What do you think?
Rate this book
A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery
A debut memoir from one of the first women who fought for wolf protection in the United States—a story of passion, resilience, and determination.Wildlife biologist Diane Boyd has spent four decades studying and advocating for wolves in the wilds of Montana, just west of Glacier National Park amidst some of the most pristine wilderness left in America. This is her incredible true story.A single woman living on her own in a cabin without running water or electricity, Boyd launched her career in the 1970s, a time when men dominated the conservation scene in America. It was also a time when wolves were among the most hated animals in the country, detested by farmers, politicians, and ranchers alike. Boyd’s goal was big and she was to trap and attach radio collars to as many wolves as she could without alerting too many locals to what she was doing …Strapping on her skis in waist-deep snow, Boyd traveled far and wide searching for wolves to trap, tranquilize, radio collar, and release back out into the wild to, she hoped, thrive in their rightful home. In her evocative writing, Boyd captures her passion, her indomitable spirit, and the intricate balance between human and carnivore coexistence.She also introduces us to Kishinena, the first wolf who marked the species' return to the western United States. The founder of what was later known as the Magic Pack, Kishinena’s pioneering life of adventure and bravery mirrors Boyd’s own.
240 pages, Paperback
Published August 19, 2025
110 people are currently reading
1513 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
January 24, 2026
I feel conflicted about this one. There is no doubt that Diane K Boyd is a wolf hero and an undeniable expert in the field, but there were parts of this book that felt contradictory and rubbed me the wrong way. Why would you steal meat from a wolf kill? Why would you let your dogs chase after grizzly bears? Why would you have multiple genial conversations with wolf killers when it is your life's mission to protect these amazing animals? At one point she excitedly hands a wolf killer a stack of papers all about the wolf he had just shot and killed so they could bond over their mutual "love" for the species. I would want to punch the guy in the face and where the sun don't shine. The ending also felt rushed and had a random tangent about endangered horses in Chernobyl, which was interesting, but way off topic. I'm disappointed to say the least.
December 17, 2024
I'm formally rating this book a four because I'd love to see more like it: wildlife conservation, a women's career in what's typically considered a man's field, a little known but important area of research for all of us to know about. Thanks to Diane K. Boyd for writing this book and those that urged her to do so. It's worth the read or listen.
In terms of reader experience, I'd rate it slightly lower. I felt like the chapters weren't in the order that best suited storytelling and that there were a few intimate pieces missing that would have better helped to ground the reader while still respecting the author's private life.
First, for me, the most interesting chapters and the ones I really was excited to read about were chapters 14-17 (out of 17). These were the more informative chapters on wolf genetics and history, wolf conservation, and regional politics. I understand that these chapters were grouped together because the story was designed chronologically in the author's life, but I felt like a full on nerdy two chapters about wolves would have anchored the book within the first five chapters.
Second, there's sometimes the issue with first-person stories that there isn't enough external context because the author is speaking from their own viewpoint and their lived experience is clear to them. I feel like an editor or early reader should have stepped in here and said: we need more of you as a person with a full emotional life. It reads like an action-based adventure story and although the author's passion is tangible, the reader would have benefitted from a more emotional connection with the author's motivation throughout her life. (And yes, I would have said this about a man too.)
Timing wasn't entirely clear. In the start, we were in the early career launch - great, that makes sense. Then, we heard the author was studying for her master's and doctorate degrees and working at the same time: these stories were invigorating. A few chapters afterward, she seemed to be further along as a career expert with travels in Italy, followed by the Trout Creek incident, in which she described herself as an older adult. I felt like I missed footing in the period between the university and early career stages and then later on. The stories were there, but I could have used a few more touchpoints to know what chronology we were in, and also what years on the calendar. When Nicolae Ceaușescu's demise was mentioned in the chapter about Romania, I did a double take because I didn't realize that we were already in the early 1990s in the story (the author describes it as about five years from his execution, I believe).
Separately, I have a pet peeve about how women describe themselves. I counted 11 times where the author described herself as "blonde" and tall. This was about 8 times too many. It also didn't tell me much about the lived experience in her body. Each accounting was about how others perceived her. This was relevant to the story as a woman living in sparsely populated country and in public spheres dominated by men face specific issues, but once it was established, the reader understood.
While many of the vignettes told about physical experiences in the north country, namely temperature (extreme cold), light (dark and night), and moisture (wet and cold), I felt like the story could have gone further with lived experience (again). The story about how the two women, the author and a colleague, took a freezing wolf into the cab of their truck, pumped the car's heat, and got into their sports bras to give the drugged wolf skin-to-fur contact and get her (the wolf's) body temperature up again was stunning. It was physical and graphic and palpable. But how did it feel? Did she think of that wolf again? Do she feel connections with individual wolves or wolf packs, or is the concern for wolf populations collectively?
