What do you think?
Rate this book
Wildlife Wars: The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden
In "Wildlife Wars," Terry Grosz serves up fascinating stories-alternately hair-raising, hilarious, and heart-wrenching-from his 30-year struggle to protect wildlife in America. A natural storyteller, Grosz writes about the remarkable characters he met-on both sides of the law-as he matched wits with elk poachers, salmon snaggers, commercial-market duck hunters, and a host of other law-breakers. Best of all, though, these stories are so remarkably entertaining you won't want to put them down. Wildlife Wars is the winner of the 2000 National Outdoor Book Award, Nature and the Environment Category.
308 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1999
68 people are currently reading
561 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 37 reviews
April 15, 2017
I picked this book up after hearing Grosz read an excerpt on This American Life. I was sure I'd love it. I tried to love it. I didn't like it.
The author's voice is a clumsy amalgam of the quasi-intellectual stilt inherent among law enforcement officials, the unpretentious homesy candor of a country bumpkin, and the highly pretentious ponderings of an amateur poet.
A few of the stories aren't that bad.
The author's voice is a clumsy amalgam of the quasi-intellectual stilt inherent among law enforcement officials, the unpretentious homesy candor of a country bumpkin, and the highly pretentious ponderings of an amateur poet.
A few of the stories aren't that bad.
December 19, 2022
3.5 stars. It started off really good but the stories got less exciting and more repetitive as the book wore on. I especially got tired of Grosz mentioning that he is 6 foot 4, 320 pounds at least once a chapter.
June 13, 2019
I loved the stories, but they got a little repetitive. All the respect for the officers out there doing this work and protecting our wildlife.
April 4, 2016
Terry Grosz does a wonderful job of mixing adventure, humor, and conservation in short stories that are sure to keep any reader entertained. I would have paid money to go on some of his stake outs especially the one when he impersonates a salmon in order to catch a group of poachers. I would recommend this book to teachers as a tool to get their students interested not only in the wildlife of America but also wildlife's struggle to live in a world so populated by humans.
November 20, 2025
When it’s time for me to do my annual writeup in a month or so, I will have to mention the Black Swan event that was game warden-oriented books suddenly exploding onto the scene, bursting out of nowhere like a covey of quail. It’s largely been an absurd number of novels, but I can now included two game-warden memoirs in the list. Wildlife Wars is the memoir of Terry Grosz, who appears to have begun service in 1966, where he was part of the new wave of ‘professional’ wardens who had formal educations. This did not endear him to the old guard, who regarded themselves as lawmen rather than scientists, but Grosz’ skillful reading of the land, creativity, and sometimes sheer brazenness combined to make him an effective warden, eventually moving him from California to overseeing a massive district in the upper west. The stories cover quite the range, as he recollects everything from being a boarding agent on the coast (hopping onto boats to inspect permits & hauls) to sneaking through mountain forests to get the drop on antelope poachers. I found all of them enjoyable, and they are action heavy, even the undercover case he was involved in as a newbie.
Grosz proves himself someone who makes clever and studious use of his environment, though I imagine that’s a practice all wardens have to develop. His submersion in a rice field to monitor duck hunters must have been as uncomfortable as Bob Lee hiding in a woodpile for hours on end to ambush some fish poachers. There is danger aplenty here, both from the animals Grosz is protecting and from those hunting them: at one point, he was shot in the back end multiple times with a shotgun—thankfully loaded with birdshot. The sheriff provided the first and only aid, as the lawmen didn’t want area poachers knowing the warden was injured or suspecting he might be off the job for a few days. A few months later, a quarrelsome hunter cheekily informed Grosz that he understood the warden had had “his ass sprayed”—and Grosz instantly knew the man was his assailant, as only three men knew of the incident, and two of them (Grosz and the sheriff) hadn’t said a thing, not even to Grosz’s wife. Another time, Grosz recounts, he was in the rifle sights of a man he’d busted for poaching, and only the wife — who remembered Grosz’s kindness by supplying them with seized meat — stopped the man from taking the shot.
