The Wolf in North American History is historically important because it preserves a vast collection of frontier accounts, predator-control records, folklore, Indigenous references, and early wildlife observations concerning wolves across North America. The book reflects both Stanley Young’s fascination with wolves and his professional role within the U.S. Biological Survey’s predator-control system. As a result, it serves not only as a history of wolves in North America, but also as a revealing document of the attitudes and policies that contributed to their decline during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This book is distinct from The Wolves of North America in 1944, by Young and Goldman.
Stanley P. Young occupied a complicated position: he was both a serious student of wolves and a federal predator-control professional. As an employee of the U.S. Biological Survey (later the Fish and Wildlife Service), he participated in and documented campaigns aimed at reducing wolf populations to protect livestock and game animals. That dual role makes the book historically significant not only as natural history, but also as a record of the attitudes and policies that contributed to the wolf’s decline in the United States.
This is a 1946 first edition in very good condition. Some aging to the pages and cover, dust jacket. Protected in mylar. The author inscribed it playfully to someone who was obviously a friend, in 1949.
In the current era of wolf conservation, this is an interesting book with fascinating photographs included.