This chronicles a year with a man and woman and their 1/4 wolf and 3/4 Inuit dog, Charlie as they undertake a massive journey to attempt to study and learn more about wolves. Using Charlie as a go-between, they spent a summer in the Canadian Yukon where they were graced by the trust that Charlie seemed to be able to gain from the Alpha wolf, as the wolves took him to be their Alpha and the humans his subordinates. With their tents 150 yards away from their denning site, and Charlie "scent-marking" his "territory" to enforce his rule as Alpha, they were able to see things that very few, if any, had ever seen in wolf society--their day-t0-day activities, their affection for each other, their games and play, and even a few times were able to watch--from afar--as they worked together to bring down prey much larger than the wolves were. And how treasured the newborn pups were to every member of the pack. And, unfortunately, how they had to teach the yearlings and the pups how to look skyward for airplanes where human hunters shot wolves from the air.
The next trek was to the Arctic where they discovered wolves following polar bears--something never before believed--but the polar bears were experts at grabbing seals from the holes in the sea ice and, after eating the blubber, would move on while the wolves, ravens, and occasionally arctic foxes would feast on the remaining meat.
A third trek, further into the Arctic, was told to them of a place where a longtime friend and Inuit, who refused to have his name used in the book, told them of a pack of wolves that lived in a sheltered wooded area. They found the area and, living in tents, once again, Charlie became a go-between, understanding how to speak to the wolves in a language that humans never could. It was a dream come true for many (myself included) but the only way they were able to get as close and "personal" to the wolves was because of Charlie.
Helen Thayer has quite a reputation, including the first woman to reach the magnetic North Pole. She received the Outstanding Achievement Award by the American Mountain Foundation as well as being named the National Geographic Society/National Public Radio as one of the great explorers of the 20th Century, even being honored at the White House by President Clinton. Both she and Charlie visit organizations and corporate groups, as well as schools and hospitals. None of this, of course, could have been done without Charlie who, unfortunately, died in 2003.