Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan is the impressive story of Carol Ruckdeschel and her fight to preserve Cumberland Island’s wilderness.

A biography, Untamed shows in graphic detail how one woman, Carol Ruckdeschel (1941 – ), has campaigned—actually devoted her life—to the preservation of wilderness on Cumberland Island. The Island, located in the southeastern United States, is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia.

Carol Ruckdeschel is a biologist, naturalist, environmental activist and author. Although Carol has had loyal friends, including Jimmy Carter before, during, and after he became President of the United States, she also has had bitter enemies, people who have accused her of caring more for animal welfare than people’s well-being.

Author Will Harlan met Carol when he worked as a ranger for the National Park Service on Cumberland Island. When he first met Carol, she herself appeared to be wild. She spent her days dissecting dead animals, particularly sea life. She lived in a shack with specimens scattered about. Through the years, she has fiercely fought for the Island’s wildlife, particularly sea turtles, one of the oldest animal species on earth. Carol grieves over their rapid decline. She has published scientific papers, particularly on turtle navigational mysteries.

Included in the book are unsettling facts such as:
● Fishing boats catch turtles and other sea life in nets. For every pound of shrimp harvested in a trawl net, over ten pounds of bycatch is caught. Air-breathing animals such as dolphins and sea turtles drown in the nets.
● More than 100,000 dolphins and whales die each year from ingesting plastic.
● Feral swine scavenge turtle nests to feast on eggs. Swine population grows each year as turtle population declines.

Will Harlan has written an environmental classic, a memorable portrait of a woman fiercely dedicated to the preservation of wilderness. He shows how Carol, from early childhood, has been fascinated by and fought for wildlife. Harlan has captured the essence of Carol’s dedication to her work: “To save people, we must save nature.”