This is my longest review on Goodreads because I'm grateful to have read this book and there's so much potential on such an incredible topic. I thank Diane K. Boyd for writing it and nothing here is meant to diminish her amazing life experiences, work, or their import, which I respect tremendously.
Read this (audio)book and others like it.
In terms of reader experience, I'd rate it slightly lower. I felt like the chapters weren't in the order that best suited storytelling and that there were a few intimate pieces missing that would have better helped to ground the reader while still respecting the author's private life.
First, for me, the most interesting chapters and the ones I really was excited to read about were chapters 14-17 (out of 17). These were the more informative chapters on wolf genetics and history, wolf conservation, and regional politics. I understand that these chapters were grouped together because the story was designed chronologically in the author's life, but I felt like a full on nerdy two chapters about wolves would have anchored the book within the first five chapters.
Second, there's sometimes the issue with first-person stories that there isn't enough external context because the author is speaking from their own viewpoint and their lived experience is clear to them. I feel like an editor or early reader should have stepped in here and said: we need more of you as a person with a full emotional life. It reads like an action-based adventure story and although the author's passion is tangible, the reader would have benefitted from a more emotional connection with the author's motivation throughout her life. (And yes, I would have said this about a man too.)
Timing wasn't entirely clear. In the start, we were in the early career launch - great, that makes sense. Then, we heard the author was studying for her master's and doctorate degrees and working at the same time: these stories were invigorating. A few chapters afterward, she seemed to be further along as a career expert with travels in Italy, followed by the Trout Creek incident, in which she described herself as an older adult. I felt like I missed footing in the period between the university and early career stages and then later on. The stories were there, but I could have used a few more touchpoints to know what chronology we were in, and also what years on the calendar. When Nicolae Ceaușescu's demise was mentioned in the chapter about Romania, I did a double take because I didn't realize that we were already in the early 1990s in the story (the author describes it as about five years from his execution, I believe).
Separately, I have a pet peeve about how women describe themselves. I counted 11 times where the author described herself as "blonde" and tall. This was about 8 times too many. It also didn't tell me much about the lived experience in her body. Each accounting was about how others perceived her. This was relevant to the story as a woman living in sparsely populated country and in public spheres dominated by men face specific issues, but once it was established, the reader understood.
While many of the vignettes told about physical experiences in the north country, namely temperature (extreme cold), light (dark and night), and moisture (wet and cold), I felt like the story could have gone further with lived experience (again). The story about how the two women, the author and a colleague, took a freezing wolf into the cab of their truck, pumped the car's heat, and got into their sports bras to give the drugged wolf skin-to-fur contact and get her (the wolf's) body temperature up again was stunning. It was physical and graphic and palpable. But how did it feel? Did she think of that wolf again? Do she feel connections with individual wolves or wolf packs, or is the concern for wolf populations collectively?
This is my longest review on Goodreads because I'm grateful to have read this book and there's so much potential on such an incredible topic. I thank Diane K. Boyd for writing it and nothing here is meant to diminish her amazing life experiences, work, or their import, which I respect tremendously.
Read this (audio)book and others like it.
October 30, 2024
Such a great book. The author has seen wolves naturally recolonize many parts of the US, and the reintroductions in Yellowstone. She has also witnessed the return of the dark ages, the age of mass killings in Montana, Idaho, and other states. There are even bounties for wolves in states like Idaho now. All this within her life time. That’s crazy, and infuriating. She does a great job telling the story, and it’s often hard to put down.
I picked up this book because I have a deep interest in human-wildlife conflict and wildlife management. I also am drawn to the stories of women born earlier than me who had to fight a lot harder for their professional lives. Diana Boyd is one of those women who has been a young woman in a man’s world, struggling for the respect she deserves.
I picked up this book because I have a deep interest in human-wildlife conflict and wildlife management. I also am drawn to the stories of women born earlier than me who had to fight a lot harder for their professional lives. Diana Boyd is one of those women who has been a young woman in a man’s world, struggling for the respect she deserves.
December 26, 2024
I’m not sure how you make 40 years of working with wolves boring, but the author has accomplished it. I find wolves fascinating, and particularly love when conservationists give us a window into their personalities and relationships. This book did very little of that and focused mostly on the human side of things.
September 14, 2024
My review that appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on September 7th.
Setting out on foot through dense forest in the middle of a dark, cold winter’s night with nothing but a head lamp, sleeping bag and a wolf capture kit would make for an adrenaline-fuelled adventure in any circumstance. Even more so if you’re author Diane Boyd, intent on saving an injured wolf integral to the recovery of the entire species in western United States.
