The “engaging” ( New Yorker ), New York Times best-selling story of how coyotes took over North America—and are now taking over South America as well   Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award   "A masterly synthesis of scientific research and personal observation."— Wall Street Journal   Legends don’t come close to capturing the incredible survival story of the coyote. In the face of centuries of annihilation campaigns employing poisons, gases, helicopters, and bioweapons, coyotes didn’t just survive, they thrived, expanding across North America from Alaska to Florida and New York, and now, as this new edition explores, to South America as well. In the war between humans and coyotes, coyotes have won hands-down.   Coyote America traces both the five-million-year-long biological story of coyotes, as well as their cultural evolution from preeminence in Native American religions to haplessness before the Road Runner. A deeply American tale, the story of the coyote in the American West and then across the entire country is a sort of Manifest Destiny in reverse, with a pioneering hero whose career holds up an uncanny mirror to the successes and failures of American expansionism.   An illuminating biography of an extraordinary animal, Coyote America is one of the great epics of our time.   Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award   Winner of the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award “Captivating. Dan Flores looks at a creature whose howl sent shivers down the spines of generations of farmers and ranchers. They responded by waging war on an animal that not only refused to disappear, but began showing up in places like Central Park. The coyote turns out to be the Road Runner in disguise, and is having the last laugh after all. A masterly synthesis of scientific research and personal observation.”― Wall Street Journal “[An] engaging study.”― New Yorker “[An] absorbing book.... The coyote stories in this book are among the best, and Flores is a master storyteller.”― Natural History “A must read for all Americans, whether you are a farmer or rancher, a suburban or city folk.”― Mother Earth News “Fascinating… essential literature in university courses on environmental studies, wildlife management, and general ecology and public policy. This book will appeal to ecologists as well as to a general audience seeking to better understand how modern humans have treated coyotes and build a new paradigm for a reformed and more holistic vision of how to manage coyotes with respect and compassion… A copy of Coyote America should be given to all legislators to help in making informed and more cost‑efficient and humane wildlife policies.”― Ecology “A must‑read book if you are interested in knowing more about this persecuted critter, revered by Native Americans long before the settlers arrived.”― Virginian Pilot “Compassionate and captivating.”― Christian Science Monitor “[A] fascinating scientific and cultural history.... Deft prose and wide‑ranging research do their part to carry Flores through the grimmer chapters of his narrative.... Whatever the coyote may still be wanting, that list no longer includes a book to do it justice.”― New Mexico Magazine “It is often impossible to separate how animals behave ‘wild’ from how they behave around humans. Coyotes are a startling example.... Historian Dan Flores has fun describing how coyotes make a mockery of our attempts to put nature in order: ‘It turns out, the coyote really is The Dude, and The Dude absolutely abides.’”― New Scientist “Historian Flores has written about the American West for decades, so it’s no surprise his gaze should turn to the region’s scrappy mascot. Over the past 500 years, the original desert‑dweller has expanded its territory as far north as Alaska, south into the tropics and deep into many cities. That ubiquity has created a host of problems for both the animal and its neighbors, human and otherwise. Flores captures all sides of the situation in this detailed portrait of an American icon.”― Discover “Wide‑ranging, engaging, informative… Flores is both a fine scholar and a most engaging writer. He argues most persuasively that we need to learn to live with coyote and the other beings with which we share this earth.”― National Parks Traveler “A beautifully readable and meticulously researched book.”― Forbes.com “The coyote should have been TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year. This deeply engrossing study is part scientific, part mythological, and part personal observation. It is fully fascinating.”― Lit Hub “In a straightforward style, the author unpacks the myths and urban legends surrounding the coyote and conveys his admiration and respect for this incredibly intelligent predator.... Highly recommended for natural history enthusiasts interested in moving beyond the conventional wisdom about coyotes to gain a deeper understanding of their presence in our midst.”