Recommended Reading List

This list includes some of the best literature available regarding the environment, outdoor education, and other subjects related to Mission: Wolf. The final category, “Perspectives and Values,” contains some of the most celebrated and influential books on the list; we recommend it above the other categories for general reading. We hope you find all the books on the list inspiring, entertaining, and thought-provoking like we do.

Click here to download a PDF version of this reading list.

For Young Audiences (Elementary and Middle School Students)

Dr. Seuss (1971). The Lorax.
George, Jean Craighead (1972). Julie of the Wolves.
George, Jean Craighead (1972). My Side of the Mountain.
O’Dell, Scott (1960). Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Paulson, Gary (1987). Hatchet.
Paulson, Gary (1990). Woodsong.
Paulson, Gary (1995). Tracker.

Wolves

Lopez, Barry (1979). Of Wolves and Men.
Peterson, Rolf (1995). The Wolves of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance.
Smith, Douglas and Gary Ferguson (2006). Decade of the Wolf.

Outdoor Education

Cornell, Joseph (1978). Sharing Nature with Children.
Louv, Richard (2008). Last Child in the Woods.
Orr, David (1994). Earth in Mind.

Food

Lappe, Frances Moore (1971). Diet for a Small Planet.
Pollan, Michael (2006). The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Schlosser, Eric (2001). Fast Food Nation.

Animal Behavior

Donaldson, O. Fred (1993). Playing by Heart.
Hempfling, Klaus Ferdinand (2001). Dancing with Horses.
Kohanov, Linda (2007). The Tao of Equus.

Ecology

Carson, Rachel (1962). Silent Spring.
Chase, Alston (1987). Playing God in Yellowstone.
Halverson, Anders (2010). An Entirely Synthetic Fish.
Leopold, Aldo (1949). A Sand County Almanac.

Sustainability and Technology

Boyle, Mark (2010). The Moneyless Man.
Brende, Eric (2007). Better Off.
Hawken, Paul (2007). Blessed Unrest.

Water

Fishman, Charles (2011). The Big Thirst.
Harden, Blaine (1997). A River Lost.
Reisner, Marc (1986). Cadillac Desert.
Ward, Diane Raines (2002). Water Wars.

Outdoor Adventure

Gierach, John (1988). Trout Bum.
Krakauer, John (1997). Eiger Dreams.
Maclean, Norman (1976). A River Runs Through It.
McPhee, John (1976). Coming into the Country.
Ralston, Aron (2003). Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

Outdoor Adventure Guides (How-To Books)

Blankenship, Bart and Robin Blankenship (2001). Earth Knack: Stone Age Skills for the 21st Century.
Brown, Tom (1986). Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking.
Cox, Stephen (2010). Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills (8th edition).
Elpel, Thomas (1999). Participating in Nature: Thomas J Elpel’s Field Guide to Primitive Living Skills.
Harvey, Mark (1999). The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide.

Perspectives and Values

Abbey, Edward (1968). Desert Solitaire.
Abbey, Edward (1975). The Monkey Wrench Gang.
Anderson, Lorraine (1991). Sisters of the Earth.
Brower, David (1990). Let The Mountains Talk, Let The Rivers Run.
Bryson, Bill (1998). A Walk in the Woods.
Childs, Craig (2001). The Secret Knowledge of Water.
Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse.
Dillard, Annie (1974). A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Gilbert, Elizabeth (2002). The Last American Man.
Heacox, Kim (2006). The Only Kayak.
Krakauer, John (1997). Into the Wild.
McPhee, John (1971). Encounters With the Archdruid.
McPhee, John (1990). The Control of Nature.
Muir, John (1911). My First Summer in the Sierra.
Nash, Roderick (3002). Wilderness and the American Mind (4th edition).
Sax, Joseph (1980). Mountains Without Handrails.
Thoreau, Henry David (1854). Walden.
Turner, Jack (1996). The Abstract Wild.
Wilkinson, Charles (1993). Crossing the Next Meridian.