Following is a short, partial list of books, series and films that we find influential in making the case for wildlife and wild places across our planet.
Books
The Expressions of Emotions in Man and Animals
Charles Darwin
- Published in 1872, Darwin posits that animals have the same basic emotional and cognitive states as humans. This spawned ethology and comparative in psychology.
Track of the Grizzly
Frank Craighead
- The first and still seminal decadal research on GYE grizzlies by Frank and John Craighead.
The Yellowstone Story Volumes 1 and 2
Aubrey Haines
- A great anthology of the recent history of the Yellowstone area
Windows Into The Earth
Robert B. Smith and Lee J. Siegel
- Fantastic book on the geology of Yellowstone.
War Against The Wolf: America’s Campaign To Exterminate The Wolf
Rick McIntyre
- Rick McIntyre’s anthology on America’s shameful treatment of wolves. The (roughly) last 200 pages begin to tell the story of recovery and the dawning of a new era when published in 1995. A hard but essential read.
Billionaire Wilderness
Justin Farrell
- Justin Farrell spent years researching the dynamic of the uber wealthy and the working poor in Jackson Hole and Big Sky and the co-opting of our public lands.
Engineering Eden
Jordan Fisher Smith
- In June 1972 Harry Eugene Walker was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear while OB camping near Old Faithful. His family sued the park service over their abrupt closure of the garbage dumps that had fed bears for decades. It set in motion the slaughter of Yellowstone bears who were garbage habituated in the park for almost 100 years.
Mama’s Last Hug
Franz de Waal
- Dutch primatologist Franz de Waal’s seminal argument for sapience in mammals.
When Elephants Weep
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
- Clinical psychologist Jeffrey Masson’s argument for sentience, for the same basic emotional states in animals as in humans.
Four Fifths A Grizzly
Douglas Chadwick
- Wildlife biologist Douglas Chadwick’s argument for our interconnectedness with the natural world. The 4/5 refers to the (minimum) percentage of DNA we share with our ursine cousins.
The Hidden Life of Trees
Peter Wohlleben
- German forester Peter Wohlleben’s excellent study (later turned in to a film) about how individual trees communicate with each, provide each other nutrients and work together within a stand.
The Emotional Life of Animals
Marc Bekoff
- American, biologist and ethologist Marc Bekoff’s excellent book describing how animals have the same basic emotional states as humans. One of several excellent books from Dr. Bekoff.
Thinking Like a Wolf
Rick McIntyre
- Maybe the seminal work by wolf researcher Rick McIntyre, he talks about 30 years of observing wolves, their behavior, pack dynamics and intelligence.
Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe
Jane Goodall
- Jane Goodall’s reflection on her three decades with chimpanzees in western Tanzania.
The Elephant Whisperer
Lawrence Anthony
- The story of Lawrence Anthony bringing a group of elephants to his private game reserve before they were to be shot, then nursing these elephants back to a place of health and trust. These are the elephants who came out of the bush to spontaneously mourn his passing in 2012.
Films
My Octopus Teacher
Craig Foster
-- South African filmmaker Craig Foster’s Academy Award-winning film on the relationship he forged with a wild common octopus. Another case for sapience and sentience in animals.
Blood Lions
Pippa Hankinson and Jeremy Nathan
-- A disturbing but important film about the lucrative canned lion “hunting” industry in South Africa.
Penguin Town
Red Rock Films
- A Netflix series following families of endangered African penguins in Simon’s Town, South Africa over the course of a year.
Shark Whisperer
Ocean Ramsey and Juan Oliphant
- A groundbreaking film rolling back the curtain on tiger shark behavior and intelligence.
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
Ken Burns
- An anthology of our national parks, their early days, the magic they bring and the struggles they face.
Chimp Empire
KEO Films
- This miniseries follows two factions of the Ngogo chimpanzee troop (or tribe). Once a large, cohesive troop in western Uganda they split in to factions before the film starts and ultimately descend in to civil war. An eery introspection in to current events.
Anything by David Attenborough