The most memorable story, though, is the rookie undercover assignment he was given right out of the gate by a captain who despised wardens with university degrees. Because Grosz was unknown to the area’s hunters, he was able to walk into a tackle shop and purchase equipment for “snagging” sturgeon—and thereby earn the trust of the shopkeeper, who just happened to be connected to a group of poachers illegally snagging fish and smuggling them to Native American communities to be smoked and sold at a tidy profit. Grosz was almost immediately invited into the conspiracy after they learned he had a pickup truck that could transport the goods—and the end of this story is even more incredible. Grosz is a memorable warden: physically imposing, clever as a fox, and a stickler for principle: in one story he arrests a couple of deputies who are poaching fish, and then stands up to a judge who reprimands him for arresting his nephew and threatens him with throwing the warden’s future cases out until he learns the importance of “professional courtesy”. (Grosz leaked the story to the press, according to his narrative, and the judge backed down.)
This was a fun surprise, especially considering how often Grosz was operating on his own: this not only heightens the stakes, but forces him to get creative. Fortunately for him, his height and preference for surprises worked to his advantage. Interestingly, Grosz has written some fiction, which I may check out last year.
Grosz proves himself someone who makes clever and studious use of his environment, though I imagine that’s a practice all wardens have to develop. His submersion in a rice field to monitor duck hunters must have been as uncomfortable as Bob Lee hiding in a woodpile for hours on end to ambush some fish poachers. There is danger aplenty here, both from the animals Grosz is protecting and from those hunting them: at one point, he was shot in the back end multiple times with a shotgun—thankfully loaded with birdshot. The sheriff provided the first and only aid, as the lawmen didn’t want area poachers knowing the warden was injured or suspecting he might be off the job for a few days. A few months later, a quarrelsome hunter cheekily informed Grosz that he understood the warden had had “his ass sprayed”—and Grosz instantly knew the man was his assailant, as only three men knew of the incident, and two of them (Grosz and the sheriff) hadn’t said a thing, not even to Grosz’s wife. Another time, Grosz recounts, he was in the rifle sights of a man he’d busted for poaching, and only the wife — who remembered Grosz’s kindness by supplying them with seized meat — stopped the man from taking the shot.
The most memorable story, though, is the rookie undercover assignment he was given right out of the gate by a captain who despised wardens with university degrees. Because Grosz was unknown to the area’s hunters, he was able to walk into a tackle shop and purchase equipment for “snagging” sturgeon—and thereby earn the trust of the shopkeeper, who just happened to be connected to a group of poachers illegally snagging fish and smuggling them to Native American communities to be smoked and sold at a tidy profit. Grosz was almost immediately invited into the conspiracy after they learned he had a pickup truck that could transport the goods—and the end of this story is even more incredible. Grosz is a memorable warden: physically imposing, clever as a fox, and a stickler for principle: in one story he arrests a couple of deputies who are poaching fish, and then stands up to a judge who reprimands him for arresting his nephew and threatens him with throwing the warden’s future cases out until he learns the importance of “professional courtesy”. (Grosz leaked the story to the press, according to his narrative, and the judge backed down.)
This was a fun surprise, especially considering how often Grosz was operating on his own: this not only heightens the stakes, but forces him to get creative. Fortunately for him, his height and preference for surprises worked to his advantage. Interestingly, Grosz has written some fiction, which I may check out last year.
January 6, 2021
3 1/2 stars. Intriguing look into a wildlife officer who takes his job very seriously. A 6'3, 300pound officer in the 1960s, Terry was the sort of guy who borrows a friend's wetsuit to be able to camp in the stream overnight when the salmon are running. When he finds lads illegally fishing, he waits until they've committed enough felonies to prosecute and he has a solid case, then grabs hold of one of their line and pretends to be a giant fish they're reeling in.
Imagine fishing illegally in the dead of night, hauling in a fish, and having a giant fish and game warden appear out of the river on the end of your line.
Terry was prepared to do a lot of stakeouts to catch his law breakers. It's a good book, when you view him as your hero. An interesting book, even when you stop to consider it from the other side.
