"David Carpenter's collection of essays explores a city boy's love of the wild, a passion that has enriched his life from childhood. At 80, this irrepressible Saskatchewan raconteur examines his intense fascination with predators large and small, and his awe in the face of the variety of creatures that may be out to get us--or each other. In stories as diverse as the animals and insects he encounters--including alligators, wolves, cougars, spiders, black bears, weasels, and of course snakes, particularly deadly rattlesnakes--Carpenter contemplates our place in the wild, and the value of the wild in our lives. These essays are essential reading for those of us who share David Carpenter's fascination with the predators that so fundamentally shape our understanding of wilderness and the necessity to preserve it."--