This book is one of a number of must reads if you care about our and our children's futures.

"Wolverines belong to the carnivore family known as the Must elide, more commonly called the weasel family after its most familiar members. From a public relations standpoint, this is a bit unfortunate, considering how corporate shills, slammers, faithless lovers, and hedge fund managers keep giving weasels a bad name."

This book is at once an uplifting account of wildlife biologists and volunteer assistants studying wolverines in the wild; the beauty of wilderness and a heart-rending exposure of the harsher side of Nature's sway; and yet more maddening evincing of how prevalent ignorance and cruelty are in the human condition.

I have a deep respect for the hardy souls that labor so perseveringly to help us understand the natural world that enables our existence, and that do so for a pittance, or simply because they care deeply. To me they exemplify the rare wisdom and good in humanity.

My favorite chapter epigraph in the book is:

A man cried: O Heavenly Spirit, speak to me that I may know You exist and care for my fate. And a sparrow appeared on a nearby branch, singing its heart out.

The man didn’t understand. O Creator, he cried again, let me hear your voice.

And in front of the man’s face, a bee buzzed past bearing pollen from flower to flower. A butterfly followed, floating on rainbow wings to sip nectar.

Still the man did not understand. Instead, he called more loudly yet: O Maker of All That Is, if You won’t speak to me, let me feel Your touch just once, I pray.

The Creator touched him. As the wolverine that had just bit the man on the ass loped away, the man shook his fist toward the sky, yelling: Now I am suffering because of a beast with a terrible nature. Why, oh why won’t You ever give me a sign?

And the Creative Spirit sighed: I wish I had designed these hairless apes with more intelligence. But even I don’t always get it right the first time.

~ Chadwick, Douglas. The Wolverine Way. Patagonia. ( )

I can’t imagine any coach, if he were to read The Wolverine Way, not wanting to coach the University of Michigan Wolverines football team, despite the book not being about football or the state of Michigan. It’s no wonder Michigan fans are hard-pressed to accept it when their team loses to the Ohio State Buckeyes. I mean, a buckeye? How aggressive or athletic can a tree be? Losing to OSU is an indignity that the animals described in The Wolverine Way simply wouldn’t countenance.

Wolverines, who as adults mostly go about 30 lbs., sometimes make grizzlies turn tail. Wolverines can run virtually forever. Wolverines, if trapped in a log structure, do what? They start chewing through the logs. Left unattended they’ll gnaw their way to freedom. And Buckeyes? Buckeyes have a candy named after them. No joke. OK, the nut-like seed of the buckeye is toxic enough to sicken, but wolverines are furry fighters full of fury and unflagging will. Ain’t nothin’ like ‘em, brother.

And yet, in common with many creatures, their residence in the northern Montana landscapes detailed by the author is one that’s vulnerable to various threats, despite the toughness and fortitude wolverines display.

As for all that Wolverine−Buckeye nonsense above, it just illustrates that animals as remarkable as wolverines prompt one to personify, dramatize, and mythologize them. In this book we learn it’s enough to have the facts, which are a challenge to discover and inspire a special fascination. Their effects on the researchers lead author Chadwick to write [edited for brevity]:
“We spoke of wolverines most of the day when afield. In the evenings, [when] we could turn the conversation to any subject we wanted, we would talk about wolverines...We were enthralled.”

Douglas H. Chadwick has composed an excellent introduction to this amazing animal, with many fine photos, interesting stories about individual animals, and good accounts of trying to learn about the unique lives wolverines lead. It is a book to be sought out by readers who enjoy learning more about the animals of the world. ( )