories from friends, enables the reader to feel a powerful connection to his passion and dedication to this remarkable keystone species and to learn about some startling findings that can affect the future of wolves everywhere. — Magee Howell
From Roberta: agreed!
Wolf Nation:
The Life, Death, and Return of America’s Wolves
©2017 Brenda Peterson
Peterson blends current environmental science, political realities, and personal stories into an unforgettable journey.
Fact and reality melts away fear-inducing myth to show the wolf as intelligent, loyal, and family oriented, team players under constant threat, from both nature and man – but ever ready for a game or a practical joke. Some data is startling, even horrifying. But there is good news too. Peterson finds people all over the country and from all walks of life doing their part to educate, protect and preserve the wolf.
As my copy’s bent edges and scribbled margins attest, Wolf Nation kept me enthralled from beginning to end - and I keep going back to it.
In an early chapter, Peterson quotes a First Nation *story-poem from the Oneida tribe:
Tell Me Now My Brothers
Tell Me Now My Sisters
Who Speaks for Wolf?
Brenda Peterson speaks for Wolf.
The Best First-Person Stories on Wolves
Alphabetically by Author
A Wolf Called Romeo
©1963 Nick Jans
For seven years, a large black male wolf, Romeo, interacted with residents, and their dogs, on the outskirts of Juneau, Alaska.
Personal narrative and wolf science primer, a journey from fear to fascination to trust.
I gave a very active octogenarian friend of mine a copy of this book while we were all in COVID lockdown. He is a city dweller with no experience in nature except his small 10-acre city-park and an occasional trip to the beach. He loved it. My friend went from disbelief to being totally engrossed in the story and the wolf information interspersed to complete outrage. Weeks later he was still talking about it.
This is a beautiful story - and it is real. If you find yourself in Juneau, visit Romeo’s monument.
In the Temple of the Wolves: A Winter’s Immersion in Wild Yellowstone
©2014 Rick Lamplugh
Personal, heartfelt, and clear-eyed, Rick Lamplugh’s story tells of the life-changing winter he spent as a volunteer living in Yellowstone National Park. He shares the full beauty and drama of the park’s unique ecosystem during its most challenging season.
Rich with facts on the Park and the wildlife that inhabit it, and deep with the feelings they inspire, this book is a must-read for wolf and wildlife lovers and anyone who has experienced or dreams of experiencing Yellowstone National Park. Be prepared to laugh and cry, and to long for a visit – or another visit – to Yellowstone.
Never Cry Wolf
©1963 Farley Mowat
This is a hilarious, widely-read account of the 1948 misadventures of a young game warden in the Canadian North. This book helped change the conversation on wolf conservation.
Attacked for occasionally faulty science and anthropomorphizing wolves, Mowat often said that he did not want the facts to get in the way of the truth.
The book is also a great window into how natural science was done until the very recent past. Are you doing research in the field or interested in a life of field research? Read this book! It will give you great appreciation - and maybe a bit of longing - for what came before. I love this book.
Best Wolf Non-Fiction for Young Adults and Kids
Back from the Brink: Saving Animals from Extinction
2018 Nancy Cataldo
Non-fiction for readers aged 10 - 12 years old. This fact-based book looks at the rescue, conservation, and recovery of 7 iconic species: grey wolf, whooping crane, bald eagle, giant Galapagos turtle, California condor, American Bison, and American alligator.
Back From the Brink is a sophisticated but age-appropriate and understandable overview of the species it addresses. The chapters discuss survival challenges and include inspiring ideas for young conservationists.
Back From the Brink - Saving Animals from Extinction is an excellent addition to a budding nature enthusiast’s library and the perfect introduction for a child who may not have nature at their doorstep.
Nancy Cataldo has been writing about the environment and conservation for decades. Her work includes many STEM books, including Sniffer Dogs: How Dogs (and Their Noses) Save the World and Beastly Brains: Exploring How Animals Think, Talk, and Feel.
