DECEMBER READ - Never Cry Wolf

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat is non-fiction so there are no real spoilers. I'll be ordering the book from the library in a couple minutes.

Many times reread but I'll do it again with you/ with pleasure.

I just checked it out on GoodReads, and found this review, which says that Never cry wolf is fiction. I don't have time to google this further right now, I have to go to work... Do you know anything about it? It sounded like quite an interesting book, but if it's not true, it becomes a whole lot less interesting...

I'll follow along on this topic, if I may, because I loved the book about 40 years ago. Even though I just looked up a little bit about Mowat's controversial attitudes on writing the full truth, I still remember being initially entranced by it. It would be interesting to address the "unscientific facts" as they appear in the "novel" vs. the very attractive story, which I don't remember specifically now.

I don't know about fiction versus nonfiction. It was originally nominated by KAzevedo and had 5 votes for the Green Dragon nonfiction list. Then was nominated again for this year's group reads.

ETA: My library has it as nonfiction.

Yeah, he definitely played fast and loose with the facts, but the book is wonderful none-the-less. Just keep in mind it was written to be a good read, not a college text on wolf behavior. I'll try to reread this and join in, but my copy is so old that the pages are orange. LOL

I'm really looking forward to reading this one!

I reread it earlier this year, and was "entranced" all over again.

I won't be joining the read, as it's just too soon for another reread, but I'll be cheering you on. :)

Review (no spoilers):

Never Cry Wolf is about the year the author spent in the Canadian barrens, observing wolves as part of a government project. The young biologist/naturalist finds in his study of the wolves and the surrounding fauna contradictions of what he has been taught...and what the anti-wolf bureaucrats want him to find.

Never preachy, but humorous, touching, and always entertaining, I enjoyed this look into the illogic of government, the beauty of natural science, and the lamentable nature of man.

I just started reading this on the train today, and I can tell from chapter one that this book is going to make me angry (stupid government pandering to hunting lobby) and from chapter two that it is going to make me laugh (being sent off into a treeless wilderness with 7 axes). That's a good start!

I just finished a reread and enjoyed it very much.

There's a quote in Wikipedia that Mowatt 'never let facts get in the way of a good story'. So I would call it non-fictionish. :-)

I gave it 7 out of 10 stars.

"I know this book is supposedly heavily fictionalized, but I found it an enjoyable, quick read. I would have given it an 8 but there were some instances where he pulled a TSTL (Too Stupid to Live) card that was too "precious." For example, he knew damn well what the various Inuit people thought when he did something odd to them, but acted as if he didn't for the amusement factor."

> 6 Did I mention that my paperback has orange pages, too?

I enjoyed re-reading it, both because the story is delightful and also because 40+ years since the last time, when I believed it to be 99% non-fiction, it was fun all the same remembering how entranced I was the first time through.

>11 Morphidae:: Yes, I couldn't believe he didn't immediately figure out why the caribou bones were most abundant around the cabin, lessening the further away from it he went. That was a little too ingenuous.

>13 Sakerfalcon: Exactly! How stupid can you be? Not THAT stupid.

I finished the book yesterday and really enjoyed it, despite my negative comment above. It was a fascinating portrait of wolves in their natural environment, part of a finely-balanced ecosystem which, sadly, many humans are doing their best to destroy. I'll have to do some research to see if the situation has improved at all since the book was written (1963), when things certainly were looking bleak. Wildlife conservation is something I care greatly about, so this was a very good read for me, one that made me laugh even while it made me sad.

>14 Morphidae:: Sometimes authors of this sort of book make themselves out to be flawless know-it-alls who never make mistakes or look foolish. I think Mowat went a bit too far in the other direction at times! Somewhere in between the two extremes would be my ideal, I think.

True. And I'm the same. Despite my negative comments, I really did enjoy the book.

Here's the Wikipedia article on Never Cry Wolf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Cry_Wolf

Since I live in a part of the country where wolves have been successfully re-introduced (many think a bit too successfully, since there are 13 wolf packs in the valley where I live). I took an adult enrichment type class on wolves last winter, taught by a retired Fish and Wildlife guy. Fascinating stuff. More info in my first 2013 thread starting with post 65 if anyone is interested. http://www.librarything.com/topic/146895

I've always loved this book and this is the perfect excuse to visit it again. Hopefully my copy won't fall apart when I open it, old, orange-papered edition here too.

This is one book that inspired a good movie adaptation as well. If you can find it anywhere, I remember enjoying it too.