The injured wolf, named Sage after a creek drainage in Montana and one of the first radio-collared wolves in the recovery initiative of the early 1980s, was caught in an unethical trap. Boyd’s mission was to save the wolf from an otherwise certain death.
Fortunately she succeeded, and after setting the wolf free, Sage scampered into the forest where he lived to produce a litter of six pups with his mate before succumbing the way most wolves did: at the hands of a hunter. Yet his litter helped usher in a wave of wolf recovery that brought the entire species back to the region after its extirpation 50 years prior.
In this fascinating debut memoir A Woman Among Wolves, Boyd recounts her 40-year journey in assisting wolf recovery in Montana near Glacier National Park. As a world-renowned wildlife expert and the only female biologist dedicated to wolf recovery in the United States during the 1980s, Boyd offers an extraordinary tale about the first generation of wolves to survive in the region since the 1930s.
Starting with Sage’s mother, Kishinena, Boyd and her team spent countless hours trying to capture these early elusive wolves, sedate them long enough to get radio collars around their necks and then ensure their well-being before setting them free to roam the wilds and provide much-needed data integral to their survival.
Through careful observation — from an airplane Boyd calls an “overpowered, unheated dragonfly” — and the collars, Boyd learns of the many hazards facing wolves in the rugged terrain of Montana. Starvation, apex predators such as grizzlies, parvovirus and distemper, brutally cold winters and avalanches all claim the lives of many wolves each season, but none more so than its main predator: people.
“Wolf recovery is all about people and very little about wolves,” Boyd says after years of dealing with what she calls “anti-wolf people.”
Not even Boyd herself is safe from the wolf’s main predator as she lives alone in a rugged, isolated log cabin in Montana where she conducts her intricate research. One night she is visited by two strangers seemingly intent on doing her harm. Through her own grit, ease with a hunting rifle and the help of her beloved dogs, she evades disaster but realizes the endless fortitude necessary for a young, female biologist to survive in the wilds.
Her indomitable spirit is tested time and again by the extremes of man and nature, but her dedication to the species pushes her beyond to find the edge of her own survival and that of her wolves.
This 200-plus-page memoir is as much about species recovery as it is a passionate discovery of the resilience of nature. A Woman Among Wolves is a story that serves as a reminder that the will to survive is a stronger force than even the wildest of terrains. It’s a captivating read from beginning to end
Setting out on foot through dense forest in the middle of a dark, cold winter’s night with nothing but a head lamp, sleeping bag and a wolf capture kit would make for an adrenaline-fuelled adventure in any circumstance. Even more so if you’re author Diane Boyd, intent on saving an injured wolf integral to the recovery of the entire species in western United States.
The injured wolf, named Sage after a creek drainage in Montana and one of the first radio-collared wolves in the recovery initiative of the early 1980s, was caught in an unethical trap. Boyd’s mission was to save the wolf from an otherwise certain death.
Fortunately she succeeded, and after setting the wolf free, Sage scampered into the forest where he lived to produce a litter of six pups with his mate before succumbing the way most wolves did: at the hands of a hunter. Yet his litter helped usher in a wave of wolf recovery that brought the entire species back to the region after its extirpation 50 years prior.
In this fascinating debut memoir A Woman Among Wolves, Boyd recounts her 40-year journey in assisting wolf recovery in Montana near Glacier National Park. As a world-renowned wildlife expert and the only female biologist dedicated to wolf recovery in the United States during the 1980s, Boyd offers an extraordinary tale about the first generation of wolves to survive in the region since the 1930s.
Starting with Sage’s mother, Kishinena, Boyd and her team spent countless hours trying to capture these early elusive wolves, sedate them long enough to get radio collars around their necks and then ensure their well-being before setting them free to roam the wilds and provide much-needed data integral to their survival.
Through careful observation — from an airplane Boyd calls an “overpowered, unheated dragonfly” — and the collars, Boyd learns of the many hazards facing wolves in the rugged terrain of Montana. Starvation, apex predators such as grizzlies, parvovirus and distemper, brutally cold winters and avalanches all claim the lives of many wolves each season, but none more so than its main predator: people.
“Wolf recovery is all about people and very little about wolves,” Boyd says after years of dealing with what she calls “anti-wolf people.”
Not even Boyd herself is safe from the wolf’s main predator as she lives alone in a rugged, isolated log cabin in Montana where she conducts her intricate research. One night she is visited by two strangers seemingly intent on doing her harm. Through her own grit, ease with a hunting rifle and the help of her beloved dogs, she evades disaster but realizes the endless fortitude necessary for a young, female biologist to survive in the wilds.
