100 books like Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter

By Barry Lopez,

Here are 100 books that Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter fans have personally recommended if you like Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West

Michelle L. Lute

From my list on American wild canids.

Why am I passionate about this?

Michelle Lute is a conservation scientist and advocate with fifteen years’ experience in biodiversity conservation on public and private lands around the globe. She dedicates her professional life to promoting human-wildlife coexistence through effective public engagement, equitable participatory processes, and evidence-based decision-making. Michelle is the National Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote whose mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science and advocacy.

Michelle's book list on American wild canids

Michelle L. Lute Why did Michelle love this book?

The author Nate Blakeslee comes to this story about the famous Yellowstone wolf O-Six as a journalist and tells this true story with a keen eye for the myriad perspectives on modern wolf conservation. Whether or not you are familiar with the political debate of restoring wolves to the American West or the notions of Old West versus New West, you will find this story intriguing and informative.

By Nate Blakeslee,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked American Wolf as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New Statesman Book of the Year

The wolf stands at the forefront of the debate about our impact on the natural world. In one of the most celebrated successes of modern conservation, it has been reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.

What unfolds is a riveting multi-generational saga, at the centre of which is O-Six, a charismatic alpha female beloved by park rangers and amateur spotters alike. As elk numbers decline and the wolf population rises, those committed to restoring an iconic landscape clash with those fighting for a vanishing way of life; hunters stalk the park fringes and O-Six's…


Book cover of The New Wolves: The Return of the Mexican Wolf to the American Southwest

Michelle L. Lute

From my list on American wild canids.

Why am I passionate about this?

Michelle Lute is a conservation scientist and advocate with fifteen years’ experience in biodiversity conservation on public and private lands around the globe. She dedicates her professional life to promoting human-wildlife coexistence through effective public engagement, equitable participatory processes, and evidence-based decision-making. Michelle is the National Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote whose mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science and advocacy.

Michelle's book list on American wild canids

Michelle L. Lute Why did Michelle love this book?

Rick Bass is an absolute American treasure and it’s difficult to choose between this book about Mexican gray wolf recovery or his equally enthralling book The Ninemile Wolves. The New Wolves covers a sometimes overlooked part of the story of wolf recovery in the US. More often than not, people think about Yellowstone and the return of gray wolves to Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho when they think about reintroduction efforts. The saga of Lobos in the Southwest is a poignant and important one to remember and Rick Bass’ skilled prose will stay with you too.

By Rick Bass,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The New Wolves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The award-winning writer documents changing wildlife patternsThis is the hopeful story of the resurgence of a long-hunted animal that nearly disappeared from the planet. The Mexican wolves were reintroduced to the Blue Mountains a few years ago, and Bass' celebration of their revival is writing at its best. Bass' newest release, The Lives of Rocks, is creating new readers for this classic from 2001."This is a ballad of a book, a hymn to the gloriously defiant power of survival."--Publishers Weekly"Enthralling and brilliant." - Jim HarrisonRick Bass lives in Yaak Valley, Montana.


Book cover of The Wolf's Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades, and Biodiversity

Michelle L. Lute

From my list on American wild canids.

Why am I passionate about this?

Michelle Lute is a conservation scientist and advocate with fifteen years’ experience in biodiversity conservation on public and private lands around the globe. She dedicates her professional life to promoting human-wildlife coexistence through effective public engagement, equitable participatory processes, and evidence-based decision-making. Michelle is the National Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote whose mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science and advocacy.

Michelle's book list on American wild canids

Michelle L. Lute Why did Michelle love this book?

If it’s not already abundantly clear, humans can’t help but argue about wild canids and other carnivores. The concept of trophic cascades, whereby the impacts of apex predators cascade throughout wood febs and whole ecosystems, is no exception. Many people celebrate wolves’ contributions to a wilder Yellowstone ecosystem. Others argue that trophic cascades are limited to certain landscapes. Cristina Eisenberg is a conservation biologist with a writer’s bent and will help you understand the science behind this important topic.

By Cristina Eisenberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wolf's Tooth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Scientist and author Cristina Eisenberg presents a fascinating and wide-ranging look at the dramatic ecological consequences of predator removal (and return) as she explores the concept of 'trophic cascades' and the role of top predators in regulating ecosystems. She shows how and why animals such as wolves, sea otters, and sharks exert such a disproportionate influence on their environment, and considers how this notion can help provide practical solutions for restoring ecosystem health and functioning. Eisenberg examines both general concepts and specific issues, sharing accounts from her own fieldwork to illustrate and bring to life the ideas she presents. She…


Book cover of Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature

Michelle L. Lute

From my list on American wild canids.

Why am I passionate about this?

Michelle Lute is a conservation scientist and advocate with fifteen years’ experience in biodiversity conservation on public and private lands around the globe. She dedicates her professional life to promoting human-wildlife coexistence through effective public engagement, equitable participatory processes, and evidence-based decision-making. Michelle is the National Carnivore Conservation Manager for Project Coyote whose mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science and advocacy.

Michelle's book list on American wild canids

Michelle L. Lute Why did Michelle love this book?

Wolves may be more prevalent in literature and film than they are in reality. For an ecocritical perspective on canid cameos in American narrative, Robisch examines 200 texts to understand the real and imagined wolves and their places across cultures and what that tells us about humans and nature more broadly.

By S.K. Robisch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book presents a new perspective on the role of the wolf in American literature. The wolf is one of the most widely distributed canid species, historically ranging throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere. For millennia, it has also been one of the most pervasive images in human mythology, art, and psychology. ""Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature"" examines the wolf's importance as a figure in literature from the perspectives of both the animal's physical reality and the ways in which writers imagine and portray it. Author S. K. Robisch examines more than two hundred texts written in…


Book cover of You Don't Have to Say You Love Me: A Memoir

Leslie Larson Author Of Breaking Out of Bedlam

From my list on the power of family secrets.

Why am I passionate about this?

As I child I wanted to know the information that was withheld from me. What were the adults whispering about? What were they hiding? Secrets, things that are hidden, have a way of shaping the lives around them, a dark space that exerts a presence, even though it isn’t seen. I thought if I found out the secret, maybe my family, and the world, would make sense. Breaking Out of Bedlam is my version of my grandmother’s story, based on the whispers I heard and a few faint clues—a newspaper clipping, a Bible, and a baby’s sock. More than that, it’s an explanation for the silence in my family, for my grandmother’s bitterness, her drug abuse, and depression.

Leslie's book list on the power of family secrets

Leslie Larson Why did Leslie love this book?

Sherman Alexie gives it everything he’s got in this sprawling, messy, brilliant memoir. Using his mother’s funeral as a jumping-off point, he investigates her chaotic life in an effort to understand the enigma of her personality and the nature of his complicated relationship with her. The contradictions he uncovers, the bits and pieces of information he’s able to glean, and the incongruities in the stories he discovers are stitched together in a narrative he likens to a patchwork quilt: disparate parts brought together that somehow make a whole.

I love the rawness of this memoir, the humor, the mixed genres, and especially the way that Alexie doesn’t spare himself in his examination of how things turned out as they did. He emerges as a not altogether likable player in the vast tragic comedy of his family. In unraveling his relationship with his mother, he uncovers his own demons, the secrets…

By Sherman Alexie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked You Don't Have to Say You Love Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A searing, deeply moving memoir about family, love, loss, and forgiveness from the critically acclaimed, bestselling National Book Award-winning author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Family relationships are never simple. But Sherman Alexie's bond with his mother Lillian was more complex than most. She plunged her family into chaos with a drinking habit, but shed her addiction when it was on the brink of costing her everything. She survived a violent past, but created an elaborate facade to hide the truth. She selflessly cared for strangers, but was often incapable of showering her children with the…


Book cover of Indians in Unexpected Places

Philip Burnham Author Of Song of Dewey Beard: Last Survivor of the Little Bighorn

From my list on true stories about Indian country.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been teaching, writing, and learning about Indian issues, past and present, for more than four decades. I taught for several years on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, and for years I was a correspondent for Indian Country Today and reported from reservations across the country and several Mexican states. I’ve written and published widely about rez issues including cultural repatriation, land use, Native corporations, language preservation, environmental dumping, and Indian law. I’ve spent a lot of time listening, watching, and reading before putting my own thoughts down on paper, and these are some of the books that have deeply moved me.

Philip's book list on true stories about Indian country

Philip Burnham Why did Philip love this book?

Buffalo Bill made a movie on the rez about Indians? Geronimo had a Cadillac? Indian rhythms are all over 20th-century classical music? Philip Deloria has a knack for showing us how Indian people usually defy what the media says they are—they turn up in funny places, do remarkable things, and achieve extraordinary results. Many of the Indians in this book aren’t found on the reservation, a reminder that Native people have traveled far and wide to do astonishing things when the spirit of adventure calls.

By Philip J. Deloria,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Indians in Unexpected Places as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What is Geronimo doing sitting in a Cadillac? Why is an Indian woman in beaded buckskin sitting under a salon hairdryer? Such images startle and challenge our outdated visions of Native America. Philip Deloria's revealing accounts of Indians doing unexpected things - singing opera, driving cars, acting in Hollywood - explores this cultural discordance in ways that suggest new directions for American Indian history. Deloria chronicles how Indians came to represent themselves in Wild West shows, Hollywood films, sports, music, and even Indian people's use of the automobile - an ironic counterpoint to today's highways teeming with Dakota pickups and…


Book cover of Little You

Michelle Kaiser Author Of Special Ed and the Bull-ies

From my list on children’s stories teaching kindness and inclusion.

Why am I passionate about this?

I joined the anti-bullying crusade late in life. After writing my first book, entities were contacting me and asking if I would share their anti-bullying messages on my website. I learned so much about the increasing problem of bullying and how its tentacles reach out to other social issues such as teen suicide, school shootings, and drug use. I thought that Special Ed and the Bull-ies would be my only book but decided that it was important to make it into a series. With each book I can focus on a different aspect of this growing problem and hopefully make a difference in this world.

Michelle's book list on children’s stories teaching kindness and inclusion

Michelle Kaiser Why did Michelle love this book?

I have always enjoyed poetry and this book introduces simple couplets to children while telling a sweet story of loving Asian parents who welcome a new child. Geared to very young children, the artwork can tell the story without someone reading it to them, but the lyrical words just add to the beauty of the message. 

By Richard Van Camp, Julie Flett (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Little You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.


Book cover of Creation's Journey: Native American Identity and Belief

Greg Shed Author Of Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving

From my list on Native American history.

Why am I passionate about this?

Greg Shed is a self-taught California illustrator specializing in Americana. In addition to commercial work and portraits, he has illustrated more than a dozen children’s books—several of which are about American history. A dedicated researcher, Greg has traveled from the Plymouth colony to the American prairie in search of authenticity and details. He has consulted with Native American craftsmen on the manufacture of native period attire. He is known for capturing golden light in his paintings, which often depict Native American cultures, wildlife, and landscapes.

Greg's book list on Native American history

Greg Shed Why did Greg love this book?

Creation’s Journey ties actual native stories and beliefs with genuine artifacts from the vast collections of the National Museum of the American Indian. It provides a refreshing approach to our understanding of indigenous people’s utilitarian objects and how important they are in their daily lives. The photos in this book show the care for detail and craftsmanship that was pervasive in everyday Native American objects and clothing. It inspired me to commission native Americans to hand make the various costumes shown in my book.

By Tom Hill (editor), Richard W. Hill (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Creation's Journey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Drawing on the vast collections of the National Museum of the American Indian, Creation’s Journey retells the story of native life from the Arctic to the Tierra del Fuego, and from childhood to old age.


Book cover of Ride the Free Wind

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy Author Of Tall, Dark, and Cherokee

From my list on Native American romantic suspense.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a lifelong history lover. I was the kid who hung around the feet of the elders, listening to their stories and learning about the past. That led to a deep interest in tracing family history, which has been a passion since about the age of ten. I still can get lost for hours finding ancestors or reading about their lives. That interest led me to a double major in college and I earned a Bachelor of Arts in both history and English with a two-year degree in journalism. I live a short distance from Oklahoma and one of my favorite pastimes is to go to powwows whenever possible.

Lee's book list on Native American romantic suspense

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy Why did Lee love this book?

I have a passion for history and did one of my history thesis in college on white women and their Native American captives. In this story, there's a strong attraction, a commitment to abandon the life she knows by the heroine to embrace her lover's culture. Zeke's transformation back into Lone Eagle is one that really touched me emotionally.

By Rosanne Bittner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ride the Free Wind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The second book in Rosanne Bittner’s bold Savage Destiny series continues the love story of Zeke and Abbie Monroe. For the first five years of her marriage Abbie lives among the Cheyenne, learning their customs and beliefs and giving birth to a son who is as wild and free as his Native American family, and a daughter who will one day be forced to choose between her Indian and white blood. Through real historical events involving the government and Native Americans, Zeke and Abbie cling to one another through danger and torn loyalties. This story vividly depicts the “right” and…


Book cover of The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

Yvonne Wakim Dennis Author Of Indigenous Firsts: A History of Native American Achievements and Events

From my list on unlearning stereotypes about Indigenous peoples.

Why am I passionate about this?

It is a healing gesture to honor Indigenous Americans and others during the month-long celebrations intended to remedy the omission of groups, whose origins are not European. We need more! Let's create inclusivity! In an inclusive society, who are the "them" and who are the "us?" We all need to be recognized as citizens of our country instead of occasional entertainment for "drive-by" tourists of diversity. Inclusivity also means caring for all who share our planet:  all other animals; waters; terrains; plants, etc. My award-winning books have usually been about Native peoples of North America, particularly the United States, and how we have always been here and still exist. 

Yvonne's book list on unlearning stereotypes about Indigenous peoples

Yvonne Wakim Dennis Why did Yvonne love this book?

Thomas King is one of my favorite authors so of course I think everyone should read all of his books, fiction and non-fiction. In The Inconvenient Indian, King shares an account of Indian—white relations in North America since the beginning. And he does it by chronicling official government Indian policy, pop culture, personal observations, wisdom, truth, and humor. He debunks stereotypes, recounts events accurately, and in spite of all the brutal truth-telling presents a way for Indigenous and those of the dominant culture to heal. My favorite King fiction work is Medicine River, which was made into a film (spoiler alert - he's in it!).  

By Thomas King,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Inconvenient Indian as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Inconvenient Indian, Thomas King offers a deeply knowing, darkly funny, unabashedly opinionated, and utterly unconventional account of Indian-White relations in North America since initial contact. Ranging freely across the centuries and the Canada-U.S. border, King debunks fabricated stories of Indian savagery and White heroism, takes an oblique look at Indians (and cowboys) in film and popular culture, wrestles with the history of Native American resistance and his own experiences as a Native rights activist, and articulates a profound, revolutionary understanding of the cumulative effects of ever-shifting laws and treaties on Native peoples and lands.

Suffused with wit, anger,…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in American Indians, tricksters, and presidential biography?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about American Indians, tricksters, and presidential biography.

American Indians Explore 215 books about American Indians
Tricksters Explore 19 books about tricksters
Presidential Biography Explore 19 books about presidential biography