Of Wolves and Men

Barry Lopez studies the wolf both as an animal and as the creature people have imagined. He sets the scientist's wolf, defined by data, beside the wolf of the Eskimo hunter, who sees a provider much like himself, and that of Native Americans, for whom it was a spiritual symbol that could make individual and tribe strong. He also considers the wolf killer's frenzied predator and the wolf of folklore and fable, of werewolves and feral children. Drawing on mythology, science, history and literature, and on time he spent with wolves both captive and free-ranging, Lopez makes the case for preserving the animal. First published in 1978, it has been reissued with a new afterword by the author.

Tim Ferriss included it in his favorite and most impactful reads of 2021, calling it probably his favorite nonfiction book of the past five years.