I have not read an animal non-fiction which reduced me to tears as Wolf Nation had done.
Brenda has done a great job tugging at heartstrings with the gripping accounts of each wolf, making it feels as if wolves are our neighbours, friends, families, each fighting a war that we are privileged to learn about.
I also love how Brenda managed to awaken that social justice soldier in me with how humans managed to make wolves a fighting place for politics. Usually, I get bored with the usual games people play. Not this one. I hang on to every page.
Some may say we anthropomorphize the wolves too much here, but I would like to disagree. After all, wolves are 'people' as much as we are 'animals' sharing the same planet.

Super informative and interesting book about the life and nature of wolf just as the book promises.

If you want to learn more about the animals or if you love animal or nature writings this a great book for you!

Wolves is now particularly relevant study of wolves and their societies and their place in nature and how important it is to preserve them and their habitats. Must read.

This book was, at its heart, an educational journal style piece. Yet, somehow, tucked into all the facts and figures, there was a plot of sorts. The kind that isn't prettied up for sales value, the kind that is left alone and straight, because it's real. I found myself skimming occasionally as it came across a little dry. Yet for the most part it stayed interesting and relevant, holding me rapt as I wondered how things were going to turn out for these magnificent creatures.

Definitely learned a lot from this read, and absolutely appreciated the chance to read it.

This is an amazing story of the return of wolves and their survival after near extinction. I love wolves and while I'm not sure I want to encounter one outside of the zoo, I think they are amazing animals. They are intelligent and I am happy to see them being brought back. I've always thought it was wrong to blame them for killing cattle, sheep, livestock in general. Like all creatures on this planet, they serve a purpose and need to be protected. Great story! Very timely.

A long and drawn-out treatise on the movement to protect and reestablish our country’s wild wolf population. A political and emotional plea to save one of our most important resources and in the process learn more about ourselves. A wolf’s loyalty to its pack and family, its willingness to sacrifice itself for the sake of the whole, and its love for play and recreation offers much to the ignorant population taught to be afraid and suspect of these animals. The control of public lands by big money and the cattle industry threatens to destroy one of the most important components of our nation’s history. And this reader hopes the world is watching us.

My fascination with wolves began when I was a child and saw "Never Cry Wolf." Since then I have read what I found about these social creatures, their hierarchies, and the bonds they create. Peterson's book may be my favorite on this topic. Comprehensive yet accessible this book is a must for wolf-lovers, conservationists, and those appalled by the removal of various protections occurring under the current administration.

Wolf Nation
Brenda Peterson
The publisher kindly gave me this book in exchange for an honest review. This book begins with the author giving us a glimpse of her childhood, outlining how she was brought up in a rural family and taught to respect, love, and protect all of nature. That ideal shines through this work. It’s basically about how humans and animals, in this case Wolves, interact. It’s about our relationship with nature.

It explores the various mythologies, both; negative and positive, that surround the Wolf. The author deconstructs historical, and present day stories, explaining how these narratives have shaped our relationships with the Wolf. The author explores the way that ‘western man’ has sought to domesticate and tame nature; both, in their European homeland and those countries that they went onto colonialise. She argues that modern ‘mans’ attempts to dominate and domesticate nature have affected those creatures, like the wolf, who continually oppose ‘mans’ domination. She looks at the horrendous treatment that humans have meted out to Wolves, outlining the way that Wolves have; been hunted to near extinction, poisoned, and exterminated. She explores the hostility some people feel towards wolves and their advocates.

She narrates the alternative, more positive ways to view the wolves. Peterson looks at the programs put in place, throughout America with the sole aim of bringing these animals back to the places they belong. We get a glimpse of the lives of the people and animals who are living/working to change humanities perception of wolves and their role in our world.

The author looks at the way that the reintroduction of wolves to their natural habitats has had a positive effect on those spaces and the beings that inhabit them. However, she then argues that studies have shown that it is not enough to reintroduce one, land mark, species. If you want a thriving natural world, all species, both large and small, must be allowed to play their part.

Peters makes a strong case of how engaging with, and learning from, nature can have a positive effect on our physical and psychological wellbeing, giving examples of the individuals, from school children to troubled adults, who have sought nature and the positive benefits that these encounters have brought them. She makes a strong narrative case of the interdependence of all living things, arguing how one species controls and supports others. She explains how we all play a role in protecting the world in which we live and the natural settings that surround us, arguing that no species can be eliminated without series consequences to other aspects of nature. This book makes the reader have all the feels and It’s a must read.

