Customer Reviews

Don Coyote: The Good Times and the Bad Times of a Much Maligned American Original

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Once in a great while an author tells a story that is both awe inspiring and down to earth at the same time. , Dayton O. Hyde, author of "Don Coyote" has compiled such a work. His tale is the great American novel that not only speaks, but also sings from the heart, Hyde's story is told from his own point of view, and is about his life as a struggling cattle rancher in Oregon and the amazing friends one can meet thru tolerance and understanding. His is a tale of the brilliance one gains when one stops and listens to his environment instead of destroying it. It teaches that one can live in harmony with all of its creatures. In Hyde's life he has experienced the hardship of honest work, the toils and troubles of dreams not working out, and the friendship of one extraordinary creature. When Don Coyote first came into Hyde's life he was but a nuisance, a so called "threat" to his cattle, a threat that by all of the old laws of the west needed to be poisoned and snuffed out of existence imeadetly. Hyde was a good rancher, a good husband to his wife and a good father to his children, an over all a good person. So when it came time to raise his rifle in Don's direction Hyde couldn't kill him, no matter the old myth that coyotes live to only kill sheep, and should be destroyed on sight .Hyde didn't know it then, but that simple decision to not take an "animal's" life would change his own forever. The New York Times Book Review says, "Mr. Hyde is an engaging writer, and he portrays his coyote characters as charming, quirky and almost irresistibly appealing. He also convincingly demonstrates the senselessness of those who kill the wildlife he loves." Experience the extraordinary true story of a man who decided to observe nature with not just his eyes but also his heart, therefore discovering that man is not the controller of his environment but very much controlled by it. Welcome one and all to a tale of true friendship and

camaraderie. "Don Coyote" was published by Ballantine Books and is available wherever Ballatine Books are sold. Also by Dayton O. Hyde: "The Major, The Poacher and The Wonderful One-Trout River," "One Summer In Montana" and "Thunder Down the Track."

Dayton Hyde has a wonderful command of the English language and paints pictures with words so you can actually see whatever he writes about. The story was engaging, humorous, informative, and well-written. It is a story of his own struggle to be at one with nature and habitat. He taught his children this love. He was a good father and a good husband, and he maintains his sense of wonder throughout the whole book. He draws the reader into his thoughts and world. I loved the book. I have now read two that Dayton Hyde has written, and this was my favorite, but I loved both books. He is a man I truly admire. He is a good teacher. I read the books before giving them to my son for Christmas, and I want to give other people his book. He shares his life with several coyotes on his ranch and learns their ways and their habits. I learned a lot. Thanks, Dayton!!!

Don Coyote is one of my favorite books of all time. I have just finished this book - again - as I have done every year since 1990. This book is such an easy book to read - it is very hard for me to put this book down once started - and every year I am re-aquainted with Don, Coy, and the Hyde family. I have recommended this book (and the author) to my friends and family and cannot wait to share Don Coyote with my grandchildren.

Don Coyote is a delightful book, one of my favorites that I've read many times. Animal lovers will cheer, laugh, and cry reading this tome. In the middle of Oregon ranch country, where coyotes are despised by ranchers, Dayton O. Hyde befriends a coyote and successive generations. He figures that returning the land to it's original state would attract natural flora & fauna, like voles and ground squirrels, coyotes' natural prey. It works amazingly well, and the alleged varmints leave his livestock alone. All of this in a truly heartwarming/heartbreaking story, masterfully told by a master storyteller.

It's also a meaningful book for me on different levels. My obvious affinity for coyotes is one reason: at the same time, I saw so much more than a touching, funny, well told story of a rancher's clumsy compassion for coyotes and all fauna on his Eastern Oregon ranch. It has a remarkable conservation message (he ends up going against the conventional wisdom of shooting & poisoning coyotes and instead makes sure they are well fed, on the premise that only a hungry predator is dangerous). Interestingly enough (in the context of this discussion), I found insight into our political quagmire, about taking the time to listen & understand & support (his position as the only coyote-loving rancher evokes hatred and prejudice from peers, and I can't help thinking that must be how it feels to be "in the way" of US interests. Also, that whole idea that only a hungry predator is dangerous, like how we helped the Afghans fight Russia then left them with nothing, fomenting the radical outrage that is now biting our butt. Similarly, we deserted Iraqi rebels after the first war, and never gave them the support we promised, resulting in Hussein draining the southern swamps and/or poisoning them, resulting in genocide).

If you disagree with my political insights, that's just my politics & probably not Dayton's intentions. This is, primarily, a story about the interaction of coyotes & Dayton, a book about nature, and a reflection on our impact on it. And a most endearingly great tale from a great storyteller. Animal lovers from any political corner will enjoy this book.

While the writing here is often inspired and mostly entertaining, there are plenty of places it could have been whittled down effectively by a good editor. The book did start to drag a bit for me about half way in, but just a little.

Still, I can't avoid giving it five stars for the author himself. His willingness to go against the deep-seated coyote-phobia of his neighbors was surely no mild matter. I know a few ranchers and those guys carry a grudge for decades. The idiots surrounding Hyde who poisoned his wildlife out of their own fear must have hated his coyote-lovin' ways, and for staying the course and proving that a balanced ecosystem provides more profits he deserves nothing but praise.

There is a lot to love in this book, above all Hyde's joy and understanding of nature and its oft inscrutable ways. The building of the dam on his ranch with his sons (what a glorious place to be raised, and what fine parents), the long-suffering good humor of his wife towards his various schemes, and especially his bonding with the coyotes are but a few of the many pleasures herein.

This guy loves his land, or better said the land, period. It's a fine thing to read of a cattleman who makes the effort to see his ranch and his way of life in a holistic, intelligent and highly considered way. And this was almost forty years ago. Many ranchers are still light-years from Hyde's grasp of how nature can work for us when we let it.

The coyotes themselves are perhaps the real stars here, and Hyde's willingness and ability to see them without fear or prejudice, but simply as they are, makes this a very special book. Anyone who has ever truly loved any animal, but especially a dog directly descended from the wolf lines---shepherds, huskies, etc---will be truly moved by this tale, and gain even greater appreciation for the nobility and heart of these animals.

We need a lot more men like Dayton Hyde.

My copy of this book was copyrighted in 1986 and I read it the first time about 1997. It was this book that made me wonder what else I thought about wildlife was wrong. After enjoying Dayton Hyde's journey into understanding the ecosystem on his farm I took up animal tracking and tried to learn as much as I could about nature from my own observations. What I discovered is that lots of things I was told as I grew up on the farm were just simply not true. Perhaps you are a reader who is already aware of the effects of trophic cascade on the landscape, in which case I believe you would still enjoy this book as I have never read such a graphic, personal account of the direct and immediate effects of understanding how predators help shape our lands. I am actually jealous of people who haven't read this book because they have it before them . . and it is a delightful, engaging life changing journey into the lives of a rancher and his favorite coyote. This is a book I give away to friends and buy copies just for that purpose.

I bought this book when learning about digging ponds. Ended up with the delight of an enjoyable read from an aware author, although i really learned nothing about ponds! It is a nature relationship read. Enjoy.

Don Coyote is more than a book, and how Dayton Hyde became such a wonderful storyteller, we may never know. The symbiotic relationship between animals, nature and man is explained in such a loving, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic way, one cannot but treat this book with reverence. A highly entertaining, will make you cry, kind of read.
Miki Cutler