My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs

America’s most beloved wolf historian shares his long-awaited biography—a story filled with true grit, laughter, and love for America’s National Parks.

“There is literally no one else who could tell these stories.” NBC

“The chief historian of the most famous wolf population in the world.” Washington Post

“Like Darwin, McIntyre is an inclusionist and is thus able to enter the hearts and minds of wolves.” Mountain Journal

“Rick McIntyre is the ultimate guru of wolf behavior.” Jane Goodall

In this entertaining memoir, Rick McIntyre recounts his life spent amongst wild nature while working in the National Parks Service as a park ranger and shares the wisdom he has gained from spending nearly every day of his adult life in the presence of wolves.

McIntyre has calculated whether to outpace a grizzly or stand and face it. He has narrowly missed a charge by a moose. He has watched alpha wolves come up against each other in battles for territory—only to be surprised by their benevolent actions.

Throughout his career, McIntyre has used his experience in the great outdoors and through watching apex predators in the sights of his telescope to de-escalate fights between humans—even once helping to apprehend an armed man inside Yellowstone National Park by simply inviting him to his wolf talk later that evening.

This book chronicles Rick’s journey, explains his values, and brings readers up to date on the latest dramas of the Junction Butte pack in Yellowstone. Along the way, this tale is threaded through with Rick’s calm assertiveness in the face of conflict, his wise dealings with humans and animals alike, and his gentle sense of humor—like the time a woman excitedly thought she saw a grizzly bear through his telescope and Rick had to break it to her that what she saw was really an … Arctic ground squirrel.

1147799260
My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs

America’s most beloved wolf historian shares his long-awaited biography—a story filled with true grit, laughter, and love for America’s National Parks.

“There is literally no one else who could tell these stories.” NBC

“The chief historian of the most famous wolf population in the world.” Washington Post

“Like Darwin, McIntyre is an inclusionist and is thus able to enter the hearts and minds of wolves.” Mountain Journal

“Rick McIntyre is the ultimate guru of wolf behavior.” Jane Goodall

In this entertaining memoir, Rick McIntyre recounts his life spent amongst wild nature while working in the National Parks Service as a park ranger and shares the wisdom he has gained from spending nearly every day of his adult life in the presence of wolves.

McIntyre has calculated whether to outpace a grizzly or stand and face it. He has narrowly missed a charge by a moose. He has watched alpha wolves come up against each other in battles for territory—only to be surprised by their benevolent actions.

Throughout his career, McIntyre has used his experience in the great outdoors and through watching apex predators in the sights of his telescope to de-escalate fights between humans—even once helping to apprehend an armed man inside Yellowstone National Park by simply inviting him to his wolf talk later that evening.

This book chronicles Rick’s journey, explains his values, and brings readers up to date on the latest dramas of the Junction Butte pack in Yellowstone. Along the way, this tale is threaded through with Rick’s calm assertiveness in the face of conflict, his wise dealings with humans and animals alike, and his gentle sense of humor—like the time a woman excitedly thought she saw a grizzly bear through his telescope and Rick had to break it to her that what she saw was really an … Arctic ground squirrel.

29.95 Pre Order
My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs

My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs

by Rick McIntyre
My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs

My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs

by Rick McIntyre

eBook

$29.95 
Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on April 14, 2026

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers


Overview


America’s most beloved wolf historian shares his long-awaited biography—a story filled with true grit, laughter, and love for America’s National Parks.

“There is literally no one else who could tell these stories.” NBC

“The chief historian of the most famous wolf population in the world.” Washington Post

“Like Darwin, McIntyre is an inclusionist and is thus able to enter the hearts and minds of wolves.” Mountain Journal

“Rick McIntyre is the ultimate guru of wolf behavior.” Jane Goodall

In this entertaining memoir, Rick McIntyre recounts his life spent amongst wild nature while working in the National Parks Service as a park ranger and shares the wisdom he has gained from spending nearly every day of his adult life in the presence of wolves.

McIntyre has calculated whether to outpace a grizzly or stand and face it. He has narrowly missed a charge by a moose. He has watched alpha wolves come up against each other in battles for territory—only to be surprised by their benevolent actions.

Throughout his career, McIntyre has used his experience in the great outdoors and through watching apex predators in the sights of his telescope to de-escalate fights between humans—even once helping to apprehend an armed man inside Yellowstone National Park by simply inviting him to his wolf talk later that evening.

This book chronicles Rick’s journey, explains his values, and brings readers up to date on the latest dramas of the Junction Butte pack in Yellowstone. Along the way, this tale is threaded through with Rick’s calm assertiveness in the face of conflict, his wise dealings with humans and animals alike, and his gentle sense of humor—like the time a woman excitedly thought she saw a grizzly bear through his telescope and Rick had to break it to her that what she saw was really an … Arctic ground squirrel.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781778401220
Publisher: Greystone Books
Publication date: 04/14/2026
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook

About the Author


Rick McIntyre is a retired park ranger and the author of the “Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone” series for adults and “The Chronicles of the Yellowstone Wolves” series for kids. Celebrated as the most prolific wolf observer in the world, McIntyre has been profiled by media outlets like This American Life and National Geographic; has been awarded conservation medals; was a key player in the 1995 Yellowstone Wolf Reintroduction Project; and forever changed the way the world views alpha wolves through his public speaking and writing. McIntyre lives near Silver Gate, Montana, where he is retired from the National Parks Service, but still rises early to observe the Yellowstone wolves every day of the week.

Table of Contents

National Parks, Forests, and other areas where Rick McIntyre has worked since 1968
Select Yellowstone Wolf Pack Territories 2025
907’s Family Tree
Introduction


1 Formative Years
2 College and the US Forest Service
3 Starting Out With the National Park Service
4 The Denali Years
5 Grizzlies in Denali
6 Stony’s First Year
7 Stony Grows Up
8 Moose in Denali
9 Denali’s East Fork Pack
10 Winter National Park Jobs
11 Yellowstone National Park
12 907’s Early Years
13 The End of an Era for the Junction Butte Pack
14 The Power of Stories

Acknowledgments
References

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews