Of Wolves and Men
4.5 | 619 ratings
Price: 18.18
Last update: 02-02-2026
Product details
- Listening Length : 10 hours and 48 minutes
- Author : Barry Lopez
- Narrator : Matt Godfrey
- Publication date : January 25, 2022
- Language : English
- Publisher : Tantor Audio
- ASIN : B09QT98KDF
- Version : Unabridged
- Program Type : Audiobook
- Best Sellers Rank:#591 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
- Biology of Dogs & Wolfs
- Animals
- Environmental Conservation
- Customer Reviews:4.54.5 out of 5 stars(619)
Top reviews from the United States
- Donald Lawof wolves and menI want to say the book is very informative in many ways about thoughts of wolves by humans. First I wish to say I have lived with three wolves and found in each case they are very loving. My first Wolf was in thule Greenland and was wild. Once I feed him every day and he became closer to me he would eat out of my hand and later he walked into my barracks and went to my room and slept there and when he wanted out he would lick my hand and I would let him out. He was a white wolf. My second wolf was three wolves Mexican wolf, Asan Wolf and Gray wolf. She was also very loving and we walked all over my property and she was always free and would sleep next to my bed at night. She killed a deer one day and could not lift it up the hill to the house so I held one side and she the other and we carried the deer to the house. She could not rip open the carcass so I did the job for her and then she ate the deer. So they have built in instants on how to bring down a deer. One day she came to me in the house and then ran to the window and back again and since I didn't go see she came and grabed my arm and pulled me to the window and I say a large forest fire coming towards the house and she saved us since we had time to call the fire company in Grass Valley, CA. The third wolf was a white wolf and he was very timid since he had been treated badly in his first owner and when I got him he was 2 years old. He also slept next to my bed and I named him Woofer. He lived to the age of 15 years. Also in the last part of the book Lopez talks about when his wife went to their cage in the dark and they pushed against her and mouthed her arm but did not heart her. In my living with three wolves they all pushed against me and mouthed my arm and that was the way they love you. My friend has 7 wolves here in Idaho and I visit them two to three times a year and when I give them a wolf howl they all come to me and I hand feed them and they all do that to me. He has gotten another female wolf which is very large and she put her feet on my sholders and gave me a big lick and I scratched her behing her ears and gave her a meat bone and she then ate it and then she push against me again and I then left for the day. So wolves are realy afraid of humans except if you show no fear they get to trust you and then after that they love you always and never foget.
Dr. Don Law Post Falls, Idaho 208 773-7151 - SFReaderA Wonderful and Informative Book!This is a superb book about wolves-- and about how wolves have figured in the minds, myths, religions, and beliefs of humans for millennia!
Various animals have always captivated humans, but none more so than the wolf. But WHY? This book answers that question, and many more. From as long as recorded history has existed, humans have always felt that wolves were "special" -- somehow "different" from all other animals... but WHY?
Well, the answer can be found right in the cover of the book, which shows a wolf looking straight at the camera that took the photograph! Looking at that picture, you cannot help but realize that you are not looking at just another "dumb animal" like a cow or a sheep; you are looking at a "BEING"-- an intelligent, aware BEING, a creature not all "that" much different from yourself. Those eyes "grab" you, the same way a pair of human eyes would "grab" you.
This book blows apart all the silly myths and legends and fairy-tales we have all been raised with from childhood onward, and shows wolves how they really are-- and how they really are will surprise, shock, and (perhaps) delight you, and make you realize that the "World of Wolves" is far more complex, interesting, and fascinating that most of us ever imagined it to be!
In short, I HIGHLY recommend this book! I cannot say enough good things about it; all I can say is, "Buy it and read it for yourself!" - Thomas TanseyGood exploration of the complex interaction of wolves with peopleInteresting insight into wolves and native peoples, and their interactions and similarities, from prehistoric times to the present. Eskimos still hunt wolves. But modern technology favors the Eskimos, who don't get fatigued chasing down a wolf, since the Eskimo is on a snowmobile rather than a dogsled. And the Eskimo doesn't have to be physically in contact with the wolf, but can shoot it from a safe distance.
Over the past hundred to two hundred years wolves have been shot for sport or for their pelts. They've been poisoned with strychnine. And hunted with eagles. Teddy Roosevelt was a hunting fanatic. He had a huge entourage, of men, dogs, equipment, when he went on one of his hunting massacres.
Wolves were practically hunted to extinction in western America. They almost went the way of the bison and passenger pigeon. What saved them, I think, was the fact that they weren't herd animals. No hunter could shoot hundreds of them at one time in one place.
Cattle ranchers in the late 1800s and 1900s often wanted wolves shot on sight to cut down on their livestock losses to wolves. In more recent times wolves have been reintroduced to certain areas, like Yellowstone National Park, where they keep bison and elk populations in check.
Wolves are here to stay, thanks in part to wildlife protection laws. But their numbers will always be controlled.
The author does a good job of storytelling, but I could have done without all those selfie photos of him. - BookFiend07A powerful book on the true nature of the wolf!Lopez is an incredibly gifted nature writer and this was the first book I had the opportunity to read from him in an american literature class in college! He is so skilled at weaving in fact and his own insights about the wolves he lived around and studied to paint a three dimensional picture of the lives of wolves. They are not just predators, and they're not like dogs, they are their own creature filled with the mysteries of their own little societies. They love and fight and hunt, it's amazing to see these animals through his eyes. When I got to meet Lopez I was impressed by how non-chalant he is about the incredible experiences he has had. His views on his own writing are that he just writes down his thoughts and it makes him a great person to be around, and to read his works. His words are awe inspiring and completely able to transport you to the desolate landscapes he is so fond of, and to fall in love with them the way he has.