No animal has occupied so central a role in human culture as the wolf, Canis lupus, and for good reason: no animal is quite like our pretechnological selves. Thousands of years ago, before the rise of agriculture and urban civilization, wolves and our forebears lived as social animals in small, free-ranging bands. Both were largely unaffected by predation from competing species; both were commensal, sharing food and friendship; and both were intelligent killers, rarely wanton, rarely wasteful, who relied on a highly evolved program of signals and language to coordinate their efforts.
In the Presence of Wolves presents a surprisingly diverse body of myth, legend, and literature that both illustrates the wolf's importance to human thought and chronicles the wolf's changing fortunes. Art Wolfe brings these legends and folklore alive with a career collection of compelling and vivid images. This creative photographic exploration offers a sweeping but intimate look at the wolf and its environment -- a powerful reminder of how noble and magical this animal can be.
Drawing on the literature and memories of Native American cultures, the mythologies of classical Greece and Rome, the legends of Asian and African gatherer-hunter peoples, and writings by contemporary observers of lupine behavior, Greg McNamee provides a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind anthology of writings about the wolf. In his introduction, McNamee traces the progression of the wolf from companion to competitor, offering a thorough overview of lupine culture that can help us understand Canis lupus as a kindred being.
No animal has occupied so central a role in human culture as the wolf, Canis lupus, and for good reason: no animal is quite like our pretechnological selves. Thousands of years ago, before the rise of agriculture and urban civilization, wolves and our forebears lived as social animals in small, free-ranging bands. Both were largely unaffected by predation from competing species; both were commensal, sharing food and friendship; and both were intelligent killers, rarely wanton, rarely wasteful, who relied on a highly evolved program of signals and language to coordinate their efforts.
In the Presence of Wolves presents a surprisingly diverse body of myth, legend, and literature that both illustrates the wolf's importance to human thought and chronicles the wolf's changing fortunes. Art Wolfe brings these legends and folklore alive with a career collection of compelling and vivid images. This creative photographic exploration offers a sweeping but intimate look at the wolf and its environment -- a powerful reminder of how noble and magical this animal can be.
Drawing on the literature and memories of Native American cultures, the mythologies of classical Greece and Rome, the legends of Asian and African gatherer-hunter peoples, and writings by contemporary observers of lupine behavior, Greg McNamee provides a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind anthology of writings about the wolf. In his introduction, McNamee traces the progression of the wolf from companion to competitor, offering a thorough overview of lupine culture that can help us understand Canis lupus as a kindred being.
About the Author
Art Wolfe's photographs have appeared in National Wildlife, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, and Life magazines. His exclusive photographs are included in such books as Bears: Their Life and Behavior; Owls: Their Life and Behavior; Wild Cats of the World; Migrations; The Kingdom; and Light of the Land. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
Gregory Mcnamee, former editor-in-chief of the University of Arizona Press, is a book columnist for Outside magazine and a contributor to Chronicle, Parabola, and other publications. He is the author of Gila: The Life and Death of an American River and the compiler of Named in Stone and Sky: An Arizona Anthology. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
"Art Wolfe's photographs are a superb evocation of some of the most breathtaking spectacles in the world." -- Sir David Attenborough
Over the course of his nearly 40-year career, photographer Art Wolfe has worked on every continent and in hundreds of locations. His stunning images interpret and record the world's fast-disappearing wildlife, landscapes and native cultures, and are a lasting inspiration to those who seek to preserve them all. Wolfe's photographs are recognized throughout the world for their mastery of color, composition and perspective.