Her indomitable spirit is tested time and again by the extremes of man and nature, but her dedication to the species pushes her beyond to find the edge of her own survival and that of her wolves.
This 200-plus-page memoir is as much about species recovery as it is a passionate discovery of the resilience of nature. A Woman Among Wolves is a story that serves as a reminder that the will to survive is a stronger force than even the wildest of terrains. It’s a captivating read from beginning to end
February 19, 2025
I want to sit down and have coffee with Diane Boyd and hear her tell her wolf stories in person for hours on end. What a conservation rock star!
Ultimately this book gets three stars simply because I struggled with the timeline and pacing of the book. It felt like it needed a better editor to do justice to all of Diane’s stories.
Although the structural issues took away from the story, I am so glad I pushed through and finished the memoir. Wolves were my favorite animal growing up and to read about their journey as a species over the past forty years from an incredible woman’s perspective was really enjoyable.
Ultimately this book gets three stars simply because I struggled with the timeline and pacing of the book. It felt like it needed a better editor to do justice to all of Diane’s stories.
Although the structural issues took away from the story, I am so glad I pushed through and finished the memoir. Wolves were my favorite animal growing up and to read about their journey as a species over the past forty years from an incredible woman’s perspective was really enjoyable.
January 27, 2025
Dr. Diane Boyd has spent nearly her entire career studying wolves in Montana. She has been in constant conflict with ranchers and hunters and those that underestimated her because she is a woman. I learned a good bit about wolves in the wild, but not as much as I had hoped. Also, it is difficult to process the harm Dr. Boyd inflicted on wild animals in the name of science, like the leg traps that frequently mangled paws of both wolves and unintended victims, but her work helped to reintroduce wolves to the U.S.
Probably more like a 3.5*
Probably more like a 3.5*
July 8, 2025
Het boek was niet helemaal wat ik er van verwachtte. Het had wat mij betreft iets meer over de wolven mogen gaan ipv alle ellende er om heen.
Toch heb ik bewondering voor deze biologe, die zich haar hele werkzame leven heeft ingezet voor de bescherming van wolven een de USA. Ze maakt de tijd mee waarin wolven zich weer vestigen en uitbreiden maar ook de verschrikkelijke tijd als wetgeving verandert en mensen geld krijgen om wolven af te schieten.
Toch heb ik bewondering voor deze biologe, die zich haar hele werkzame leven heeft ingezet voor de bescherming van wolven een de USA. Ze maakt de tijd mee waarin wolven zich weer vestigen en uitbreiden maar ook de verschrikkelijke tijd als wetgeving verandert en mensen geld krijgen om wolven af te schieten.
March 9, 2025
4.5 stars
Diane Boyd is one of my new idols, such an amazing woman. She's spent 40 years monitoring wolf recovery in the lower 48, beginning at a time when female biologists were rare and female carnivore specialists even rarer. Her tale is a unique one and I'm a bit envious she was there went it all started.
I began A Woman Among Wolves when I realized I know relatively little about wolf ecology and recolonization, and this book was exactly what I was looking for. I have a newfound appreciation for their intelligence and resilience--I loved the story about Phyllis especially, how she would dig up carefully covered traps, flip them over, and show her pack mates all without triggering the trap and then would smugly defecate to the side of it. Boyd also helped me feel slightly more optimistic about the resiliency of wolves, discussing how some states throw everything they have at them (hound hunting, neck snares, bow and arrows, rifles, shots guns, thermal imaging, etc.) and they still manage to survive.
However, her Dark Times Return chapter really demonstrates how much the rhetoric has switched from the conservation mindset of the 70s and 80s and reverted back to the extermination mindset of 100 years ago. It's heartbreaking to read the recent laws and policies that have been passed, especially in places like Idaho and Montana where people are paid thousands of dollars to kill wolves, including pups in dens.
Some other things I appreciated: that she delved a little bit into what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated field (and world) and troubles and successes she had with that; that she was honest about mistakes that she made and learned from (like bumping a wolf from a moose kill that it then never came back to); the dignified way she holds herself during difficult anti-wolf meetings (Trout Creek); and the amazing stories of the individual wolves she got to study.
Would definitely recommend and read again!
Diane Boyd is one of my new idols, such an amazing woman. She's spent 40 years monitoring wolf recovery in the lower 48, beginning at a time when female biologists were rare and female carnivore specialists even rarer. Her tale is a unique one and I'm a bit envious she was there went it all started.
