THE REIGN OF WOLF 21 :: Rick McIntyre

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

"Why can't I find a man like 21?" a friend asks Rick McIntyre. This bemoaning might seem strange when one learns 21 is a Yellowstone wolf, but The Reign of Wolf 21 amply explains the dismay. Picking up where he left off in The Rise of Wolf 8, his award-winning story of a runty wolf pup who rose to alpha male status, McIntyre provides another fact-filled and science-based tale that can't help but also warm hearts. The detailed daily observations of mating, feeding and hunting habits for what became the largest pack ever recorded are also a love story for the ages.

"At its height, the Druid Peak pack, led by wolf 21, comprised thirty-eight wolves and held sway over an enormous territory in Lamar Valley. The intrepid alpha male achieved all this by being fearless in battle, never backing down, never killing a rival wolf, and, even more importantly, having an equally loyal, fearless, and wise companion by his side, wolf 42." The story of how 21 and 42 became who they were, particularly through the early influence of other pack members, and their devotion to each other give soul to the story.

Wolf 21 was raised and mentored by 8, his adoptive father, and McIntyre shares enough of their relationship to evidence 8's impact. But those interested in 21's ultimate reign over the wolves infamously reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 will certainly want to start at the beginning or go back to fill in the details of this legendary saga so skillfully told.