The Last Wolf

by Jim Crumley

In The Last Wolf, Jim Crumley explores the place of the wolf in Scotland - past, present and future - and challenges many of the myths that have been regarded for centuries as biological fact. Bringing to bear a lifetime's immersion in his native landscape and more than twenty years as a professional nature writer, Crumley questions much of the written evidence on the plight of the wolf in light of contemporary knowledge and considers the wolf in today's world, an examination that ranges from Highland Scotland to Devon and from Yellowstone in North America to Norway and Italy, as he pursues a more considered portrait of the animal than the history books have previously offered.

Within the narrative, Crumley also examines the extraordinary phenomenon of wolf reintroductions, physically transforming the landscapes in which they live that even the very colours of the land change under the influence of teeming grasses, flowers, trees, butterflies, birds, and mammals that flourish in their company. Crumley makes the case for their reintroduction into Scotland with all the passion and poetic fervour that has become the hallmark of his writing over the years. This is an elegant, erudite and imaginative account that readdresses the place of the wolf in modern Scotland.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, History, Scotland, Animals, Environment, Natural History

235 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

About the author

Jim Crumley is a Scottish nature writer with almost 20 books to his name, mostly on the landscape and wildlife of Scotland. He is renowned for his style - passionate, inspiring, visionary, sensitive, majestic - no work of his should be missed. He is also a columnist and presenter of radio programmes.

He has also received the accolade of '...the best nature writer now working in Great Britain...' from David Craig in the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years now, Scotland has been pondering the reintroduction of wolves. We’re no closer to doing it now than we were in 2010 when Jim Crumley wrote this excellent argument in favour. He argues that only wolves can reinstate the landscape to its natural balance. By becoming the top predator, they will cull deer naturally and this will ease the grazing pressure on the land. Native trees will flourish, the carrion left behind by wolves will feed an enormous range of other wildlife, from eagles to beetles, the land will prosper and so will wildlife all the way down the food chain.

Wolves are ‘a primary instrument of biological change’. That is the lesson learned from the Yellowstone Project if only others would listen. Crumley has many arguments for the site to be Rannoch Moor, near Glencoe. I can hear the farmers, landowners, shooting brigade, and many others howling ‘nooooooooooo’ without considering the ecological, and economic, benefits this opportunity would offer. The misunderstanding of wolves’ behaviour and their impact on the land is medieval and led to their extermination in Scotland centuries ago. We have an opportunity to right this wrong and I hope that I see it in my lifetime.

4 stars only because I didn’t enjoy the fictionalised account of the final days of the last wolf in Scotland. Not the last wolf ever, hopefully.

[... · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is many things at once, but they make a good mix. It all starts with Jim Crumley tracing the last wolves of Scotland in literary sources, and arguing that these accounts are unreliable for a number of reasons. He interrupts the quotes and comments on them, but with such humour that I found myself smiling every other page. He argues for wolf reintroduction in Scotland - something I don't think is going to happen anytime soon, if ever - and proposes a couple of places which, according to him, would be perfect wolf habitat, all the while trying to dispel the Big Bad Wolf myth that is still perpetuated in Europe. He also interviews people who share their lands or their lives with wolves. And he wraps it all up with a short fictional narrative of the last she-wolf that roamed Scotland.

To back up his arguments he paraphrases and quotes copiously from other sources, particularly The Decade of the Wolf, Of Wolves and Men and Erik Zimen's The Wolf, but also Wolf Wars, Wolfsong, Comeback Wolves, and his own book Brother Nature. And yet I didn't mind that much. Of course, to regurgitate so much material in such a short book leaves little space for something new, but there is just enough of it to make the read worthwhile - his chapters on Shaun Ellis in England and wildlife filmmakers in Norway especially, as he was conducting interviews for a BBC radio programme about wolves.



I'm holding the fourth reprint of this book, from 2019, which means I'm not the only one who enjoyed it. It's nature writing at its heart, and of course - you know me - I love good old nature writing. This one took me by surprise, because no, I did not expect to like it so much, but it pulled me in from the very first page. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. But likely only to those interested in wolves, and those who enjoy nature writing.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 2013, 3 years after it was first published, and having read it again recently the book still grabs my attention. Legend has it that the last wolf killed in Scotland was in 1743 but the author shows just how much of that legend and so many others are simply irrational.
Reading the Prologue the author tells how by reintroducing wolves into the landscape, everything in the landscape changes, not just that there are fewer deer but the flora, the trees and grasses and heathers return. He describes the wolf as a 'painter of mountains'.
The book takes the reader to Yellowstone National Park in the USA, to Devon in the south-west of England, to Norway and of course to Scotland.
Jim Crumley is knowledgeable about the subject and is a passionate advocate for the reintroduction of wolves to Scotland. The Los Angeles Times describes him as 'the best nature writer working in Britain today'. I would agree with that!

[Elizabeth Sibanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the tale of the last remaining wolf following the death of his species at the hands of mankind who hunted them down. The book is set during the reign of the King who decides to capture the wolf to protect it from the dangers of the outside world by keeping him in captivity. We soon find out that the wolf is unsettled in captivity and often paces up and down the cage exhibiting signs of distress due to loneliness. This is despite having an abundance of food and luxuries that were provided in the King’s palace. This urges the King to search his realm for the answer to the wolf’s problem. The King eventually finds someone with a solution to the problem and he is advised to bring a silver wolf to be a companion to the wolf. The silver wolf is found and brought to mate with the wolf. At last the wolf is content and happy and he and the silver wolf have many cubs and live happily together.

The message behind this story is that people have to protect endangered animals. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story because it has a happy ending and I felt emotionally connected to the characters and their plight. As a reader I empathised with the wolf when he was lonely. The author uses this emotional plea to grab the reader’s attention so that they go on a journey with the wolf and understand the impact of having their world ripped apart. This reinforces the message of protecting endangered animals because you can see the world from their view point.

The beginning and end of the book are the same which I liked because as a reader I felt that I had been on a journey as well and arrived at a happy ending. The book is inspiring and encourages one to write because the language and imagery are very cleverly used. The target group of readers for this book would be key stage 1 and 2 pupils. This story can be used as a class reading book and can also be used in guided reading and group reading. This is because the language is simple and easy to understand.

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very readable history of the wolf, and it’s place in our World today. Crumley keeps coming back to that society’s portrayal of the animal is an unfair one, that they are wronged in many ways, whether it be in folklore, fairy tales or legend passed down the generations. Sometimes his labouring of this point is to the detriment of the book.
I suppose, loosely only, it’s a book about conservation. But stand it up against a book like Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl, and shows to be lacking in many ways. I wanted to know more about studies into the behaviour of wolves in the wild, and how much of that was used in their reintroduction to Yellowstone. Also, more about plans to reintroduce them elsewhere in the world, particularly Scotland.
There are some interesting literary resources, amongst the very many...
Notably a poem about my favourite mountain, which I will finish this brief review with...

Gulfs of blue air,
two lochs like spectacles,
A frog (this height) and Harris in the sky –
There are more reasons for hills
Than being steep and reaching only high.

Meeting the cliff face,
the American wind
Stands up on end:
chute going the wrong way.
Nine ravens play with it and
Go up and down its lift half the long day.
Reasons for them?
The hill’s one...
A web like this
Has a thread that goes beyond the possible:
The old spider outside space Runs down it –
and where’s raven?
Or where’s hill?

High up on Suilven by Norman MacCaig

(Those lines that are bolded are the ones Crumley chooses to rightly highlight).

[Juliet Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolves became extinct in Scotland around 1743. This book explores the legends about how they may have finally disappeared from our landscape and proposes that for the Highlands to return to their natural state wolves need to be re-introduced.

The tone is often polemical and sometimes sentimental. The real power though comes from the author's observations about how wolves changed the landscape and ecosystems for the better when they were re-introduced into Yellowstone.

For example, the elk herds (the wolves main prey species) in Yellowstone have become way of wolves and so no longer linger in the same place for so long, meaning that they no longer tend to eat the vegetation so much, creating a more diverse and attractive landscape covered in bush and scrub and allowing trees more chance to grow to maturity. For this reason, the author describes wolves as the painters of landscapes.

According to this book, there is ample room in the Highlands of Scotland for between one and three packs of wolves. They would keep down the number of red deer and help the ancient Caledonian forest to regenerate. There would almost certainly be strenuous opposition from farmers, game keepers and a fair proportion of the general public.

Oddly when I was walking by the Water of Leith earlier this week, I saw two separate large dogs, that from a distance looked like wolves, trotting along by the river. Wolves wouldn't be introduced to the Water of Leith, it's too urban an area, but the sight made me imagine the wolves rightfully back in the Scottish Highlands.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

As of this month, July 2014, there have been more than 2,800 wolves killed in the United States in only six of the states. Wyoming, Montana and Idaho held only about 1,600 wolves prior to delisting. Even with their reintroduction after wolves being wiped out in the U.S., wolves have never regained anything close to their natural range or original numbers.

