Wrestles With Wolves

In Konstant’s memoir, a wildlife expert looks back on the many animals he’s known.

In his nonfiction debut, the author briefly reminisces about his animal-centric childhood before launching into story after story drawn from his long experience as a wildlife biologist and inveterate traveler (the book’s endpapers feature a world map indicating all his far-flung destinations). The text is presented in a series of short chapters filled with quotations from great naturalists like John Burroughs (“What we love to do, that we do well. To know is not all; it is only half. To love is the other half”) and dozens of color and black-and-white photographs documenting both Konstant’s personal life and the numerous animals he’s encountered in his years of doing conservation work. He recalls chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall meeting his dog Blue in 2014, for instance, and how he first met fellow naturalist Mick Reilly in Kruger National Park when Reilly accidentally pelted him with dried elephant dung intended for some nearby hyenas. (“We both understood that the incident could be settled diplomatically,” the author writes, “sorted out later over a beer or two and a good laugh as well.”) Interspersed throughout the chapters are little insets designed to quickly teach readers facts about the natural world (“Cranial nerves allow great white sharks and crocodiles to slice and tear chunks of flesh from their prey,” for example). Whether he’s telling stories about all the dogs he’s met or about studying lions in Serengeti National Park or lemurs in Madagascar, Konstant strikes the same wonderfully friendly, conversational tone throughout, making the reading experience feel like listening to a great storyteller guide you through his photo file. The book’s clear conservationist urgency is never overdone and never drowns out the welcoming atmosphere.

A visually beautiful and inviting memoir of the travels of a nature enthusiast.