I began A Woman Among Wolves when I realized I know relatively little about wolf ecology and recolonization, and this book was exactly what I was looking for. I have a newfound appreciation for their intelligence and resilience--I loved the story about Phyllis especially, how she would dig up carefully covered traps, flip them over, and show her pack mates all without triggering the trap and then would smugly defecate to the side of it. Boyd also helped me feel slightly more optimistic about the resiliency of wolves, discussing how some states throw everything they have at them (hound hunting, neck snares, bow and arrows, rifles, shots guns, thermal imaging, etc.) and they still manage to survive.
However, her Dark Times Return chapter really demonstrates how much the rhetoric has switched from the conservation mindset of the 70s and 80s and reverted back to the extermination mindset of 100 years ago. It's heartbreaking to read the recent laws and policies that have been passed, especially in places like Idaho and Montana where people are paid thousands of dollars to kill wolves, including pups in dens.
Some other things I appreciated: that she delved a little bit into what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated field (and world) and troubles and successes she had with that; that she was honest about mistakes that she made and learned from (like bumping a wolf from a moose kill that it then never came back to); the dignified way she holds herself during difficult anti-wolf meetings (Trout Creek); and the amazing stories of the individual wolves she got to study.
Would definitely recommend and read again!
November 6, 2024
Informative and entertaining. Great mix of anecdotes, personal experiences, and information about studying populations in the wild. Specifically, there were details on how policy, funding, public awareness, the spread of misinformation, and who you elect to office can have a huge impact on an entire species. The timeline of events is a bit spread out and is not a comprehensive nor continuous history of wolf research and population growth, but this is a memoir and not a scientific text. It delivers on both counts, if only at a surface level.
November 9, 2024
DNF at 25%. Author kills a skunk when it accidentally got trapped in a wolf trap. Why not just let it go? Author eats and enjoys “moose steak for days” after a wolf kills it but leaves it behind. Author talks about “euthanizing” (they were killed, not euthanized) wolves after wolf kills farm animals. (A natural instinct) Also I didn’t personally like the authors attempt at humor in the book. Perhaps the book got better but I had enough.
November 28, 2025
Really interesting - given that I live in a prominent wolf territory, I knew almost nothing about them or the conservation efforts to save them. Lots of stories, really picked up for the last 25%
November 22, 2024
Diane Boyd is the Jane Goodall of wolves.
March 4, 2025
“Wolf management is people management. Period.”
Boyd is a female wolf biologist who got her start in the early days, which makes her even cooler and tougher for having forged such a “nontraditional” path. Having only read some of Rick McIntyre’s wolf books (about the Yellowstone wolf project), it was interesting to get a perspective from someone who has witnessed and believes more in natural dispersion for recovery, and it sure gave me some food for thought.
I was heartbroken to read about the recent changes in Idaho and Montana law that allows for pretty indiscriminate wolf slaughter, and how politicized these animals are. I can’t say I have a lot of hope that things will get better in the short term, given the current political climate, but perhaps if more people read books like these and understand that wolves are not only an incredibly important part of the ecosystem, but also something that is unnecessarily feared, a balance will return.
Boyd is a female wolf biologist who got her start in the early days, which makes her even cooler and tougher for having forged such a “nontraditional” path. Having only read some of Rick McIntyre’s wolf books (about the Yellowstone wolf project), it was interesting to get a perspective from someone who has witnessed and believes more in natural dispersion for recovery, and it sure gave me some food for thought.
I was heartbroken to read about the recent changes in Idaho and Montana law that allows for pretty indiscriminate wolf slaughter, and how politicized these animals are. I can’t say I have a lot of hope that things will get better in the short term, given the current political climate, but perhaps if more people read books like these and understand that wolves are not only an incredibly important part of the ecosystem, but also something that is unnecessarily feared, a balance will return.
December 6, 2024
Diane tells the story of how she fell in love with wolves, began to study them, and eventually helped to restore wolf populations in North America and Europe.
It was really cool to hear her story and a female pioneer in a male dominated field and the relationship she created with the wolves.
I did struggle with some of the graphic sections, since I don’t handle animal death well.
It was really cool to hear her story and a female pioneer in a male dominated field and the relationship she created with the wolves.
I did struggle with some of the graphic sections, since I don’t handle animal death well.
December 26, 2024
Loved this book! Diane is such a badass loved her story of working in a man’s world and gaining respect of many hunters and ranchers alike for a species that is often so misunderstood! Was great to see a different perspective and see how Diane is so open minded and open to discussion with people from different walks of life! Loved all the stories of her trapping wolves!
January 12, 2026
Overall, a great book and I enjoyed learning more about wolf research and conservation. Some of the storytelling felt a little jumpy and the chronology was difficult to follow. It’s really sad to know wolf conservation is being jeopardized by hunters and the cattle industry despite the science. I hope to see a wolf one day before they are extirpated😞
February 14, 2025
An absolutely amazing read. Diane is an awesome woman with lots of experience and entertaining stories. Her sociological perspective on wolf conservation as it relates to human attitudes is an important one.