But this book was not about U.S. wolves, it was about the lack of wolves in Scotland. Although the author does talk of wolves in the U.S. and Scandinavia, the focus is on bringing wolves back to Scotland. The wolf has been missing from Scotland for more than 200 years, which is probably why I never thought of there being wolves in Scotland at all.

Overall I felt the strongest part of the book was when the author used hard data and spoke of the illogical persecution of wolves. The history of tales regarding wolves was interesting, though at times the author did use this aspect a bit as a crutch. The prologue, in which the author essentially summarized his overall argument, was the strongest because the superfluous material was left out.

But, the author had a real issue with waxing poetic, especially in the latter half of the book. He even included a number of chapters that were solely a tale of a fictitious wolf which was quite filled with purple prose and were completely italicized (dramatic enough?). The author also spent entirely too much time on analyzing old passages from books and reports regarding wolves trying to nail down when and where the last wolf died in Scotland. These passages were dull and did not elucidate the issue at hand well at all. Some of the analysis would have been fine, but between too much analysis and waxing poetic, the overall impact of the book became watered down. I found this rather unfortunate because ultimately his goal is to reintroduce wolves to Scotland where they once roamed a very long time before man interfered.

The author did make good points regarding how ecosystems suffer without a top predator of the caliber of wolves. This is well highlighted by the overpopulation of deer in Scotland and other parts of the globe where wolves or top predators are missing or in depleted numbers. Top predators are well-known, at least in the biological/environmental fields, to keep ecosystems in check and therefore healthy.

Overall the book would have been stronger, and the appeal for wolves back in Scotland stronger as well, if the author had juxtaposed more the lack of wolves in Scotland with other worldwide locations that either did not lose them or have brought them back. Also, while I understand his goal in the book regarded Scotland, the narrowness of Scotland felt restrictive, especially since it felt rather repetitive in the way he chose to write it (especially the old passages and verbatim repeats). I would also have liked to see no purple prose wolf chapters and less waxing poetic.


Noteworthy quotes:

I did enjoy the aspect of referring to Native Americans as more in tune with the land and pushing for wolves to come back. However, when speaking of Eskimos they stated they respected the wolf etc., but they hunt the wolf. I absolutely hate this dichotomy.

They too hunted it for its pelt and later for bounty paid by the government for dead wolves.


The wolf that was handed down from the old darkness was a slayer of babies, a robber of graves, and a despoiler of the battlefield dead. The wolf that howls in our dusk is a painter of mountains.


Ah, but then the story grew legs, became what the Norwegians call ‘a walking story’. My friend heard it again two weeks later from a completely different source. The ‘concert from wolves’ at 200 metres had become a slavering pack that confronted the man and threatened him so that he had to drive them off, and was lucky to escape with his life. ‘That was in 14 days,’ he said. ‘What about 140 days? Or 140 years?’

You will also be asked to believe that the history-making wolf-slayer was a MacQueen, a stalker and a man of giant stature. He would be. Wolf legend is no place for Davids, only Goliaths. He was six feet seven inches. There’s a coincidence – the same height as Scotland’s greatest historical hero, William Wallace, or at least the same height as William Wallace’s legend has grown to in the 700 years since he died. Like Wallace, MacQueen was possessed of extraordinary powers of strength and courage; and in addition he had ‘the best deer hounds in the country’. Well, he would have. You would expect nothing less. The wolf he killed (with his dirk and his bare hands) was huge and black. Well, it would be, you would expect nothing less. And it had killed two children as they crossed the hills accompanied only by their mother. What, only two?

In the Navajo Way, people are responsible for taking good care of their livestock. If a wolf takes a sheep, it is not the fault of the wolf. The wolf is only behaving like a wolf. The shepherd is the guilty one – for not paying close attention and protecting the flock. – Catherine Feher-Elson, Wolf Song, 2004

There can be no reliable history of the wolf. Histories, after all, are only ever written by people, and there is no species less qualified and less entitled than yours and mine to write that particular history.

