From Publishers Weekly
Mowat, the octogenarian writer who has probably sold more books than any other Canadian author, is for many not an easy person to like. English professor King, the author of a biography of Virginia Woolf among others, generally gives Mowat the benefit of the doubt in this authorized life. Mowat, whose 38 books include novels, wilderness adventures and chronicles of indigenous peoples' struggle to survive, has been accused of exaggerations or outright falsehoods in his nonfiction books. King recognizes the existence of some blurred lines, but suggests that Mowat's books relate essential truths even if they stray from strict adherence to fact. Mowat lived all over Canada during childhood as his cold, eccentric librarian father sought new experiences; Mowat continued his treks as an adult, moving where he wanted when he wanted, demonstrating less than full sensitivity to the needs of his two wives. The second, Claire, stuck with him, though; King's lively portrayal of her is one of the biography's strengths. Mowat's moodiness can be dizzying, as King suggests by calling the section covering the years 1977-1984 "Prophet of Doom," then titling the section from 1984 through today "Keeper of the Faith." King makes the case that Mowat's legacy is on balance positive, as he has provided millions of readers with a blueprint for global salvation in a polluting age. The answer is basically this-those living on the land or at sea must live in peace with nature, and must win over those who are not doing so. King suggests convincingly that Mowat has found redemption for his personal sins through his writing. B&w photos. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
One of Canada's most popular writers over the past 50 years, Mowat has been both a comical exaggerator and a heated critic of his subjects, many of which derive from his affinity to animals, and alarm about the conditions of Canada's Arctic peoples. Since most of his topics emerge from personal experience--his classic The Dog Who Wouldn't Be (1957) risibly exalts his boyhood canine Mutt--this biography recounts Mowat's search for source material. King describes Mowat's travels in the Arctic, his sailing adventures, his lengthy habitations on Canada's geocultural fringes, and the badinage contained in his letters to publishers to ensure they would contract for his next book. In addition, King, allowed access to Mowat's papers and friends, opens the writer's personal life to his readers, who will encounter an unedifying incident or two in his relations with women, and his extremely tight tie to his father. In the lives of litterateurs, complicated equals interesting, a quality that King capably accretes, letter by letter, in this honest account. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Kirkus, November 1, 2002
"A highly readable biography of a piece-of-work in progress…A valuable backgrounder for those about to delve into Mowat’s ouevre."


Book Description
No one has been a more passionate or popular — or controversial — chronicler of North American history and ecology than Canadian author Farley Mowat. But until now, there has been no full-length biography of the best-selling author of The Farfarers: Before the Norse and Never Cry Wolf. James King traces Mowat’s life in meticulous detail, from his unusual childhood (he kept wild animals in the house) and difficult Army days, to his volatile relationship with his father and his two marriages. Mowat’s personal eccentricities, his leftist political views that kept him out of the United States for a time, his political activism, and his vibrant reimaginings of history — Farley includes all this and more in the first substantive look at this important author. Photographs and rich details add to this biography of the best-selling historian, naturalist, provocateur, and activist.


From the Inside Flap
The Toronto Star recently called Farley Mowat, the author of thirty-eight books that have sold more than fourteen million copies in twenty-four languages over five decades “Canada’s answer to Gerald Durrell crossed with Mark Twain” and “a meaty subject for the biographer.” And at age 82, he is still going strong with yet another new book, High Latitudes (Steerforth, March 2002). He is famous for throwing a spotlight on environmental and animal-rights concerns with such titles as Never Cry Wolf and A Whale for the Killing, for rankling the academy with such works of speculative history as Westviking and The Farfarers, and for attracting young fans with such heartwarming tales as Owls in the Family. He may be equally well known for his outrageous behavior — howling like a wolf at the dinner table and doing strange dances in a kilt while making oinking noises are among his exploits at formal events — and for headline-grabbing predicaments — he was barred for a time from entering the United States.
James King’s Farley is the first biography of this singularly influential man of letters. Margaret Atwood calls Mowat’s books “the spark that struck the tinder that ignited the fire from which many subsequent generations of writers and activists have lit their torches, often ignorant of where that spark came from in the first place.” King gained full access to Mowat’s papers, including all embargoed letters and diaries. But while the book was researched with Mowat’s cooperation, King was free to write whatever he concluded to be the truth. The result is a colorful, energetic work in which biographer and subject are uncommonly well matched.

“King identifies the key relationship in Mowat’s life as that with his difficult, charismatic father Angus. . . . Seldom has a book more carefully charted the manchild’s simultaneous needs to distance himself from and bring himself closer to his begetter.”
--Quill & Quire


About the Author
JAMES KING is a novelist and the author of eight biographies, including an acclaimed life of Virginia Woolf. He is also a professor of English at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Farley Mowat is the author of thirty-eight books that have sold more than fourteen million copies in twenty-four languages over five decades. The Toronto Star recently dubbed him "Canada's answer to Gerald Durrell crossed with Mark Twain," and at the age of eighty-one he is still going strong with yet another new book due out this year. He is famous for throwing a spotlight on environmental and animal-rights concerns with suchs titles as Never Cry Wolf and A Whale for the Killing, for rankling the academy with such works of speculative history as Westviking and The Farfarers, and for attracting young fans with such heartwarming tales as Owls in the Family. He may be equally well known for his outrageous behavior - howling like a wolf at the dinner table and doing strange dances in a kilt while making oinking noises are among his exploits at formal events - and for headline-grabbing predicaments - he was barred for a time from entering the United States." James King's Farley is the first biography of this singularly influential man of letters. King gained full access to Mowat's papers including all embargoed letters and diaries. But while the book was researched with Mowat's cooperation, King was free to write whatever he concluded to be the truth. The result is an energetic work as forthright and colorful as its subject.

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

King apparently had Mowat's full cooperation, but that hasn't stopped him from presenting the man's flaws or from dwelling on his tangled relationship with his father, Angus, a librarian with a "thwarted ambition" to be a great writer. Father and son may have gotten on each other's nerves, but they also collaborated in asserting their old-school male prerogatives. At one point, both Angus and Farley were not only shacking up with women who were not their wives but also conspiring to keep the affairs secret from the injured parties -- which meant Farley was siding against his own mom. — Dennis Drabelle

Publishers Weekly

Mowat, the octogenarian writer who has probably sold more books than any other Canadian author, is for many not an easy person to like. English professor King, the author of a biography of Virginia Woolf among others, generally gives Mowat the benefit of the doubt in this authorized life. Mowat, whose 38 books include novels, wilderness adventures and chronicles of indigenous peoples' struggle to survive, has been accused of exaggerations or outright falsehoods in his nonfiction books. King recognizes the existence of some blurred lines, but suggests that Mowat's books relate essential truths even if they stray from strict adherence to fact. Mowat lived all over Canada during childhood as his cold, eccentric librarian father sought new experiences; Mowat continued his treks as an adult, moving where he wanted when he wanted, demonstrating less than full sensitivity to the needs of his two wives. The second, Claire, stuck with him, though; King's lively portrayal of her is one of the biography's strengths. Mowat's moodiness can be dizzying, as King suggests by calling the section covering the years 1977-1984 "Prophet of Doom," then titling the section from 1984 through today "Keeper of the Faith." King makes the case that Mowat's legacy is on balance positive, as he has provided millions of readers with a blueprint for global salvation in a polluting age. The answer is basically this-those living on the land or at sea must live in peace with nature, and must win over those who are not doing so. King suggests convincingly that Mowat has found redemption for his personal sins through his writing. B&w photos. (Jan. 10) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

King, who has previously written an acclaimed biography of Virginia Woolf, offers this engaging biography of Canadian writer Mowat, who at 82 is still going strong and will publish his 39th book next spring. Mowat is best known as an advocate for environmental and animal rights and as author of such titles as Never Cry Wolf, A Whale for the Killing, and the speculative history titles Westviking and The Farfarers, which whipped academics into a frenzy at the time of their publication. King recounts Mowat's life from his experience in college to his service in World War II and his work in the Northwest Territories as a student biologist. The emerging portrait is of a man whose evolution as both an environmentalist and an artist was profound, an activist who has never backed away from a controversy. The exploration of Mowat's life is detailed but never boring; the subject cooperated with King, which has resulted in an excellent biography that is recommended for all libraries.-Ron Ratliff, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan

Kirkus Reviews