He enjoys his power, and considers himself a hunter of men. I was a bit uncomfortable with his attitude more than once, just an undercurrent of concern that he's not as much of a good guy as he wants to seem. If scenes like him shooting a firecracker into a person's car and destroying their windshield make it into the book, I wonder how many scenes of him intimidating and shaking people down didn't.
On the whole I liked it, and think he probably did a lot of good to preserve the wildlife in California. It's certainly not a job I'd be good at. Eye opening, to say the least, in a good way.
Imagine fishing illegally in the dead of night, hauling in a fish, and having a giant fish and game warden appear out of the river on the end of your line.
Terry was prepared to do a lot of stakeouts to catch his law breakers. It's a good book, when you view him as your hero. An interesting book, even when you stop to consider it from the other side.
He enjoys his power, and considers himself a hunter of men. I was a bit uncomfortable with his attitude more than once, just an undercurrent of concern that he's not as much of a good guy as he wants to seem. If scenes like him shooting a firecracker into a person's car and destroying their windshield make it into the book, I wonder how many scenes of him intimidating and shaking people down didn't.
On the whole I liked it, and think he probably did a lot of good to preserve the wildlife in California. It's certainly not a job I'd be good at. Eye opening, to say the least, in a good way.
July 16, 2017
Even though it's written a bit to colloquially for me, this grew and grew on me.
The use of exclamation ppounts and terms like "lad" become endearing, rather than irritating with this engaging storyteller.
The intense feeling that one only gets from being a "hinter of men" is a grand motivator as Terry crawls through the mud, takes an ass of shot, endures cold and hunger. His intense love of and deidication to the species he is sworn to protect always shines through--even as he is trampled by elk and ducks and sprayed by a skunk.
I know the Colusa-area wildlife refuges well. He is not exaggerting when he says that there may be 100,000 waterfolw feeding at one time. And I well know that feeling of awe when they all lift off. You feel as if you are being sicked up skyward! I didn't know about the sickening, widespread commercial hunting of ducks and"dragging." Thank God that finally ended.
I like his righteous indignation when he catches outdoor professionals who ask him to be let off as a "professional courtesy." He stands fast that the law is the law, and claps on the cuffs in contempt.
NOTE: Yes, the stories are meant to be read separately, but Terry, PLEASE, stop bragging about how big you are!
The use of exclamation ppounts and terms like "lad" become endearing, rather than irritating with this engaging storyteller.
The intense feeling that one only gets from being a "hinter of men" is a grand motivator as Terry crawls through the mud, takes an ass of shot, endures cold and hunger. His intense love of and deidication to the species he is sworn to protect always shines through--even as he is trampled by elk and ducks and sprayed by a skunk.
I know the Colusa-area wildlife refuges well. He is not exaggerting when he says that there may be 100,000 waterfolw feeding at one time. And I well know that feeling of awe when they all lift off. You feel as if you are being sicked up skyward! I didn't know about the sickening, widespread commercial hunting of ducks and"dragging." Thank God that finally ended.
I like his righteous indignation when he catches outdoor professionals who ask him to be let off as a "professional courtesy." He stands fast that the law is the law, and claps on the cuffs in contempt.
NOTE: Yes, the stories are meant to be read separately, but Terry, PLEASE, stop bragging about how big you are!
March 25, 2019
The Early Years of a Fish & Game Warden
This was a fascinating account of the early years of Fish and Game Warden Terry Grosz. His battles with poachers of wildlife are detailed and often sad for the amount of kills often made. It's also interesting to note that some of the poachers were law enforcement officers expecting professional courtesy when caught. What they got were fines and unemployment. The numbers of wildlife have dropped and even one of the most prolific poachers bemoaned the dropping numbers. The author also shares life lessons learned, including one that specifically saved his life. A thrilling book, especially for the takedowns. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audiobook. Pete Simonelli does an excellent job narrating.