Wherever in the world a thoughtful relationship between man and wolf still remains, there is ample evidence – carved, painted, written and word-of-mouth – of an ancient and inherited respect for the wolf as a teacher. It is one of the great ironies of the evolution of our species that long before we began to think in terms of exterminating the wolf we spent a great many centuries learning to be more wolf-like, learning not just how to hunt more efficiently but also how to live better lives, by inclining towards a society based on the family unit that was both independent and interdependent, but also permitted the wanderers, the loners, the ones that never quite fitted in with the family structure. Today we are still apt to refer to such people as ‘a bit of a lone wolf’, and that may be truer than we think; it may be all that has survived from that ancient era when our forefathers watched the wolf and saw a role model there.

By then, of course, religion in general and Christianity in particular had transformed our ideas about our relationship with the natural world. Suddenly a jealous God had given us dominion over all the other creatures. Suddenly the Son of God was the Good Shepherd who gave his life for the flock, and everyone knew that the flock’s number one enemy was the wolf. So if Christ was the Good Shepherd, the wolf was demonised as the agent of the Devil. An illustration in the Book of Kells shows a wolf with the Devil’s tail instead of a wolf tail, a character assassination worthy of Gerald Scarfe. Christianity has always made exceptions in its doctrine of compassion and turning the other cheek.

All the ingredients of the European wolf fable are in place: it is winter, the wolf is large and black, a figure is crossing the winter landscape (the addition of two children is an adornment), the hunter is huge and possessed of great strength and will surely prevail so that the wolf-oppressed population can rest easy in their beds again, and walk the hills alone in winter with impunity and with their vulnerability unexploited.

The thing about a moose is that it is so useful to people; hunters love to hunt them and people love to eat them. (I’m with them there: I had a moose steak in Norway and it was sublime.) But you don't put a wolf head on your wall and you don't eat wolf steaks, and only in Alaska did I ever meet a man who owned up to using wolf fur for his mitts and to trim the hood of his parka.

This is terrible reasoning. So because people love to hunt and eat moose, let's not worry about them. But because wolves aren't traditionally eaten or placed on walls as trophies let us save them? I don't understand why the author even bothered with this inclusion, it weakens any argument he made previously. Yes, wolves are important top predators, but don't diminish the role moose play and their lives.

[Sophy H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I love Jim's writing and feel an absolute affinity with the author on his respect of nature, this book just depressed the hell out of me.

Crumley is making a case for the return of wild wolves to Scotland, in order to initiate the positive landscape changes seen in Yellowstone after wild wolves were reintroduced there. The problem in Crumley's sentence however is ........... Scotland! Scotland have an horrific track record in wild species survival. Eagles and majestic birds of prey frequently miraculously turn up dead near grouse moorlands and hunting/shooting estates. Any wild creature "interfering" with hunting or shooting or "grouse moorland maintenance" is slaughtered and left to rot (see Chris Packham and his Wild Nature team if you think this is an exaggeration). As much as I would love to see wolves reintroduced to the UK, the sheeple of this country are far too hysterical and closed minded to see past their stupid interpretation of bloodthirsty predators.

Crumley goes back to the history books to see how wolves disappeared from Scotland in the first place. The horrific stories of animal cruelty are plentiful and this is what I mean by the writing being depressing. There is too much bloodshed, too much cruelty and I just couldn't handle it.

Poor Crumley, despite him wanting to make a case for wolves, this ends up not a positive book by any means. It just highlights our malicious human intent and our complete mistreatment of animals.

[Gertie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolves are very special animals. The accounts of wolves that this book gives has completely flipped how I will perceive landscapes from here on out. And how I ‘feel’ in a landscape. Crumley insists that there is no such thing as the ‘last wolf’. The trees, the rivers, the earth remembers them. And we can feel their essence in a place they’ve been gone from for hundreds of years, if we have a bit of faith :) and sure I’ll believe it! Because I want to. But more than anything I want wolves back in the landscapes they belong in. I want to hear them howl!

There was one particular story in the book that really moved me. It was about a wolf known as 239F. And she was wonderful. There was another called number 14. Equally brilliant.

If you’d like to consider what real ‘wilderness’ is. What it means to be wild. Have a read. Couldn’t recommend it more!!

