Dreaming of Wolves: Adventures in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania - Softcover

Alan E. Sparks

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0888396635 ISBN 13: 9780888396631

Publisher: Hancock House Pub Ltd, 2010

Synopsis

Winner, National Indie Excellence Book Awards for Nature(2011); Finalist, National Indie Excellence Book Awards for Adventure (2011).

An extraordinary portrait of the lives of wolves, the researchers who study them, and the rustic highlanders who share their landscape in the mysterious wilds of Transylvania. Here we take an enchanting journey, tracking wolves through the deep snows and dark forests of Romania, where "Old Europe" still hangs on, hardly touched by modern trends or discovered by western travelers. Guided with humor, insight, and vivid description, we make a memorable trek, fending off belligerent shepherd dogs and foul weather to discover history, legend, and myth: Ancient "wolf-warriors" (Dacians), colorful Romani (Gypsies), legendary vampires (Dracula) and more. As we contemplate the benefits of wilderness, the joys of self-discovery, and the nature of time and consciousness, we are also entertained with 32 pages of stunning color photographs.

About this title

Review:

'Life flashes past many eyes: resident, tourist, voyageur, even those of wolves. Dreaming of Wolves provides introspection through the eyes of a wolf. Alan's journey explores an inward look at mid-life crises, personal feeling, community economics, ethnic survival, cultural bias, and national politics while trying to [understand the life] of a pack of Romanian wolves. To know life, his life, the author travels to a remote, foreign setting seeking knowledge about wolves, and learns about himself. Yes, it is a travelogue, a personal adventure, but it is also a narrative explaining wolf ecology and behavior versus rural cultural integrity and history. Read it to understand wolves and to understand people at the delicate interface were a few wolves exist almost secretively next to rural people still attached to their lands and agricultural practices. I recommend Alan's work not only as a natural history reference but for showing that we can exist with wild animals even as planet earth approaches an overflowing human population.' -- Dr. James C. Halfpenny, President, A Naturalist's World and author of Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild, Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America, Winter: An Ecological Handbook

“[Provides] rare insight into the behavior of wolves, as well as a close-up look at life in the backcountry and small towns of the Carpathian Mountains. The author’s experiences tracking wolves, combined with the people he meets and his descriptions of the locale, make for a compelling and invigorating story. Sparks writes well, even eloquently at times... A thoroughly enjoyable read for animal lovers and explorers alike.” -- Kirkus Discoveries

"This is indeed [a] book written by an incredible observer of character and landscape, a sensitive listener and ultimately a passionate conservationist... Buy it, read it carefully. It's a book I will not be letting anyone borrow. It has a heart and a very powerful one..." -- Wolf Print Magazine (UK)

"As purposeful as a wolf's gait through a Draconian night, the literary potency of this book strikes direct registry into our human cellular connection with the way of wolves. Over 200 thoroughly researched pages offer a humbling, humorous, and fascinating penetration into a rare Transylvanian world exquisitely unveiled through intricately woven themes of wolves, humans, and the dance of consciousness which unites all beings..." -- Steve Ilg, author of Total Body Transformation and founder of WholisticFitness.com

"An entertaining and truly inspirational story... Alan Sparks teaches us to not settle for the status quo and to live life as an adventure!" -- Don Strankowski, president Ascend Career and Life Strategies and author of Get Hired!

About this edition

• Publisher: Hancock House Pub Ltd
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0888396635
• ISBN 13: 9780888396631
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256