This was a fascinating account of the early years of Fish and Game Warden Terry Grosz. His battles with poachers of wildlife are detailed and often sad for the amount of kills often made. It's also interesting to note that some of the poachers were law enforcement officers expecting professional courtesy when caught. What they got were fines and unemployment. The numbers of wildlife have dropped and even one of the most prolific poachers bemoaned the dropping numbers. The author also shares life lessons learned, including one that specifically saved his life. A thrilling book, especially for the takedowns. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audiobook. Pete Simonelli does an excellent job narrating.
March 27, 2020
As someone in the wildlife field themselves, I found this book interesting, educational, and enjoyable.
This collection of short stories was written in easy-going, colloquial language and you can tell they were all written at different times because he uses the same explanations and descriptions in each story. Because of the repetitive language, this book is probably best approached by reading a few stories at a time then putting it down for awhile. Despite this, I would still highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the behind the scenes of wildlife law enforcement.
This collection of short stories was written in easy-going, colloquial language and you can tell they were all written at different times because he uses the same explanations and descriptions in each story. Because of the repetitive language, this book is probably best approached by reading a few stories at a time then putting it down for awhile. Despite this, I would still highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the behind the scenes of wildlife law enforcement.
February 17, 2025
Ok- so this probably would have been rated higher except for the repetitive “I’m 6’4…..I’m 320 pounds” not only that very blunt representation but the “I’m huge, I’m over 300 pounds, I’m two of them plus this much weight” sheesh. I was sick of hearing it a quarter of the way through the book. Take all that out and it would be a solid 4 but man….just can’t get around that personally.
February 5, 2020
I found the stories of his work to be interesting, but my goodness, he used the word "chaps" far toooften. So much so that I found it distracting to the story itself. He needed a better editor; it's written as a series of essays, and informationaboout his height and weight is repeated frequently.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2023
There are some fun stories, but to enjoy the book at all, you have to ignore every time the author mentions his height and weight. This dude’s whole personality is being 6’3”, and over 300lb. He mentions it a minimum of 5 times per chapter. Like: We. Get. It. You’re big.
August 31, 2024
I would.ve rated the book higher except for the author's annoying habit of telling the reader, every ten pages or so, how big he is. Once or twice would've been enough. Having said that, I did enjoy the book.
January 27, 2019
He gives some great anecdotes about game warden life. Light hearted and fun to read.
October 23, 2019
Amazing and captivating stories that should have had a stronger editor.
April 7, 2022
Great storytelling!
November 11, 2022
This was a fairly good read. Some of the stories seem a little stretched as reality is concerned.
October 23, 2023
A fantastic book for those who love the outdoors. Some of the true stories here were like watching a movie...
February 26, 2024
I was looking for a bit more reflection on the natural world than this offered which is a series of shootouts. I had no idea the job was like that! The format gor quite repetitive by the end.
June 8, 2024
the author is a little too obsessed with his weight and height
January 24, 2025
Maybe a few exaggerations throughout but still a good read.
November 17, 2018
I've read some of these stories on various social media platforms and I thought it was about time to read a whole collection. They're interesting stories and I side with Terry on the thought that if we don't protect these wild places from humanity, we'll find them all gone. I'll admit, Terry's a good 'ol white man sort of chap but I think he represents himself as fairly even handed and he knows how to change an experience into a story.
April 11, 2008
We (my hubby and I) know a lot of Conservation Officers (that's what we call Game Warden's here in IN) and are very close friends with one in particular. He, like Terry Grosz, has a knack for spinning the stories of some of the crazy, I mean crazy, shit they get into in this job. I stumbled upon Terry's first book on the internet while looking for a Christmas gift for the hubby. At the time he was considering becoming a CO. Each Christmas since I have given my husband another Grosz book. (Don't tell anyone but I really like them too)
Terry Grosz is such a likable moutain of a man it would be hard for someone to not enjoy his short stories that chronical some of his unbelievable adventures. To me he kind of represents the last of the "Wild West" lawmen, because some of the shit he pulled he could never get away with in this day and age. Like tying a bunch of salmon snaggers to the front of his car and making them walk to the nearest jail, which wasn't very near. He gets shot in the back by illegal commercial duck hunter, and never tells his wife. He gets caught up in an elk stampeed. I could go on an on. Some of the stories are just so out there you can hardly believe them, but they are supposed to be true. Some are very touching, like "A Fish for My Dying Wife". He I have read several of his books so they have kind of run togeather in my mind so all these may not be in this book but one of his others. Anyway I would really recommend these to anyone who loves the outdoors, nature and conservation topics. And even if you don't maybe this would still be a good read to help you learn more about the natural world and some of the bad guys out there taking advatage of her. Old Terry sure gave those jerks a run for their money!
