Review: 'The Wolf: Ghost Hunter' by Daniel Leboeuf

The Wolf: Ghost Hunter by Daniel Leboeuf, Photos by Thomas Kitchin and Victoria Hurst, 1996, Firefly Books, $19.95, softbound, 142 pages. Cover: cool. Where we got it: Borrowed it. Where you can get it: Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

This book contains some particularly interesting facts about an already intriguing predator. For example, Francis I in France organised a wolf hunt in the Middle Ages that took place three times a year; this official hunt was not dismantled until 1971. And in England in 1500, entire forests were burnt to get rid of wolves.

Wolves can hear the ultrasonic vocalisations of rodents, as well as their scurrying sounds. It's likely that a wolf's jaw can exert 200 pounds of pressure per square inch, and they use their jaws like a vise, grabbing and not letting go despite the prey's attempts to throw them off. It's also been said that if the wind is in their favour, wolves can smell three deer from 1.5 miles away; they're also able to hear and interpret sounds from several kilometres away.

A pack averages in size from five to eight members, with 20 or more members in an Alaskan pack. Wolves' diets change with the seasons: ungulates (moose, deer, elk, caribou, muskoxen, and the like) in winter, and small mammals like muskrats, marmots, hares, beavers, birds who nest on the ground, and fish in summer.

The photos alone make this book worthwhile. Great for a wolf lover's library.

If you like this one, try: Of Wolves and Men, by Barry Holstun Lopez.

Review: 'Yoga Chick' by Bess Gallanis

Yoga Chick: A Hip Guide to Every Om by Bess Gallanis, Illustrated by Sheila MacDiarmid, 2006, Warner Books, $12.95, softbound, 123 pages. Cover: pretty good. Category/Genre: exercise. Where we got it: borrowed it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million. 


Filled with wellness tips, breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, healthy recipes, and self-reflection exercises, this book -- despite its name -- is good for both sexes.

There are techniques for morning stretches to help you get started; getting the kinks out after a hard day; and more. Overall self-care is a big part of the book: tips are given for foot treatments, hair conditioning, and eye soothers; and while most men may not go for those ideas, there are other helpful suggestions, such as creating a private retreat for yourself, tips on how to combat insomnia, and ways to get protein without eating meat.

Self-reflection exercises include keeping a journal, and Gallanis gives suggestions for breaking through writer's block. 


If you like this one, try: Suggestions?


Bess Gallanis can be found on Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. 

Review: 'Behind Every Great Man' by Marlene Wagman-Geller

Behind Every Great Man: The Forgotten Women Behind the World's Famous and Infamous by Marlene Wagman-Geller, 2015, Sourcebooks, $16.99, softbound, 356 pages. Cover: good. Category/Genre: history, reference. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.  


'First I thought of a colorful famous man,' writes Wagman-Geller, 'and if his wife dwelled in the shadows, I investigated. If her life was an intriguing one and shone light on a hitherto unknown aspect of her husband, she merited a chapter.' 

You'll find forty such women in this book: the wives and companions of Albert Einstein, Adolf Hitler, Richard Wagner, Gertrude Stein, Jim Henson, Sting, and more. 

There's considerable sadness in these pages as we read about women who endured their husband's relentless affairs, or lost their spouse and were left alone. Alice Babette Toklas, wife of Gertrude Stein, felt she was 'but a memory' of her beloved when Gertrude died. Other women felt the same way; Cosima Liszt, wife of Richard Wagner, stopped writing in her million-word diary when Wagner died. She even flung herself into his open grave at the funeral. 

A book that lets you look at the famous (and infamous) a bit differently.


If you like this one, try: Women Heroes of the American Revolution, by Susan Casey.  


You can find Marlene Wagman-Geller on GoodReads or Facebook, or you may contact her at her website here.