Hordes of bloodthirsty wolves are slaughtering the arctic caribou, and the government's Wildlife Service assigns naturalist Farely Mowat to investigate. Mowat is dropped alone onto the frozen tundra, where he begins his mission to live among the howling wolf packs and study their waves. Contact with his quarry comes quickly, and Mowat discovers not a den of marauding killers but a courageous family of skillful providers and devoted protectors of their young. As Mowat comes closer to the wolf world, he comes to fear with them on onslaught of bounty hunters and government exterminators out to erase the noble wolf community from the Arctic. Never Cry Wolf is one of the brilliant narratives on the myth and magical world of wild wolves and man's true place among the creatures of nature. "We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be -- the mythological epitome of a savage, ruthless killer -- which is, in reality, no more than the reflected image of ourself." -- from the new preface to Never Cry Wolf.
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In the summer of 1948, young biologist and budding writer Farley Mowat, "infatuated with the study of animate nature," joined the Dominion Wildlife Service and, after enduring a few bureaucratic mishaps, was assigned to study a population of wolves in the subarctic highlands of southern Nunavut and northern Manitoba. Those wolves and their kin, Mowat's superiors believed, had decimated the once huge population of large mammals in the region, so that, as one worried official put it, "more and more of our fellow citizens are coming back from more and more hunts with less and less deer."
Mowat found his wolves, followed them, learned their ways, and in a very real sense became part of the pack. As he did so, suffering plenty of misadventures along the way (and performing odd experiments that involved, among other things, subsisting on a lupine diet of field mice, for which he includes a recipe or two), he concluded that human hunters, and not wolves, were the cause of the ungulates' decline. The news, he writes, was not well received in Ottawa and Winnipeg. "I received no reply," he writes, "unless the fact that the Provincial Government raised the bounty on wolves to twenty dollars some weeks afterwards could be considered a reply."
Never Cry Wolf was first published in 1963, a time when the welfare of Canis lupus was far from most readers' minds. Attitudes have changed, and Mowat's book now has many companions, books that pay honour to wolves and urge their protection. A close-up look at the lives of wolves in their native domain, it still stands at the head of that well-stocked library. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Publisher
Hordes of bloodthirsty wolves are slaughtering the arctic caribou, and the government's Wildlife Service assigns naturalist Farely Mowat to investigate. Mowat is dropped alone onto the frozen tundra, where he begins his mission to live among the howling wolf packs and study their waves. Contact with his quarry comes quickly, and Mowat discovers not a den of marauding killers but a courageous family of skillful providers and devoted protectors of their young. As Mowat comes closer to the wolf world, he comes to fear with them on onslaught of bounty hunters and government exterminators out to erase the noble wolf community from the Arctic. Never Cry Wolf is one of the brilliant narratives on the myth and magical world of wild wolves and man's true place among the creatures of nature. "We have doomed the wolf not for what it is, but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be -- the mythological epitome of a savage, ruthless killer -- which is, in reality, no more than the reflected image of ourself." -- from the new preface to Never Cry Wolf.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By K Scheffler
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Never Cry Wolf is one of the more enjoyable books that I have read, and if there is a book that best evokes the Farley Mowat style, this is it.
There has been some doubt as to whether some of the experiences that Mowat writes about in this book are fudged in order to make the story more appealling. It's an accusation that Mowat of course denies, but who knows? There is really no one but the author himself in a position to know what really happened, what has been left out, what has been embellished all for the sake of making the book more readable and entertaining.
Does it really matter, though? To my knowledge, Mowat never mentions that the intention of this book was to serve as an accurate and scholarly study of wolf behaviour. The intent of the book was to put forth his personal opinion concerning why wolves were supposedly slaughtering cariboo indiscriminantly.
The government had sent him up there with the belief (or at least professing the belief) that there was a problem with the wolf population. What Mowat discovered, however, was that wolf behaviour was in fact very regulated, that wolves hunted selectively. These mass killings of cariboo, he found, were not the result of the wolves, but of hunters from the South, primarily from the United States, who would fly in, blast away, and take a few trophies home, leaving the rest to rot. Trappers, in turn, exploited this situation: they complained to the government that the wolves were a problem and wanted a bounty to be implemented, so that, obviously, they could then cash in on it.
Whether authentic or slightly altered, Never Cry Wolf is a fascinating story and an important work of Canadian literature. Mowat's advocacy for such issues as the environment and Native rights was ground-breaking and of fundamental importance to current and future generations. I would hope, then, that people who read this book will regarded as more than just a "good read" and that they will make an effort to understand its deeper message.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By R. Jenkins
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A very informative, sometimes funny book which disspells most if not all of the mythical beliefs we have of the wolf. and shows the true nature of the wolf in all its glory and the dishonorable ways some people act towards the wolf.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By S.
Format:Paperback
This book was a real eye-opener. I've read it many times and it never ceases to amaze me. Mowat has such a noble insight on all of nature. Living among a wolf family, he breaks down the barriers and pre-conceived notions that human society gives the wolf. Highly recommended.
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4.1 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding
Book is full of knowledge regarding our far north from earlier days,. Truly dispells much of the myth's of the Wolfe.It is a knowledgeable and interesting read
Published 2 months ago by Harley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!
I usually like fiction/fantasy books compared to non-ficton but this book is amazing!
If you love all (or most) animals then you will at least like this book. Read more
If you love all (or most) animals then you will at least like this book. Read more
Published on Feb 27 2011 by Dr. Savas Fortis
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Canadian classic
A timeless classic that should be mandatory reading for every young Canadian - and everyone else.
Published on Jan 16 2010 by RMS
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not humans
Never Cry Wolf is not without its good points. It has many humourous moments and the setting is described almost poetically. However, Mowat's conceitedness gets old fast. Read more
Published on Oct 20 2003 by John Mutford
1.0 out of 5 stars
"Never Cry Wolf" is fiction masquerading as non-fiction
"Never Cry Wolf" is a great story, but sadly, it's a work of fiction that's been inaccurately sold as non-fiction. Read more
Published on Aug 1 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Compelling, Scientific Account
Never Cry Wolf is a compelling autobiographical account of a scientist's research into wolves in the wild. Read more
Published on Sep 11 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
A surprisingly great book
The first time I saw,Never Cry Wolf, I thought I would not enjoy reading it. First, because it was an assigned literary book to read: secondly, it was not a book I would normally... Read more
Published on April 21 2002 by Darci
5.0 out of 5 stars
~Wolf Juice~
The book Never Cry Wolf is an excellent book. The characters are great. I think my favorite character would have to be Angeline, she's a smart and beautiful wolf. Read more
Published on April 21 2002 by Lacie Norton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Running Naked with the Wolves!
What a great book! Farley uses his literary gifts to take the reader beyond the page. The voice in this novel was extraordinary, and I loved the way he related wolfish sociey to... Read more
Published on April 21 2002 by Keely Koda
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wolf Juice
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and kept the reader thinking. I was continually wondering how many other things we, as a society, might have misconceptions about. Read more
Published on April 17 2002 by Niki Winters
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