National Geographic Kids Mission: Wolf Rescue: All About Wolves and How to Save Them
Kitson Jazynka
For 9-12-year old Readers. This National Geographic Kids selection is a well-designed book that covers the wolf’s physical features, social behaviors, pack structure, feeding habits, and habitats. Interviews with conservationists and field scientists, quality maps, cartoons, and exemplary photographs add to the engaging layout. There are “rescue” activities in each chapter that reinforce learning.
The activities can be completed alone, in groups, or with an adult and vary in difficulty and complexity.
What we like best about the book is the underlying lesson that everyone can make a difference and that science is something that one does, not something that you just read about. We recommend the library binding for its durability..
Journey: Based on the True Story of OR-7, The Most Famous Wolf in the West
©2020 Emma Bland Smith
Non-fiction 1st to 3rd Grade. Told through the eyes of a young girl, a fictionalized account of the true story of the 2000-mile journey of the first wild grey wolf to cross over into California in more than 100 years. The girl decides to keep him safe by making him the most famous wolf in the world. The book teaches about the species, reintroduction efforts, and their relationship with humans.
Winner: 2017 Cook Prize for picture book teaching STEM principles to 3rd and 4th graders Finalist: Washington State Book Award
Finalist: Washington State Book Award
Face to Face with Wolves
©2018 Jim Brandenburg and Judy Brandenburg
Readers 7 -10 (younger children enjoy the images).
Remarkable images by an award-winning photographer.
Jim Brandenburg turned his boyhood dream of seeing a wild wolf into an adult quest to photograph and learn all he could about this mysterious threatened species. Join him his wolf adventure in the Arctic and even in his backyard in Minnesota. Filled with facts, information, the Brandenburgs show how it is possible for wolves and humans to live together.
The book is a paperback and only 32 pages, but no book we have seen better portrays arctic wolves in their natural habitat. Highly recommended.
Who Speaks for Wolf
©2019 Paula Underwood
Kindergarten to Adult. A Native American (Oneida) learning story as told to Turtle Woman Singing by her Grandfather.
This traditional story-poem tells of a native American people challenged, as they moved into wolf’s home territory, to finding a way to live in peace and coexistence with nature. The challenge is repeated, with terrible results, when Europeans arrive and make their way west. The native people became the ‘wolves’ and the newcomers, the old tribes as they had not learned how to respect nature and other peoples. One of those rare stories that speaks to adults as it speaks to the children.
Classic Wolf Fiction for Young Adults
Julie of the Wolves
©1972 Jean Craighead George
Winner: Newbery Medal
For Tweens, Teens, & Young Adults.
“Story of a 13-year-old Inuit girl, protected by a wolf family while lost on the arctic tundra. She’ll always be my favorite.” Magee Howell, executive director of The Wolf Conservation Center
This classic story of survival in Arctic Alaska, wild wolves, and Inuit culture has a mixed history. Beloved by generations of readers, It was also in the top 100 list of frequently challenged books in the 1990s and 2000s due to a single scene of domestic abuse that sends Julie, alone, into the Alaskan tundra. Perhaps the story is more important today than ever.
The story is the first of a trilogy and is followed by: Julie and Julie’s Wolf Pack
One Final Book of Images & Stories for the Coffee Table
Wolf: Spirit of the Wild
©1993 Diana Landau
Full of photography, expressive illustrations, accurate descriptions, and first-person accounts, Wolf: Spirit of the Wild is a lovely coffee table book on the wolf.
The book is not a reference; rather, it explores all things “wolf.” It includes stories and myths about these noble creatures from around the world, poetry, interviews with wolf biologists, and first-person accounts of wolves, all combined with art reproductions and photography by preeminent wildlife photographers.
Wolf, Spirit of the Wild is a perfect gift for a wolf lover, but be careful when you get it - you might want to keep it for yourself.
Do you have a candidate for the Greatest Wolf Books List? Let us know in the comments below!