What's it's about:
In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen's Wildlife in America or Aldo Leopold, Brenda Peterson tells the 300-year history of wild wolves in America. It is also our own history, seen through our relationship with wolves. The earliest Americans revered them. Settlers zealously exterminated them. Now, scientists, writers, and ordinary citizens are fighting to bring them back to the wild. Peterson, an eloquent voice in the battle for twenty years, makes the powerful case that without wolves, not only will our whole ecology unravel, but we'll lose much of our national soul.

My thoughts:
Rating:5 stars
Trying to gather my thoughts on how I feel about this book because it's a very emotional type of book,the first part brings to live the history of the wolves and how they was and still are hunted ,and how so many different types of wolf breeds are no more , as I was reading that part there was times I kept asking myself why did I have to pick this, did I really want to finish it , and there was times I just had to stop and walk way from it for a while, and just grab one of my dogs and hug them, all the time I kept playing though my mind what I just read , and then I'd go back to it, and once more I would ask myself this question: how could people be so mean to find ways of killing wolves and not only wolves but dogs as well. If you don't know it wolves are one of my all time favorite animals , their part of our history and heritage. Without them we lose so much of that, it took me awhile to get though that first part but after that it became a hole lot easier to read and enjoy, I especially loved how you got to see black and white drawings of wolves though out the because it shows us that there are people who want and are fighting to save the wolves.With that said I would love to say thinks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book as well as a chance to learn more about the history and lives of wolves.

A well written book which portrays a history of the American wolf and the efforts to save them. Good research and full of information. I enjoyed it. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads.

Wolf Nation The Life, Death, and Return of Wild American Wolves by Brenda Peterson was published yesterday by Perseus Books Group, Da Capo Press.
If you love nature, animals, outdoor life, if you love the history of a noble animal like the one of the wolf is, you can't miss this book. A wolf is a wonderful creature. In general they live in group and they're loyal animals, plenty of great virtues and positive sides.

My city is famous for the legend of Saint Francis and the wolf. The wolf in our case is the delinquent tamed by the saint symbolically seen as a wolf.

Native Americans treated the wolf with great respect and considerations. In the Creation Stories of many tribes wolves are considered the First People.

Wolves have always been considered by Native Americans like spiritual guides and some tribes believe that they descend from wolves so wolves highly appreciated, loved and taken in great consideration and admiration.

I met a wolf once when I went with my dad in a forest for some mushroom. It was a second. I saw him and he rushed away immediately after at the velocity of light. I hadn't never seen a rapidity like that one in disappearing from our sight. It was shockingly beauty. There is a shyness, a self-protection in wolves that you don't find in other animals. There is not curiosity for the other one. Their knowledge pass through their wild state, their strong connection with nature, forest and the real good elements and forces of this world. Their strength is their being free. Free like a wild horse, free from constrictions. These ones just few personal considerations of a country girl. Although, of course wolves are not just wild but as writes the author a key for becoming more human, more compassionate, and they can learn us how to survive, but also how to respect old ones and how to provide food for our families passing through loyalty.


You will find here many wonderful but also technical informations and stories, it will be a trip in national parks, beautiful forests, you will discover the tale of many wolves, their disappearance and their return in the glorious land of the USA, with also, if you are interested, all the possible associations fighting for the protection of the wolf and for re-writing the story of this country.

I thank NetGalley and Perseus Book Group for this book

Wolves are my favorite animal. So, when I saw this book, I was instantly intrigued. Brenda Peterson does a nice job with portraying the historic and scientific aspect of saving the wild American wolves. I am knowledgeable about wolves, yet I learned a lot through this book. It is well documented, researched, and supported. WOLF NATION is skillfully written and an informative read. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Peterson opens with a very honest and intriguing question: Why is there still such fury against an animal that has been hunted almost to extinction in this country?

The answer it turns out is not as simple as one would think, readers will learn that it is not only America's hunting culture that is to blame, but also governmental wildlife policies and an us-vs-them mentality. Peterson provides a very comprehensive educational text discussing the history of wolves including: predator control, wildlife policies, and personal agendas. These three main issues have lead us to over-fish, over-hunt, and over-kill much of America's wildlife.

While it can be overwhelming to read the gruesome history and current debatable topics like aerial hunting of wolves, Peterson ends with optimism to give hope for the future of the species, illustrating how Yellowstone recently reintroduced wolves to their wilderness population, and with more effort and education we can restore the vital role of wolves in a wild community.