"Art Wolfe's work tells a story that is overwhelming, breathtaking, and vast." - Robert Redford
Wolfe's photographic mission is multi-faceted. His vision and passionate wildlife advocacy affirm his dedication to his work. By employing artistic and journalistic styles, he documents his subjects and educates the viewer. His unique approach to nature photography is based on his training in the arts and his love of the environment. His goal is to win support for conservation issues by "focusing on what's beautiful on the Earth." Hailed by William Conway, former president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, as "the most prolific and sensitive recorder of a rapidly vanishing natural world," Wolfe has taken an estimated one million images in his lifetime and has released over sixty books, including the award-winning "Vanishing Act", "The High Himalaya", "Water: Worlds between Heaven & Earth, Tribes", "Rainforests of the World", "The Art of Photographing Nature", as well as numerous children's titles. Graphis included his books "Light on the Land" and the controversial "Migrations" on its list of the 100 best books published in the 1990s.
"There's a stunning clarity and vibrancy in Art Wolfe's wildlife portraits, which are careful, often haunting, compositions." - The New York Times Book Review
In 2000 he published his signature work "The Living Wild", which has more than 70,000 copies in print worldwide and garnered awards from the National Outdoor Book Awards, Independent Publisher, Applied Arts and Graphis. In 2001 WP published the award-winning "Africa", and in 2003 "Edge of the Earth,Corner of the Sky", which captured significant publishing awards, including IPPY (Independent Publishers), Benjamin Franklin (Publishers Marketing Association), and National Outdoor Book Award. Wolfe's latest books are "Travels to the Edge: A Photo Odyssey" (2009), "Alaska, 10th Anniversary Edition" (2010), and "Dogs Make Us Human" (2011).
"Art has the broadest range of excellence of any nature photographer I know." - Galen Rowell
Art Wolfe is the proud recipient of the Photographic Society of America's Progress Medal for his contribution to the advancement of the art and science of photography; he has been awarded with a coveted Alfred Eisenstaedt Magazine Photography Award as well as named Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year by the North American Nature Photography Association. The National Audubon Society recognized Wolfe's work in support of the national wildlife refuge system with its first-ever Rachel Carson Award. He is a member of Canon's elite list of renowned photographers "Explorers of Light" and Microsoft's Icons of Imaging. Magazines all over the world publish his photographs and stories, and his work is licensed for monograph retail products as well as advertising. Numerous North American and international venues have featured his traveling exhibits.
"The intensity, texture, and strange density of Art Wolfe's photographs are truly astonishing." -- Peter Matthiessen
Wolfe has ventured into the world of television production with "On Location with Art Wolfe," "Techniques of the Masters" and as host of "American Photo's Safari", which aired on ESPN 1993-1995. In May 2007 Art made his public television debut with the high definition series "Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge," an intimate and upbeat series that offers unique insights on nature, culture, and the new realm of digital photography. The thirteen-episode first season garnered American Public Television's 2007 Programming Excellence Award--unprecedented for a first season show. The thirteen-episode second season garnered five Silver Telly Awards, their highest honor, for outstanding achievement. It has been broadcast more than 180,000 times in the United States alone and is seen in Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East.
"It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed." -- Art Wolfe
The son of commercial artists, Wolfe was born on September 13, 1951 in Seattle and still calls the city home. He graduated from the University of Washington with Bachelor's degrees in fine arts and art education; in 1999 he was named to the UW Alumni Association's magazine list of 100 "most famous, fascinating and influential" alumni of the 20th century. Wolfe spends nearly nine months a year traveling, carefully researching the locations as well as pre-visualizing the photographs he wants to take. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and serves on the advisory boards for the Nature's Best Foundation and Bridges to Understanding. He donates performances and work to environmental and educational groups every year; his lecture series is also in demand for corporate conventions and trade shows. Wolfe maintains his gallery, stock agency, production company and digital photography school in the SODO district of Seattle.
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book full of myths and foketails, plus true facts!, March 2, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: In The Presence of Wolves (Hardcover)
The photos are amazing, and the collection of facts and stories such as, "How the wolf lost his tail" and so much more. This book has remarkable true facts, that even if you know already, you can understand it much easier! Anyone who reads this book, is a true wolf lover!
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