[Ulrike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars
A book trying to debunk the myths about wolfs and to argue for the wolfs natural place in the landscape. Sometimes a bit short or odd (when describing Oslo airport as the only beautiful airport he knows!?!) , his description of nature and respectful approach to the idea of introducing wolves back to Scotland though are well written

[m j cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly a missed opportunity - preface and first chapters promise some interesting themes but it then degenerates into a bullying and repetitive rant about mythology and human folly. Tedious read that was hard to finish

[Manuchy Manuchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve got it all written down so let’s dive right in.

what is it about?
- At the beginning of the book, the author stated the objective of the book was to debunk the myths regarding the last wolf in Scotland, plus show the benefits of the reintroduction of wolves in Scotland (implicit).
For me, it felt like he deviated from the topic at times, as if not even the author knew where to direct the book. Some parts felt unrelated and extra, often going off on a tangent. It really felt more like a recollection of his past experiences and thoughts while journaling about wolves and working for the BBC.

Writing
- The writing was like a journalistic record of the stories regarding wolf history. One of the aspects I enjoyed was how he included literary elements such as vibrant depictions of nature, poems and a short story distributed between the chapters. This last one was about a lonely wolf who had lost her pack due to hunters, now looking for other wolves. Looking back, it tried to represent the last wolf wandering alone in the woods, dying not by the hands of men but by the natural process of aging. A lonely death. This is my interpretation of the end of story (since it’s left open ended), but I think it’s pretty accurate compared to real life.

- Now, there is a BIG issue here that I have yet to address. What made the reading so slow and arduous? Why did I have to reread various passages to understand what they meant?
The answer is a lack of commas and a WHOLE DEAL of compound sentences wrongly punctuated (as well as a couple of runoff sentences.) It made it hard to determine what the subject in question was.

Content
Let’s begin with the pros.
- First of all, the connection Crumley made between the chasing and killing of both Native Americans and wolves in America really made me think; Those who are wild, those who cannot be controlled nor possessed, are killed, demonized and ostracized from their own lands.

“ ‘The only good wolf is a dead wolf’ [...] ‘The only good indian I ever saw were dead’” ( Crumley, 2010)

- Crumley pointed out something that should be thought of more, shared more.

“The wolf is only behaving like a wolf. The shepherd is the guilty one - for not paying close attention and protecting the flock.”( Crumley, 2010)

Nature is not against us, we’ve just made it seem so. The selfishness, ignorance and lack of empathy of man is the only cause of our current suffering.

- Religion! Yey! I absolutely agree on how religion, specifically Christianity, has created a space of hatred for animals.

“Christianity has always made exceptions in its doctrine of compassion and turning the other cheek.” ( Crumley, 2010)

“Suddenly a jealous God had given us dominion over all the other creatures” ( Crumley, 2010)

A religion based on the selfishness of man is just as destructive, just as unfair as a corrupt world-wide organization that convinces us that ditching plastic straws will make a change as they, parallelly, support the same industries they tell us we should fight against (and ALL AT THE SAME TIME supports them).

- Just like Jim states, human pursuit of perfection and control has led us to a world of chaos and disbalance. The only way of managing Nature is by letting Nature manage itself. One of the biggest and last concluding nodes in the book is how the only way of restoring our planet is by understanding that we are not the ones in control (Hey! we are not even in control of ourselves! but… maybe we are not meant to be…)

“And mostly nature fears your presence in its landscape. It produces a sense of loneliness, at least it does in me” ( Crumley, 2010)

- I really relate to this. It feels so lonely when we can’t share with other beings like they do with each other. They fear us and with good reason. Even with pets, we’ve imposed our will of domestication onto them so that we can feel less lonely in this hostile world of destruction and indifference that we’ve caused.

Now, the cons.
- Like I said previously, the writing was a little bit hard to get through, but nothing impossible.

- This was an error I made, but since it was written in 2010 it’s now outdated.

- At times, it felt like the author monopolized the power of nature into a single species. Yes, predators have a bigger influence on ecosystems since they are the last link in the trophic pyramid, but they are not the pinnacle for biodiversity in the planet. I get why he says that the voice of nature can be heard through the wolves howl, but so can it be heard through the muffling of deers, the singing of birds, the flutter of a butterfly’s wings. It is all connected.

Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed it! Just like Elizabeth Kolbert, their writing can be classified as nature writing. It’s not only about the scientific facts, but also about the author’s thoughts and feelings! It makes the book feel more genuine and human.

Soo, what about the big bad wolf? What about the myths and stories? Well, that’s all they are! Myths and stories.

[Ling]

Not what I signed up for but good when it was what I signed up for.

[Jonathan Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up this book second hand after reading about it in the Scots Magazine, where author Jim Crumley is a long-term and regular contributor.

