BOISE, Idaho, Sept. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Predators, a new book authored by Howard E. Adkins, has just been released through Xlibris. This work of fiction tells a fascinating story about one man's struggle to fulfill a familial obligation while facing tremendous odds.
The Predators begins when a wolf pack from Canada is reintroduced by the U.S. Government into Central Idaho amid much local opposition. The pack settles in the area near a small town called Challis, the locale of the Rafter-B Ranch. Charlie Buchanan returns home after nine years in the Army Special Forces to find the ranch in great disrepair, old C.S., his aging father with whom he had such disagreements in his youth and now as irascible as ever, to be in conflict with the government in several areas, and his high school sweetheart, now a divorcee and confirmed conservationist who is in opposition to ranchers in general. Charlie feels a family obligation to return the ranch to its century-old traditional eminence but feuding between his father and the E.P.A., the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the B.L.M., other government agencies and recently, the harassment of Rafter-B cattle by the wolf pack complicate the issue. Charlie's patriotism and his long military service make it difficult for him to believe the malicious pettiness he encounters. When old C.S. dies while being placed in handcuffs after shooting a wolf, Charlie rebels and sets out to kill the wolf pack as his anti-government statement. What ensues is his long wilderness quest to hunt and destroy the pack but in the process, he develops respect and some sympathy for the plight of the animals. Will he succeed in spite of the temptations and interference by the divorcee, the allurement of aid by a local militia group or vigorous pursuit by local law officers? Does he still want to succeed and is it even possible to help the old Rafter-B in any way now? Read the book to find out.
About the Author
Howard E. Adkins is a retired Ophthalmologist who lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife. A fourth generation Idahoan, he is a graduate of Harvard Medical School. Because of a family heritage that includes a frontier doctor, ranchers, freighters, miners, and a stagecoach driver, much of his writing has had either an historical or a western flavor. The current controversy surrounding reintroduction of wolves into Idaho pits Government's interests against those of many citizens and perhaps those of the wolves themselves. The question whether Government, citizen, or wolf should prevail is at the core of his novel "The Predators," the balanced view of which considers just who among us is the most predatory.
THE PREDATORS * by Howard E. Adkins
Publication Date: November 10, 2000
Trade Paperback; $18.69; 220 pages; 978-0-7388-3447-4
To request a complimentary paperback review copy, contact the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7479. Tear sheets may be sent by regular or electronic mail to Marketing Services. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x.7876.
Xlibris books can be purchased at Xlibris bookstore. For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.