32 THE AUDUBON “B UE ieee 
THE WOLFLING—A DOCUMENTARY NOVEL OF THE 1870s. 
By Sterling North. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1969. $5.95. 223 y 
By the author of the best-selling memoir of his boyhood, “Rascal,” we 
have the story of a boy and his wolf, set in the American Midwest o: 
hundred years ago. It was a time when the clear streams were alive 
fish; large groups of wild geese, ducks, and passenger pigeons filled th 
with the sounds of their wings. A few timber wolves still prowlec 
woods. Robbie Trent, who loved the wilderness, had the courage to 
into a wolf den and take for himself a wolf whelp that he raised. 
Those were the days when the McGuffey Readers were consic 
second only to the Bible, when kerosene lamps were beginning to re 
bayberry candles, and when quilting bees, house-raisings, and corn 
ings proved the basis for a community spirit that is largely forgotten t 
The deep woods, lying beyond the rail fence of his family’s { 
always beckoned to Robbie Trent. But he, like other boys of his day, 
his full time and labor to his father until he was 21 years of age. It 
great resourcefulness on the part of a young man to “buy his time.’ 
Within the story, Sterling North introduces as Robbie’s friend 
figure of Thure Kumlien (1819-1888), who lived in a log cabin in the w 
across the fence and shared his rich knowledge of nature with the 
This great Swedish-American naturalist knew every bird, beast, fic 
and insect. He comes authentically alive in this sensitive and nost 
novel. —Ann Harnsbi 
ROAD TO RUIN. By A. Q. Mowbray. 
J. B. Lippincott Co., 1969. 240 pages. $5.95. 
The economic standing of the United States is premier in the world, 
one reason for the prosperity is the auto industry and its allies. The 
has become one of the most integral parts of our society. However, 
also becoming one of our most serious banes. It is now of such import 
that the needs of people are commonly pushed to the side to make } 
for more autos. 
Mowbray has presented a commentary on cars—and their neec 
roads—that fits into every question on our social ills. Leading the li 
air pollution. The automobile has been known for many years to be 
leading contributor of urban pollution. However, nothing is ever 
about it. Second to pollution is the tremendous spread of the higl 
system. There is presently, not including planned roads, a mile of higt 
for every acre in the United States. Land is being covered by the “sh 
of asphalt” at a prodigious rate. Land being covered is not simply 
fields—but the homes of families, parks, nature preserves, and nat: 
lands. The highway planners at times seem simply to draw lines on a | 
People are rarely considered. The simplistic answer to urban renew 
too often a superhighway through the ghetto, or, to paraphrase from 
bray, white suburbanites through black bedrooms. 
One answer to the sprawling highways is mass transit. However, Vv 
this is brought into the conversation in high circles, the highway lobb 
have a way of slowing any progress. Today, the United States is far be 
Europe and Japan in this field. 
We, the owners and users of cars, are directly contributing to 