Crumley's nature writing often focuses on the reintroduction of wolves into Scotland, and those discussions are when I most enjoy his writing. That's not to mention a long-hold fascination I have with wolves, rooted in what feels like a shared cultural memory and fear that caused me many regular nightmares as a child, living below the hills of the Greenock Cut, and a few as an adult.

The three pigs and Red Riding Hood have a lot to answer for, and that dissection of the myth of the evil and rabid wolf was where this book was at its best. For me, I wanted to read about the realities of reintroducing wolves, an analysis of their actual relationship with humans, and what Scots could expect from their rearrival in our Highlands.

The book started well in this respect, and I found myself devouring pages like a rabid black wolf might a weary human mother and her children on a winter trek in the hills. I was fascinated to read Crumley dissect the myth of the last wolf and follow in the footsteps of the 'heroes' who made the kills.

However, I felt that soon subsided and drifted into a book in which the author indulged himself with nature writing for writing's sake. Lots of flourishes and flowery language to describe walking in forests and hills and moors that no longer have wolves.

I didn't mind that when it had a purpose, such as the interludes providing a fictional account of a lone, last wolf searching for others of her kind, but too often it was meandering art for arts sake, that I felt ultimately detracted from the cause of the book.

The final criticism I had was that Jim Crumley's personality comes through in waves. That's fine in and of itself, desirable even, but I just don't think he comes across as likeable, more an ageing curmudgeon who doesn't like tourists, tourist sites, historians, forestry workers, or much of anything besides wolves, animals, and other nature writers.

If you can get past that, you'll likely still enjoy this book, especially if you embrace writing for writing's sake. Personally, I'd have preferred a more straightforward and factual analysis of the wolf, its history, and future, in Scotland rather than what amounts to a whimsical if passionate meander.

[Flint · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling argument as to why we should be reintroducing the wolf into the wild in Scotland and Britain though he concentrates on Scotland in this book.

The demonising of wolves makes me think about the Terror management theory.
As humans, we only seem to want a select few animals to be within our territory, some are more preferred than others, and others merely tolerated. I've heard and seen comments about magpies being 'murderers' because they raid nests. I see those comments on wildlife enthusiast groups online and always find these sorts of comments to be revealing about the human psyche.
If you have a predator that could potentially tear a human apart with its teeth, that is all you need, that potential, for humans to demonise and, in the case of the wolf, eradicate.

Perhaps the wolf reminded and still reminds people too much of death, not just death in general but their own death.

The idea of the wolf, though, can be seen through a mist of romanticism and admiration.
But always from a distance. At least in our culture, in our 'western' cultures.

I like the idea of wolves being painters of mountains.

My favourite chapters were 'Norway' and 'Yellowstone,' 'The absence of wolves.'

'People can't manage the wilderness because when they try, as they have done in Scotland for the last few hundred years, they do so by putting the interests of people first.' Pg 144

Being a species ourselves, not outside of nature, It makes sense that we are 'people centric' just as a squirrel is 'squirrel centric.' But we are ignoring the fact that we are part of nature and so in our aim of improving our lives in our current version of 'people centric', we miss some vital parts of the whole. That whole being that because we are within the natural ecosystem ourselves, we have to look after the needs of the ecosystem. I guess it could be said we need to become 'eco centric' which in turn will be 'people centric' in that it can surely only help us.


'We depend on air and water....We depend on the wolf, too, and we have a need to defend the wolf as we defend the air and water- for our own good, not simply for the wolf's' Pg 44

[Henna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There can be no reliable history of the wolf. Histories, after all, are only ever written by people, and there is no species less qualified and less entitled than yours and mine to write that particular history."

Jim Crumley has a very valuable point here. The Last Wolf is gorgeous natural history of the wolves in Scotland; extinct since the eighteenth century because of humans, and reintroduction programs not going anywhere because as Crumley argued, the wolf has been painted as the enemy, the demon, since the Middle Ages. Still, Scotland's ecosystem needs wolves, because they are the top predator (which, not counting humans, Scotland's wilderness doesn't really have) to keep the red deer numbers down. And it is proven that the large herds of the red deer are not good for the ecosystem because they cause erosion. Crumley goes through all this and gives examples of Yellowstones and Norway's wolf reintroduction programs, which have been successful. As Crumley argues, Scotland's wilderness needs free, wild wolves.

I haven't really delved into natural history before, despite my keen interest in wild animals such as wolves and foxes. After reading The Last Wolf, I'm more than interested in reading some of Crumley's other books and delving into the world of natural history books more. Crumley's writing is very poetic yet simple; it's a pleasure to read. He knows how to paint a picture of the Highlands - especially Rannoch Moor - in a way that just won't leave reader alone. It's almost haunting picture of wilderness and its dwellers. Absolutely beautiful and stunning, and with such interesting topic as the history of wolf in Scotland, especially since it the presence/absence of wolves is something that has been debated over decades.

The Last Wolf is important book, and it'll without a doubt stay with me for a long time. It's one of those influential books that just make readers think, especially with such a good argumentation as Crumley presented. I do highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in the topic.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an American unfamiliar with the Scottish terrain in this book, I’m not sure I got all out of it that someone living in and knowledgeable of Scotland would. But there is some very pretty prose, and I made note of a lot of references to other books and places I’d like to check out. What I did not enjoy about the book is the explorations of his own rambling thoughts and ideas and Crumley’s regular quoting of his own previously published and aired works. Maybe I was hoping for a more scientific approach to this call to legislators and policy makers to reintroduce the wolf to Scotland. While I whole-heartedly agree and support Crumley’s endeavors, I’m not sure this book provides any solid argument and is more of an exploration of his own fandom. Aside from a list of quoted books in the acknowledgment page, there were no standardized citations nor an index.

[Chris Thorley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely cemented the idea in my mind that wolves should (or must) be reintroduced to Scotland. This was probably more of a human history of wolves than a natural history and it might have been nice to have had a bit more information about wolves themselves but this is not a major point as it wasn't really the purpose of the book. Wolves have been the victims of propaganda in this country, partly fuelled by the various ludicrous 'last wolf' stories that the author of this book tries to track down. Unfortunately that propaganda is still effective so I think people's hysteria about wolves will be always be a stumbling block for their return to the ecosystem in the UK where they belong.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book. Two things are clear, firstly the author dislikes all mountain users be they climbers, walkers, estate interests. I think if he had his way, anyone going into the hills would be banned, apart from the author. Second, there is a compelling case for wolves being introduced to Scotland, but I fell it will never happen, the farming and estate interest would never accept it. The book is professionally written and an enjoyable read but its ‘pie in the sky’ stuff. I simply won’t happen. The descriptive writing is really high quality.

[jvb · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book! I love wolves anyway, but this book left me enamored with the notion of the wolf. Jim Crumley reviews wolf history and wolf lore and how man's relationship with this animal influences our current wilderness policy. And then, in an instant, he takes you to into the dreaming mind of the last wolf herself. Very well done!

[Patricia Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional review of the wolves of Scotland -- or rather, the lack of wolves there, by noted conservationist Jim Crumley. It is not an easy book to read, however, especially for Americans unfamiliar with many of the places he describes in his home country. But if you are a dedicated "wolfologist," as I am, you will find much here to admire.

[Bob Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant Crumley writing

A must read for nature lovers, especially for those desiring restoration of species slaughtered by ignorance. Jim's excellent and informative writing is worthy of recognition and praise.

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many quotes, didn’t enjoy the fiction parts, some very strangely worded sections that didn’t fit well. Perhaps a more thorough reread in the future may help

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had the sitting around since 2016 and really enjoyed the read and how the case for reintroduction is laid out. The history of wolves and the lore surrounding them from around the world and in Scotland is as fascinating as it is tragic. Sad to say I don’t think we are any closer to it than we’re in 2016

[Chelsie Beaudoin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the wolf in history and current sentiments in Scotland with maybe eventually talking about reintroduction . It was an interesting read, but being American, I found I wasn’t too interested in wolf history in Scotland.

[Cindy Dyson Eitelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't given a book 5 stars for a while--but this is it. Nature, history, travel and imagination pass on and off-stage so smoothly you hardly get a breath before one scene ends and the next jumps in. It's near impossible to put down.

The writer lives in Scotland, a land where the last living wolf was killed in 1743...according to legend. There's a lot of legend and not much fact. He starts off with a quick reminder of just how accurate legend tends to be--especially legend associated with such a colossal subject of imagination as The Wolf. He travels around his home land in search of the legend and finds many amusing variants of it, all of which happened right here. But he also searches for the wolf's imprint on the land, the trees, the very winds that blow...I think he finds it.

Other chapters of the book take him to Yellowstone and Norway, places where wolf reintroduction is happening. He tells an awesome account of the changes that the top predator makes on the food chain, the plant succession, and even the mist of the mountains--and those changes are powerful. it's possible that man can keep a elk population under control. But deer are a different story--they get fat and happy, overgraze and destroy whole ecosystems, even eating the little trees spawned from a brush fire. And both get lazy, moving along only when one foraging ground is picked to the bare earth. It's common knowledge that wolves keep a prey population healthy by weaning out the sick, the weak and the elderly. But we're only just learning that wolves keep the population moving, too--it's how they find which animals to cull. And that gives the earth time to replenish and regrow...thus the mist on the mountains.

I'm telling too much. You need to read his words.

[Luke Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Crumley is without doubt one of my favourite nature writers. In the opening chapter of the book, we learn that wolves are the 'painters of mountains', and in my opinion, Jim Crumley is a painter of the natural world with words that describe a thousand visions of its wild denizens.

This is a wonderful book that challenges the ingrained fear and hatred of the wolf that has plagued our relationship with it. It utterly destroys the wolf's reputation as a murderous, blood-thirsty fiend of our past, and blows apart the many myths surrounding the many purported 'last wolf' stories we have accepted all too readily.

It then educationally and passionately instills the virtues of the wolf as a savior of ecosystems and a provider to all within. I was left in no doubt that our country is not just the poorer for having none, but absolutely needs them to return. I hope as Crumley does, that it is within my lifetime.

My only criticism is that Crumley's love affair of the wolf goes so far to admonish against accusing it of any conflict with man on its behalf at all, which isn't true. But given the injustice the wold has suffered at the hands of our misconception and fear, without cause, this is perhaps justified and understandable.

Also, at times the writing and viewpoint can be a little removed from both society at large (a good thing perhaps) and the real world (maybe not so much), and ventures a little too closely to poetic flights of fancy for my liking.

But the research, depth and challenging voice is one that takes us on a journey that is riveting, heart-breaking, frustrating and yet still hopeful. And I hope to hear more from Crumley soon.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautifully written book. Jim Crumley has clearly done his research on the topic of wolves and their presence throughout Britain, Yellowstone and Norway. His passion for wolves shines through and his use of imagery to describe the landscapes he was visiting (particularly the Scottish Highlands) was stunning. A very informative book on these beautiful animals, their history and the benefits of their reintroduction as a keystone species. Can't recommend it enough and I can't wait to read more nature-based books by Jim Crumley.

[Giki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really interesting book gives great insight into the behaviour of wolves, the history of wolves in Scotland and the effect of a large predator on the ecology of Scotland. It is well written with a lightness that makes it easy to stick with it. There is a lot to like here,we meet people who live alongside wild wolves and see the changes that re-introduction can bring through their eyes. We travel to the wild areas of scotland where the last wolves roamed and we meet the wild wolves themselves and see the world through their eyes.
The Author has a point to prove though and I feel he paints things a little too black and white. His wolves are noble creatures– bringing only positive ecological benefits, restoring the Scottish highlands to there former glory. Those who portray the wolf as a dangerous menace are either far removed from the action and woefully misinformed or merely inventing tales of horror for a bloodthirsty audience. Historical accounts are dismissed as implausible exaggerations with a very one sided interpretation of the facts.
The factual portions of this book are interspersed with the imagined story of the actual last wolf, who died alone,faraway from the eyes of man. I get the point but it is a little too whimsical from my liking.
I did like this book though, it is a must read for anyone with an interest in the ecology of Scotland or a love of the wild. Even if I did end up in a different place from the author at the end.

[Paul Kieniewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since my first meeting with wolves in Texas, looking into their eyes and knowing that I'm in the presence of extraordinary beings, I've been under their spell. My novel, "Gaia's Children" was written partly in response to that first meeting. Jim Crumley, also a wolf-lover and a Scottish nature writer, takes on the many wolf legends pertaining to Scotland. Untruths mostly, about the killing of the last Wolf near Findhorn. He makes a strong case for why the wolf must return to Scotland, not as a curiosity confined to cages, but left to roam in the wild. Scottish ecology, at present manufactured and maintained by man is in the long term unsustainable. However, overcoming deeply held prejudices is not a trivial task. Curiously, the main opposition is not from sheep and cattle farmers, but from ramblers who are concerned about extra fences, and being mauled by wolves even though very few attacks on humans are documented. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the role of the wolf in Scotland.