April 12, 2025
3/5
She has my dream job
Wolf researcher
But I don’t think she is a great dog owner
The humour is extremely dry but I dig it
She’s extremely brave but almost reckless but maybe you have to be in this line of work?
Enlightening and inspiring
She has my dream job
Wolf researcher
But I don’t think she is a great dog owner
The humour is extremely dry but I dig it
She’s extremely brave but almost reckless but maybe you have to be in this line of work?
Enlightening and inspiring
Read
February 14, 2025DNF 14% I don’t like the writing voice, and am not intrigued enough at this time. The topic does interest me, so I may return to it at a later date.
May 23, 2025
I've always been interested in wolves, so this appealed to me.
July 18, 2025
4.2/5.0
Audiobook
Audiobook
October 21, 2025
I have always loved wolves. This book helped my understand so much more of their history and how they live and survive despite us humans. The accounts of how wolf research is carried out are truly amazing!
October 19, 2024
A great book. Learned a lot while enjoying the stories.
September 14, 2025
Interesting - highlighted big cultural differences
October 29, 2024
Fantastic book about wolf recovery past and present. Adventure, funny, big landscapes and big critters. Well written with lots of information on wolf ecology and habits from someone who has dedicated their life. What more could you possibly want?
February 11, 2025
I read this as part of the Glacier Conservancy book club. It’s a true story based in my home state of Montana of an amazingly passionate, strong advocate and researcher of wild wolves. Diane Boyd’s 40 year quest to study wolves is a fascinating tale beginning in her early 20s of her courage including solo life in the Northern wilds to study these incredible predators. She is a witness to the first wolf packs that travel into Montana from British Columbia and begin their epic survival quest. She traverses freezing rivers, harrowing situations and braves grizzly encounters (too numerous to keep track of) as she finds innovative ways to trap wolves and fit them with radio collars. If you are a wildlife lover or fans of inspiring strong women true stories you will be impressed by this memoir. It’s a riveting tale. More importantly it educates the reader about this most amazing creature among us who is relentlessly hunted to near extinction again by hunters for sport and bounty. 😩 It is both inspiring and horribly depressing. Wolf persecution is what we must fight- contact your legislators. What is happening which this book will educate you about is not ok. Her book is a call to action.
January 24, 2026
Book rating: 3.7
I had set out to read a book about wolves because as my friends I am sure can tell you, I will obsess about an animal and then read lots of books about that animal. In another life I was an animal behavior research biologist for elephants, or dolphins, or after reading this maybe Wolves indeed. After reading this I feel like I need to howl at the moon and doxx every hunter who goes out of their way to kill a wolf. Dianne K Boyd has been a wolf biologist for over 40 years mainly focusing on wolf recovery; this book is an accumulation of all her most moving and exciting wolf interactions. This book also thoroughly explained how the wolves were able to build their population back up into the west, mainly Montana and Glacier National Park naturally.
The book is important in terms of wildlife conservation literature because she describes her unique story of being a woman in this male dominated field while being so incredibly knowledgeable and fearless. There are not enough stories out of women like her and its inspirational to hear her journey.
Boyd's passion about animal behavior and how she described tracking wolves with her skis based on their snow paw prints, and in planes with her friends was so beautiful. This is not how I imagined wolves would have been researched, I don't exactly know how I thought they did it but everything she said on the matter was interesting to me. Every time she spoke of the hunters she used neutral language but the way she spoke of the wolves was so thoughtful that the hunters just seemed so cruel. I'm surprised she wasn't as angry with the hunters as I was expecting which I will get more into later. She provided history about how the wolves went back and forth on being an endangered species because humans could not and still cannot find peace with wolves and thus the war on wolves continues. It was heartbreaking when she would educate the readers on these famous resilient wolves and how they were foundational in the repopulation and then a few pages later she would first and last name the hunter who killed them oftentimes illegally. Interestingly Boyd describes an encounter she had with a hunter where he killed a famous wolf and she went to his home and gave him all the extensive information about that wolf and then they bonded over how important the wolf was to them respectively. She looks back on this encounter with mutual respect but this is contradictory to what she has said about hunting up until that moment. The hunter described why killing that large of an animal was the kill of his life and how he wants his son to have that experience too and Boyd described how fondly she looked at the years of research she had on the wolf and the love she had for them. These two perspectives are not the same in the slightest and as the reader I find it absolutely shallow to want to kill an animal because they are the largest one you have killed. That animal was alive and had a life that was extensively researched on and is in and out of being listed as an endangered species. I will never understand why killing animals is a hobby if the hunter is not even going to use any part of the wolf. Unfortunately this behavior to me reflects an inner sense of lack of control in the individual's personal life and thus they enjoy the power trip and the opportunity to play god to animals that are larger than them. It is the perfect example of cowardice. All of this tangent to say, I agree with everything Boyd said regarding wanting to educate people to not kill wolves. This entire story she input was contradictory to her point and threw off the flow of her book.
