Among Wolves: Gordon Haber's Insights

Gordon Haber died when his research plane crashed in Denali National Park, and with his passing Alaska’s wolves lost their fiercest advocate. Passionate, tenacious, and occasionally brash, Haber devoted his life to Denali’s wolves. His writings and photographs reveal an astonishing degree of cooperation between wolf family members as they hunt, raise pups, and play. These social behaviors and traditions were previously unknown to the world, and the wolves were at risk of being destroyed by hunting and trapping. His studies of wolf families advocated for a balanced approach to wolf management, and his fieldwork registered as one of the longest studies in wildlife science, with a lasting impact on wolf policies. Haber’s field notes, his extensive journals, and stories from friends all come together in Among Wolves to reveal much about both the wolves he studied and about the researcher himself. Wolves continue to fascinate and polarize people, and so Haber’s work will continue to resonate. In this striking full-color tribute, Adams entices us to reconsider our ideas of this unique and compelling land and its equally individual residents. He captures subjects on urban streets and rural villages, revealing what daily life in Alaska is really like. The portraits focus on moments both ordinary and extraordinary, serious and playful, while capturing Alaskans at their most natural. Subjects range from Alaska Native villagers to rarely seen portraits of famous Alaskans, including Sarah Palin, Vic Fischer, and Lance Mackey. Through photographs, Adams also explores his own half-Iñupiat, half-American Alaska identity in the process, revealing how he came to define himself and the state in which he lives. Frame by frame, Adams powerfully and honestly shows what it means to be an Alaskan.