Terry Grosz is such a likable moutain of a man it would be hard for someone to not enjoy his short stories that chronical some of his unbelievable adventures. To me he kind of represents the last of the "Wild West" lawmen, because some of the shit he pulled he could never get away with in this day and age. Like tying a bunch of salmon snaggers to the front of his car and making them walk to the nearest jail, which wasn't very near. He gets shot in the back by illegal commercial duck hunter, and never tells his wife. He gets caught up in an elk stampeed. I could go on an on. Some of the stories are just so out there you can hardly believe them, but they are supposed to be true. Some are very touching, like "A Fish for My Dying Wife". He I have read several of his books so they have kind of run togeather in my mind so all these may not be in this book but one of his others. Anyway I would really recommend these to anyone who loves the outdoors, nature and conservation topics. And even if you don't maybe this would still be a good read to help you learn more about the natural world and some of the bad guys out there taking advatage of her. Old Terry sure gave those jerks a run for their money!
March 19, 2008
This is a great book for anyone who studies or is interested in Wildlife conservation. Terry was a very large man who was one of the pioneers of the game wardens back when poaching was a big problem in the 70s. He was also a Humboldt grad which makes him even more awesome. His book is a series of short stories about cases from his first days as a warden. He has written several other books which create a series following his career over several decades. He advanced later in his career into a high level position in DC from which he has written more recent books, but this is by far his best and most entertaining. He will have you on the edge of your seat while each story unfolds but usually leaves you laughing at the end. He had a way of dealing with crooks that often left them intimidated and running off with their proverbial tail between their legs.
February 8, 2013
Picked this book up in a little book shop on Main St. while passing through Quincy last summer, where Grosz grew up. Glad I did. Nice to know there are people out there like him trying to preserve what's left of our wildlife from the myopic cretins who believe because they have a gun or a hook they are entitled to kill at will. Must be a kick to bust the fuckers. Not badly written, either, for a guy that made his living as a state cop. Thanks for your service, Mr. Grosz, and thanks for the book.
August 28, 2013
I completely loved this book and learned so much while reading it. It's told as a series of connected short stories and as such was particularly well suited to read while traveling where small bites were appreciated.
The story telling style is incredibly personable. As I read, I got the feeling of sitting across the dinner table listening to stories after a meal and shared camaraderie. This book is chock full of action and adventure with many heartwarming personal side notes. Anyone with a general love of nature will find much to enjoy in this.
The story telling style is incredibly personable. As I read, I got the feeling of sitting across the dinner table listening to stories after a meal and shared camaraderie. This book is chock full of action and adventure with many heartwarming personal side notes. Anyone with a general love of nature will find much to enjoy in this.
September 29, 2009
Not a bad book. Writing is clearly not his strong suit and he was very repetitive in many aspects of his writing. But I did enjoy reading about his adventures as a Fish & Game warden in N CA. It's nice to finally know someone out there has the environment and living things top on their mind and enforce their sanctity.
March 8, 2012
Amazing stories and gives law abiding sportsmen much to think about. It saddens me that so many humans relish the unlawful and reckless destruction of God's creatures. The book made me laugh in so many places, but at times the dialogue was stunted and slow. A good read.
April 29, 2016
Interesting stories of a man hunting me hunting game. Reads like a compendium of news articles or short stories that were written independently, so there is some repetition in background and phrasing that gets old fast.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews