In The Presence of Wolves

by Gregory McNamee

No animal has occupied so central a role in human culture as the wolf, Canis lupus, and for good no animal is quite like our pretechnological selves. Thousands of years ago, before the rise of agriculture and urban civilization, wolves and our forebears lived as social animals in small, free-ranging bands. Both were largely unaffected by predation from competing species; both were commensal, sharing food and friendship; and both were intelligent killers, rarely wanton, rarely wasteful, who relied on a highly evolved program of signals and language to coordinate their efforts.

In the Presence of Wolves presents a surprisingly diverse body of myth, legend, and literature that both illustrates the wolf's importance to human thought and chronicles the wolf's changing fortunes. Art Wolfe brings these legends and folklore alive with a career collection of compelling and vivid images. This creative photographic exploration offers a sweeping but intimate look at the wolf and its environment -- a powerful reminder of how noble and magical this animal can be.

Drawing on the literature and memories of Native American cultures, the mythologies of classical Greece and Rome, the legends of Asian and African gatherer-hunter peoples, and writings by contemporary observers of lupine behavior, Greg McNamee provides a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind anthology of writings about the wolf. In his introduction, McNamee traces the progression of the wolf from companion to competitor, offering a thorough overview of lupine culture that can help us understand Canis lupus as a kindred being.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 1995

About the author

Gregory McNamee is a writer, journalist, editor, photographer, and publisher. He is the author or title-page editor of thirty-five books and more than four thousand periodical publications, including articles, essays, reviews, interviews, editorials, poems, and short stories.