Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Russian folklore and word of mouth is not science. August 4, 2008
Lono (providence, ri)
2 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is written by a linguist, not a scientist. It is based on stories and folklore told by the people of rural Russia. This is not reputable science (or any kind of science). Wolves are not from another planet. They were not created in laboratories. They are animals who, along with the animals they hunt and kill, existed in a well-maintained balance for tens of thousands of years before we settled in their environment. It is simply illogical to assume that they are somehow the problem figure in the ungulate culling equation when we are the only variable. Books such as these arise from a purely irrational fear which is (and has been) disproved by actual research begun from a neutral position.
If you want to know the real story behind wolves and how it relates to the myth, read "Never Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat. It wasn't put together by a pro-wolf organization. It's about a scientist who was sent by the Canadian government to kill and examine wolves in order to learn about their supposedly destructive habits. He was converted to the truth by doing what few of us seem to be willing to do: spending time observing real wolves. I repeat, he went into this experience believing that wolves were vicious indiscriminate killers and ended up writing a book displaying how this couldn't be farther from the truth. We simply project the worst images of ourselves onto these well-adapted, intelligent animals.
And for the record, these alien beasts are only a few gene pools away from the Labrador retriever you have sitting in your living room (they will still interbreed).
 Wolf haters should read all the literature February 25, 2008
david whitacre (Washington, D.C.)
3 out of 10 found this review helpful
The book is a look at the Russian wolf experience and it message for wolf control programs. It doesn't seem unusual that the reviews I read are from wolf hating Red states and is reflected in their ignorance of the issue. If you are going to come down on any side of an issue read all the literature. I think the arrogance of people who cannot share a world where wolves were here first and our actually a contributing part of the environment, need to rethink their place in this world. The Russian view of wolves is over-blown and mostly based on folklore, but they are wolf haters too. Read this book and Decade of the Wolf by Michael Smith and the truth will find you.
 IT'S ABOUT TIME January 17, 2008
Grace A. Smith (Tendoy, ID)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
There isn't a more emotional or controversial issue in Western America. We were told wolves wouldn't bother livestock nor people. In fact we were told that there had never been a documented case of a wolf attack on a person. If you want to know the truth read this book and then decide for yourself. Many of the things mentioned in this book are starting to play out in Idaho,Montana and Wyoming including wolves "investigating" people. We can at least move forward with our eyes wide open. The Russian experience may become reality in America.Wolves in Russia: Anxiety Through the Ages
Fact and Fiction January 15, 2008
Ellen
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Thank you Mr. Graves and Valerius Geist. The world has needed a balanced, true and historic look at the cycles of behavior that wolf populations go through. This book puts to rest the many myths ("wolves cause balance in nature" - till they cause mortality sinks of ungulates and therefore other predators, "wolves make healthy herds of wild ungulates" - yeah, till they eat and sport kill them to extinction! "Wolves are shy" - unless their hungry, "Wolves never kill humans" - until they do, regularly found in the "warm fuzzy" public education so strenuously promoted by many who personally profit from such false notions at others expense and endangerment.
Several Reviews for Wolves in Russia January 15, 2008
Jane
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
"This amazing book presents for the first time,in detail, the facts on Russia's huge wolf problem."
Jim Rearden, Ph.D. former Head of the Wildlife Department at the University of Fairbanks, and author of "The Wolves of Alaska."
"Wolves in Russia is a must read for wolf advocates, ranchers, college professors, government agents, and those who will be camping in wolf territory. Will Graves' book balanced investigation provides rare honesty and sanity in this groundbreaking and illuminating collection of Russian wolf science, documented predation on humans and livestock, and stories from Russian literature."
Barney Nelson, Ph.D, Environmental Editor for Range Magazine and author of the Wild and the Domestic: Animal Representation, Ecocriticism, and Western American Literature.
"Wolves will definitely be the debate for the next decade. Will Graves' book sets the record straight for the next century. A must read!"
Jim Slinsky, host of Outdoor Talk Network.
"We owe a debt of gratitude to Graves for Wolves in Russia - a work that combines a realistic outlook and an understanding based on years of research and travel. This information from Russia in an antidote to certain American, environmental delusions."
Jim Beers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife Biologist.
"This book must be read by every serious wildlife biologist, resource decision maker and park manager, as well as the recreation-minded, for it clearly shows that co-existence between man and animal has limits that can never be forgotten."
James A. Swan, Ph.D., from Not-so-cuddly canines
"When humans are unable or unwilling to defend themselves, wolves attack. That's the conclusion you'll find in [Wolves in Russia]." "[Wolves in Russia] challenges North American notions about the true nature of these controversial animals, striving to show that populations are best controlled by human intervention." From a review by Agri-News.
Range Magazine, in its Winter 2008 edition published an article about Wolves in Russia entitled "Anxiety Through the Ages." In the opening subtitle, Range says, "In his new book 'Wolves in Russia,' Will N. Graves chronicles the reasons wolves are feared by the people who must live with them." Barney Nelson, Ph.D., says in introduction to the Range article, " 'Wolves in Russia' is a must-read book for wolf advocates, ranchers, college professors, government agencies, and those who might be camping in wolf territory. Will Graves' balanced investigation provides rare honesty and sanity in a groundbreaking and illuminating collection of Russian wolf science and documented predation on humans and livestock. The book paints a vivid picture of government suppression of information; it documents the effect of an unarmed population on wolf behavior; and it points to cycles of terror and starvation that correspond to wolf population explosions."
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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