The author's tone seemed very callous at times which was jarring as the reader said she speaks about wolves with an incredible softness and beauty but when she describes her interactions with other people or describing what other peoples stories she encountered they sounded choppy and cold. Notably she directly says, “retired university professor Frank Evans has blown his brains out over a failed love”. This is an outright ridiculous way to bring up that a colleague had committed suicide. The use of “blowing his brains out” seems like the author is attempting to bring some sense of comedy by using this turn of phrase to describe this abhorrent and tragic moment. Also this is not how she speaks of wolf deaths, she speaks of wolf deaths with a sorrowful tone and an appreciation for their life. There was also no set up for this story, it was sudden and cruel.
In the same vein of the tone, she described herself in a very “I'm such a small petite woman poor me, my waist is just so tiny, and I'm just so pretty”kind of way. While that sounds harsh she described herself as a “blonde” “small” woman more times than I can count. Further she also referred to herself as a “lean bean”. Now it is not lost on me that being a woman in a male dominated field is incredibly difficult facing continuous sexism, perpetual underestimation, and doubt placed on you and your knowledge. This is why I said earlier it is incredibly impressive the career Boyd was able to have and more books like this need to exist. Nevertheless as a woman myself it is very narrow minded to be a woman in a group of other people and complain about being pretty, being small, and being blonde. Those are quite literally the qualities that make up the American and Eurocentric beauty standard. I do not doubt this caused her strife but there is a way to bring this up without sounding tone deaf.
She was also redundant in her descriptions of how she was trapping the wolves and then every story would start out with how she trapped the wolves which was interesting when she explained it the first few times but then it persisted and seemed unnecessary she repeatedly said “poked him in the rump”. Girl I understand you poked him in the rump the first time you said it.
At the end of the day I really did like the grand majority of the book due to the interesting topic. I wish there were more books like this because as I stated it feels very one of a kind. I just wish the tone of the book was a little more people conscious of a tone.
I had set out to read a book about wolves because as my friends I am sure can tell you, I will obsess about an animal and then read lots of books about that animal. In another life I was an animal behavior research biologist for elephants, or dolphins, or after reading this maybe Wolves indeed. After reading this I feel like I need to howl at the moon and doxx every hunter who goes out of their way to kill a wolf. Dianne K Boyd has been a wolf biologist for over 40 years mainly focusing on wolf recovery; this book is an accumulation of all her most moving and exciting wolf interactions. This book also thoroughly explained how the wolves were able to build their population back up into the west, mainly Montana and Glacier National Park naturally.
The book is important in terms of wildlife conservation literature because she describes her unique story of being a woman in this male dominated field while being so incredibly knowledgeable and fearless. There are not enough stories out of women like her and its inspirational to hear her journey.
Boyd's passion about animal behavior and how she described tracking wolves with her skis based on their snow paw prints, and in planes with her friends was so beautiful. This is not how I imagined wolves would have been researched, I don't exactly know how I thought they did it but everything she said on the matter was interesting to me. Every time she spoke of the hunters she used neutral language but the way she spoke of the wolves was so thoughtful that the hunters just seemed so cruel. I'm surprised she wasn't as angry with the hunters as I was expecting which I will get more into later. She provided history about how the wolves went back and forth on being an endangered species because humans could not and still cannot find peace with wolves and thus the war on wolves continues. It was heartbreaking when she would educate the readers on these famous resilient wolves and how they were foundational in the repopulation and then a few pages later she would first and last name the hunter who killed them oftentimes illegally. Interestingly Boyd describes an encounter she had with a hunter where he killed a famous wolf and she went to his home and gave him all the extensive information about that wolf and then they bonded over how important the wolf was to them respectively. She looks back on this encounter with mutual respect but this is contradictory to what she has said about hunting up until that moment. The hunter described why killing that large of an animal was the kill of his life and how he wants his son to have that experience too and Boyd described how fondly she looked at the years of research she had on the wolf and the love she had for them. These two perspectives are not the same in the slightest and as the reader I find it absolutely shallow to want to kill an animal because they are the largest one you have killed. That animal was alive and had a life that was extensively researched on and is in and out of being listed as an endangered species. I will never understand why killing animals is a hobby if the hunter is not even going to use any part of the wolf. Unfortunately this behavior to me reflects an inner sense of lack of control in the individual's personal life and thus they enjoy the power trip and the opportunity to play god to animals that are larger than them. It is the perfect example of cowardice. All of this tangent to say, I agree with everything Boyd said regarding wanting to educate people to not kill wolves. This entire story she input was contradictory to her point and threw off the flow of her book.
The author's tone seemed very callous at times which was jarring as the reader said she speaks about wolves with an incredible softness and beauty but when she describes her interactions with other people or describing what other peoples stories she encountered they sounded choppy and cold. Notably she directly says, “retired university professor Frank Evans has blown his brains out over a failed love”. This is an outright ridiculous way to bring up that a colleague had committed suicide. The use of “blowing his brains out” seems like the author is attempting to bring some sense of comedy by using this turn of phrase to describe this abhorrent and tragic moment. Also this is not how she speaks of wolf deaths, she speaks of wolf deaths with a sorrowful tone and an appreciation for their life. There was also no set up for this story, it was sudden and cruel.
In the same vein of the tone, she described herself in a very “I'm such a small petite woman poor me, my waist is just so tiny, and I'm just so pretty”kind of way. While that sounds harsh she described herself as a “blonde” “small” woman more times than I can count. Further she also referred to herself as a “lean bean”. Now it is not lost on me that being a woman in a male dominated field is incredibly difficult facing continuous sexism, perpetual underestimation, and doubt placed on you and your knowledge. This is why I said earlier it is incredibly impressive the career Boyd was able to have and more books like this need to exist. Nevertheless as a woman myself it is very narrow minded to be a woman in a group of other people and complain about being pretty, being small, and being blonde. Those are quite literally the qualities that make up the American and Eurocentric beauty standard. I do not doubt this caused her strife but there is a way to bring this up without sounding tone deaf.
She was also redundant in her descriptions of how she was trapping the wolves and then every story would start out with how she trapped the wolves which was interesting when she explained it the first few times but then it persisted and seemed unnecessary she repeatedly said “poked him in the rump”. Girl I understand you poked him in the rump the first time you said it.
At the end of the day I really did like the grand majority of the book due to the interesting topic. I wish there were more books like this because as I stated it feels very one of a kind. I just wish the tone of the book was a little more people conscious of a tone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2025
3.5 stars. I might have liked this book more if I didn’t find the style of this narrator’s reading so annoying.
September 12, 2025
Diane K. Boyd trapped wolves in both the Canada and the Montana surrounding area to Glacier Park.
I want to be her.
Her story began with Kishinena who was the first collared wolf who began a wave of wolf recovery that would result in more than a thousand wolves in Montana and three thousand wolves throughout the western states in 40 years. At the end of her life, she snuck into a pot belly stove heated shed with a run on the floor. In stories like these, I begin to understand domestication.
One of my favorite of her stories is Of Sage who was trapped. The author and a colleague got permission to remove the wolf from the trap. In the middle of the night the two of them put on waders and waded across the river to the wolf. Drugged him, stuffed him in the authors down sleeping bag, and warmed his frozen trapped foot with their hands. Getting colder and colder, the author waited for the wolf to wake up for two hours. Finally she prodded him and he scooted out of the bag. He had been awake over an hour and just spent that time snuggled in the bag.
I understand that humans have always been afraid and suspicious of wolves, yet they have lived in close contact with them. Think of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs. Wolves perhaps are more scary because the reproduce abundantly and they travel in packs. Odd since the chance of being killed by a wolf is very near zero. Wolves survive because they are resilient
I want to be her.
Her story began with Kishinena who was the first collared wolf who began a wave of wolf recovery that would result in more than a thousand wolves in Montana and three thousand wolves throughout the western states in 40 years. At the end of her life, she snuck into a pot belly stove heated shed with a run on the floor. In stories like these, I begin to understand domestication.
One of my favorite of her stories is Of Sage who was trapped. The author and a colleague got permission to remove the wolf from the trap. In the middle of the night the two of them put on waders and waded across the river to the wolf. Drugged him, stuffed him in the authors down sleeping bag, and warmed his frozen trapped foot with their hands. Getting colder and colder, the author waited for the wolf to wake up for two hours. Finally she prodded him and he scooted out of the bag. He had been awake over an hour and just spent that time snuggled in the bag.
I understand that humans have always been afraid and suspicious of wolves, yet they have lived in close contact with them. Think of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs. Wolves perhaps are more scary because the reproduce abundantly and they travel in packs. Odd since the chance of being killed by a wolf is very near zero. Wolves survive because they are resilient
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews