Book Description
Follow the true story of a young bear all alone in the Alaskan wilderness and the big-hearted grizzly family that embraced him as their own.
Award-winning photographer Amy Shapira returned to the same remote cove in southeastern Alaska for six consecutive summers, capturing this incredible story as it unfolded. Through her breathtaking photographs and text from noted biologist and author Douglas H. Chadwick,
the heartwarming tale of Baylee, her cubs, and the “adopted” bear Emmett comes alive for readers young and old.
Customer Reviews:
a true story.......2007-06-26
Yes, this really is a true story. As a guide who watched Emmett get adopted by Baylee in the wild, I think it is fun to share a story that really happened with kids. Amy's photo's show the summer life of bears as no others seem to do. (Even a bear can have a bad hair day!) This book is also suited for a coffee table book for adults, as the photographs are so interesting you can look at them over and over.
Pictures are awesome!.......2007-05-12
Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 9) by Reader Views (5/07)
Imagine having to make your way through life without your mom and dad! It's not a very happy thought, is it? Well, imagine you're a grizzly bear and forced to find your own way. He is not yet old enough to live on his own but not a baby anymore either. He's in between ages. It's a pretty lonely time for young Emmett. He lives up in Alaska, where the temperatures range greatly. He travels to a cove where he is watched by visitors but no one knows just who he is or where he came from. He didn't have a name until the visitors started watching him.
There is a family of four bears living in the same area. Baylee is the mama bear with her cubs named Eleanor, Misha and James. Emmett likes to watch the family of bears, if only he could be a part of their family. The bear family seems to be having such fun. Baylee doesn't like Emmett being around and growls to get rid of him. Emmett was determined to make this family his. He makes friends with the little cubs and wins the mom over. Now he feels like a member of a family. We all need a little help sometimes and Emmett gets the help he needs from Baylee and her family.
"Growing Up Grizzly" is based on a true story of grizzly bears up in Southeastern Alaska. The pictures are actual pictures of bears in their habitats and doing what comes naturally to them. I especially liked the picture of the bear looking through a window of a cabin and seeing his reflection. He needed a friend. All the pictures are awesome! The book would be a delight for bear lovers, Alaska lovers and any others who would like a nice adoption story.
Note from Brianne's mother: Brianne has always liked the story of the three bears. "Growing Up Grizzly" is similar only without Goldilocks and with an additional bear. The storyline is excellent because it shows how it doesn't matter where someone comes from, he can be adopted into a family and find love and companionship. Even if the book was written for younger readers, it still brought a delight to this bear-loving reader.
A moving and wonderful true story.......2007-04-16
I dare you to finish this book with dry eyes.
This book is transformative!.......2007-02-27
This is the kind of book I want young people (of all ages) to experience. It is not just the exquisite photos, although they are, indeed, quite beautiful and heart-stiring. It is not just the compelling story line, although the narrative brings the reader right there--to Alaska--to BE with these amazingly beautiful and compelling creatures. Something special is happening in this book: by sharing her love, passion, and profound understanding of these magnificent animals photographer Amy Shapira's work has a transforamtive impact. Just as each of us has a personality, a family life, a community, and a neighborhood, Shapira shows us that tucked away in southeastern Alaska are animals with a fullness of being and experience. This precious book prompts me--as never before--to understand that on every inch of this planet, wherever life exists, there is sanctity and there is nobility. I will never look at bears--or any animals, for that matter--the same way again.
Book Description
The most comprehensive and assiduous chronicle of human-grizzly bear interactions ever written.
Customer Reviews:
the essential grizzly.......2007-09-08
The book treats the grizzly as the great animals they are - neither teddy bearish or monster. The book generates respect for this amazing animal.
The Nonessential Book.......2007-01-19
The Peacocks bring together some interesting stories in a way I've not seen done before, but their cockamamie, insular "logic" lies somewhere between intellectual dishonesty and sloth, which, for the critical thinker, makes the pages hard to get through. It's too bad; I'd hoped for so much more. Still, worth a skim if you love the bears and where they live.
Great Viewpoint!.......2006-11-10
This book opens your mind to the necessity of the grizzly in our ecosystem. I learned alot about the behaviour and habits of the grizzly and how to prepare yourself in their world. A must read book.
Peacock is the ticket.......2006-06-12
Doug Peacock knows more about grizzly bears than the next 10 writers combined. If you want jive-Hollywood-stories, read the other books. If you're interested in the real thing, go for Peacock. And for Edward Abbey fans, Doug's "Walking It Off" is a must read.
Refreshing.......2006-05-21
. . a breath of fresh air for those of us interested in bears and their fate. Shake off the heavy coat of mind boggling conflicting advice about how to act in bear country and read Doug Peacock's book. He tells it to you straight. "Don't travel into grizzly country reeking of bad karma or old tuna fish." This book leaves others behind with new knowledge and experiences unwritten to date. Doug and Andrea go straight to the heart of the problems and joys of having gizzlies on earth and exhibit hope that people can learn how to behave before we kill or love all the bears to death.
Customer Reviews:
Education and Enjoyment.......1999-06-21
I bought this book, because I desire a through knowledge of bears, their life, their existance. Reading this book has opened my my eyes to more than I ever thought there was to learn. I even bought a map so that I could see the areas he describes. If all books about grizzles and bears are this enjoyable, I have alot of reading to do. I now have a new found respect and admiration for the grizzly.
Talking bear is easy to learn!.......1998-07-08
"Learning to Talk Bear", by Roland Cheek is a must read for anyone interested in the current state of affair of the American Grizzly. Cheek combines his vast outdoor experience as an outfitter in Montana with solid research to provide a thorougly readable and enjoyable book. His main focus in the book is for the reader to walk away with a thorough understanding of grizzly behavior and the complex issues that threaten their existence This is not a book about grizzly attacks, although Cheek does examine several in attempts to understand possible causes of those incidents. It is an exciting book that combines research, suspense and good story-telling to help the reader understand Grizzly behavior. It reminded me of two other books, John McPhee's "Coming into the Country" about Alaska, and Sebastian Junger's "The Perfect Storm." I read "Learning to Talk Bear" while vacationing in Yellowstone and felt much more in tune while in the backyard of "Ursus arctos horribilis"!
Learn bear body language.......1997-11-23
Bear fear is a given with most people . . so they do what they can to avoid bears and thereby cheat themselves out of wilderness experiences of the kind that may not be able to be had in the next century. Roland Cheek's book goes a long way in the explanation of the necessary dance people will have to learn to do with animals in order for the animals to survive. His book is entertaining, wise and up to date. It is a book that any person who is going to venture into bear country would be wise to digest. There are good stories and illustrations of bear encounters that turned out fine . . . after all the author is still here.
Book Description
For 25 years, Adolph Murie, one of North America's greatest naturalists, spent his summers in Mount McKinley National Park (since renamed Denali National Park) tracking, recording, and interpreting the lives of grizzlies in one of their few remaining strongholds.
Customer Reviews:
A Lumbering Book on a Lumbering Bear.......2003-06-27
Murie's book (originally a scientific monograph) on Ursus horribilis, the great brown bear, is a 242-page collection of observations of the grizzly's actions and relationships with its habitat. Murie's first-hand observations date from 1922 to the 1960s and were made around Denali (the original native name of Mount McKinley).
Murie's observations are dispassionate and objective, seemingly free of any bias for or against the great bear (although, at the conclusion, his admiration for the beast and his passionate desire that mankind refrain from "managing" wildlife do emerge). His observations include such topics as bears' range and movement, mating, mother-cub interaction, food habits, and relationship with various types of potential prey such as caribou, moose, Dall sheep, squirrels, marmots and mice.
As mentioned, Murie's observations deal only with the grizzlies of interior Alaska around McKinley National Park. He occasionally refers to but does not report on the brown bears of the Alaskan southern coastal areas, although he does accept them as a variety of grizzly (some feel that they are different species or sub-species).
Before buying this book, the reader should understand that it is not a "story book" about bears. There is no connected "story line" throughout the book, nor is it a collection of harrowing tales about grizzly attacks on hapless humans. Readers looking for entertainment or excitement should seek elsewhere. However, the book is quite illuminating as to the normal habits of normal grizzlies in their normal environment, and readers who wish to understand the actions (and, dare I say, the thought processes) of these animals will find the book a realistic, down-to-earth resource. It does not propose any encompassing scientific theories or postulate new hypotheses about grizzlies; it merely reports on how they act, where they roam, and how they live. In the end, this fairly long series of observations is quite effective in painting a very realistic and useful picture of both the grizzlies and, to a lesser extent, of the animals upon which they prey or with which they coexist.
There are a few somewhat grainy, black and white photographs reproduced in the book, indicative of the photographic technology available to Murie. Somehow, though, their quality adds to the overall impression of the book as the product of a keen observer of wildlife half a century and more ago. In brief, I found the book interesting and informative, if not exactly a "page-turner," and it should be useful to those who would become naturalists, who are curious about grizzlies, or who, like me, will always feel somewhat entranced by Alaska, the Last Frontier, and its still-wild creatures.
Classic Murie.......2000-10-19
There are so few grizzly bears left alive in the Lower 48 that grizzlies have become mytholigized as either demonic carnivores or hapless river wading salmon fishers.
Adolph Murie was one of our greatest naturalists. His books on wolves, mammals, and grizzlies all share the same great style of writing; that mix of wonder and research that illuminates the true nature of wildlife and man's place among them.
Classic Murie.......2000-10-19
There are so few grizzly bears left alive in the Lower 48 that grizzlies have become mytholigized as either demonic carnivores or hapless river wading salmon fishers.
Adolph Murie was one of our greatest naturalists. His books on wolves, mammals, and grizzlies all share the same great style of writing; that mix of wonder and research that illuminates the true nature of wildlife and man's place among them.
Book Description
A reference guide to various forms of poetry with entries arranged in alphabetical order. Each entry defines the form and gives its history, examples, and suggestions for usage. For this second revised edition of the Handbook, 19 teaching poets have written 76 entries on traditional and modern poetic forms. The Handbook succintly defines the forms, summarizes ther histories, quotes good examples (both ancient and modern), and offers professional tricks of the trade on how to use each form.
Customer Reviews:
Instructive and inspirational.......2007-08-03
This is a very useful book for quickly looking up various forms of poetry. I teach English and often times it is very nice to have a simple reference book available that explains and shows the varieties of poetry.
Simply the Best Poetry Handbook.......2005-03-08
No adequate superlative exists for this poetry handbook--simply the best on the market. Rarely does a writing handbook work for all age groups, but this solid one does. Even elementary teachers could use some of the poetic forms, such as couplets, haiku, and nonsense poems, for their classes, and, yet, professional writers can dip into this densely rich (yet compact) volume and pull out an appropriate form from the 75+ forms offered.
I have used this handbook for my college creative writing classes since 1998; as writing fads come and go, this poetry handbook endures because it offers a simple, yet interesting, approach to writing poetry: a short history of the form; a brief explanation on how the form works; when appropriate, a sample poem (or verses) showing the form in action; and, in some cases, a diagram for the more complicated forms, such as the sestina and pantoum.
Semester after semester, my students praise this book, and many decide to keep it for their libraries, instead of reselling it to the college bookstore. I keep searching, but I have not been able to find its fiction handbook counterpart. Ron Padgett has done a fine job of compiling the forms, researching their histories, and finding stellar sample poems to show how the forms work. I hope this handbook NEVER goes out of print!
a useful addition for the writer's toolbox.......2004-10-03
This is a wonderful reference book for poets who want to expand their repertoire. Over seventy poetic forms are covered, and each section includes: an explanation of the form, discussion of any variations on the form, at least one literary example, and reference to other prominent examples and/or poets who use the form.
I've used this book for many years as a jumping-off point when in search of inspiration or when playing around with a different poetic form. It's easy to read and can be used by people with a variety of experience, from beginners to professionals, and from school-aged to the time-ripened crowd.
One of my favorite books.......2001-02-21
I use this book all the time! I've had it for over 10 years and find myself continually going back to it. Recently I began writing a poem every morning before getting out of bed, and this book is invaluable for helping wake up my brain and start the creative juices flowing. The forms are clearly defined with good examples given, and the sheer number of forms included is inspiring! If one isn't working for me that morning, I simply flip to another. I've used this book with teenagers and with adults in poetry-writing exercises--it works well with all ages.
this is a great reference (for all ages).......2000-02-07
this is a great book: well written; comprehensive but not encylopedic; engaging and entertaining. it was intended for junior or senior high school students and some of it's suggetions and examples reflect that BUT please don't let that stop you from buying it. it is simultaneously a good introduction to poetic forms (and poetry in general), a quick reference for the more advanced student, and a source of inspiration for practicing poets.
Amazon.com
Doug Peacock, the model for the George Hayduke of Edward Abbey's novels
The Monkey Wrench Gang and
Hayduke Lives!, served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret medic, ministering to the Montagnard and Hre peoples of the highlands while trying to jump over the bullets that rang around him. When he returned home, as he writes, "I retreated to the woods and pushed my mind toward sleep with cheap wine." In those woods he found grizzly bears, and among them he shook off memories of war. In the pages of this memoir, recounting what has now been Peacock's many years among them, the bears of Montana come to life. They find an eloquent protector here.
Book Description
For nearly twenty years, alone and unarmed, author Doug Peacock traversed the rugged mountains of Montana and Wyoming tracking the magnificent grizzly. His thrilling narrative takes us into the bear's habitat, where we observe directly this majestic animal's behavior, from hunting strategies, mating patterns, and denning habits to social hierarchy and methods of communication. As Peacock tracks the bears, his story turns into a thrilling narrative about the breaking down of suspicion between man and beast in the wild.
Customer Reviews:
seeking bear deliverance . . . .......2007-09-08
It is the grizzly bear, of all animals, that can teach modern man the humility he needs in order to save his own species. This is Doug Peacock's viewpoint; and when it comes to bear lore, he is thoroughly versed in his subject.
The writing is strong and compelling: a juxtaposing of Vietnam war experiences with his retreats into the wilderness as he seeks deliverance from the aftermath of that war. Peacock's honesty is so brutal that it takes you by the throat. The narratives of his vietnam time are as gripping, even harrowing, as is the opening chapter's depiction of his standoff with a massive male grizzly.
Through the stark confrontation of the primal fear man has of the bear, Doug Peacock transcends his suffering through this fear and finds a kind of healing salvation. He finds this healing in the wild places, with the animals that society has villified for so many generations. And nobody gets closer to the big bears (and that includes the former fool T. Treadwell) than Doug Peacock.
A man in search of himself via the deliverance nature offers him.
Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
A new high for environmentlist journaling!.......2006-11-21
I met Mr. Peacock a few weeks ago at the the Southwestern Writers conference in College Station. Among his published works he read from, "Walk it Off". Giving us all insight into his years in Vietnam and his friendships made along the way. He is one of a few writes who can actually transport you to the time and place he is experiencing.
Bravo Mr. Peacock!!! Bravo! Thank you for such a wonderful reading.
A killer Book!!!.......2006-09-21
For lovers of wilderness and Bears this is an outstanding book. I read it from cover to cover in two sittings. Doug Peacock has been through a lot in his lifetime and he did what he did to bring some sanity back into his life after Nam. I found this to be a much more interesting read than "Walking it off" which dewells too much on his feelings for Ed Abbey and tells you very little about his Viet Nam experiences or even himself.
Buy this Book! You won't be sorry!
Awesome book, one of the best environmental books out there.......2005-03-12
This is an outstanding book written by a man who is extraordinarily comfortable in his own skin, yet extraordinarily uncomfortable in modern society.
Peacock is a man who can write lyrically and genuinely about the wilderness, who can stand tall while staring a grizzly in the eyes, and yet who can't attend a party, or walk through a city, or even meet an innocuous stranger who has expressed an interest in chatting with him.
I've read a few other books by people who share Peacock's gruff no-compromise attitude when it comes to environmental protection, and have been really bothered by the sense that they seem to have formed a "we understand nature and you don't" club that excludes most of the environmental movement. Authors Gary Ferguson and Rick Bass (who spent some wilderness time with Peacock) have managed to make this model of environmental conservation seem childish and churlish. But Peacock, who is basically writing the same argument, gives this idea wings on which we soar.
Peacock is brutally honest about himself, and about how his war experiences in Vietnam shattered his soul and left him thrashing about the country in a state of spiritual agony. When he relates a story about becoming frustrated with a payphone operator, and then taking out a shotgun and blowing the telephone to bits, we know that he's not billing himself as a healthy individual.
This honesty lets us see the genuine love that Peacock has for nature in general and grizzly bears in particular. He is well-versed in the scientific side of environmental preservation, and gives us plenty to chew on as far as the good and bad of the institutions that are involved with grizzly bear issues. But his most compelling, unique contributions come when he is alone in the wild, stalking grizzly bears carrying nothing but photography equipment and a knife, with which he is prepared to defend himself to the death.
This is a great book for the environmental movement, and deserves a unique place in that broad and cluttered field. You should definitely read this book if you're an environmentalist. More importantly, you should give it to someone who is not an environmentalist, even someone who is against environmentalism.
Peacock has a way of framing the issues in a way that even a republican will love and understand. His individualistic approach and character are the antithesis of the characterization of environmentalists that the right has been pushing for the last forty years.
great, honest book by a great, honest man.......2004-11-03
Grizzly Years is easily one of the best "nature" books written in recent years. It is a great story of a man, like so many, soured by his service in the war in Vietnam. Though I did not read this book for its war aspect, Mr. Peacock does a great job blending it with the nature part of the book. It is very apparent how much these bears mean to Doug, and his fight to protect them is nothing short of courageous. Grizzly Years is a great nature book with human aspects thrown in, much like Lynn Schooler's The Blue Bear. I recently had the privaledge of meeting and listening to Doug, and it was one of the pleasures of my life to shake hands with a man I admire so much. I recommend this book to any lover of the natural world. Doug Peacock will change your perspective on the natural world, like so few can.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-07-03
Very Scary book based on true events. Don't read if you plan to camp in bear country.
Scare-O-Rama.......2007-01-16
Great, well-written, true-life account of the infamous Glacier National Park grizzly attacks. But now I'm afraid to take the trash out to the curb at night. Superior to the lesser copycat work: "Night of the Smoky Mountain Black Bears", recounting tales of ravaged trash barrels, violated Igloo coolers, and steaming malodorous heaps left behind at mid-campsite.
My cousin.......2006-03-30
I read this book a couple years after it came out. I am now reodering it for my daughter as I have lost my original copy. One of the girls in this book was my cousin who was a couple years older than me at the time this happened. I could not read it at first but later could not put it down. Well written and respectful of the victims and their families. I have been to this park and it is truly beautiful.
ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.......2006-01-05
I first read this book in the early 70's and have re-read it countless times since. It's amazingly well-written, descriptive, and painstakingly researched, as well as sensitive to the people, victims and otherwise, involved in this tragedy. It builds up effectively from an overview of Glacier Park and the people who will become involved in the story, and the events leading up to "the long weekend," when 2 young girls were killed- and eaten- by 2 different bears on the same night. The book is not sensationalist but the actual sequence of events will make every hair you own stand on end and hopefully dissuade you from ever camping out without a tent in bear country.
Favorite Book.......2005-07-09
When asked for my favorite book, this is usually the answer. I don't know that this was a pioneer in the man vs. man-made-complicated-natural disaster genre (ala Into Thin Air or A Perfect Storm), but it's a masterpiece of its kind. What Jaws did for swimming at the beach, this does for camping trips and zoo visits. Try it.
Book Description
First published in 1943 but long out of print, "Meet Mr. Grizzly" was rated by J. Frank Dobie in "Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest as "...the most mature yet published by a ranchman." Now this singular reminiscence by a remarkable man is drawing a whole new generation of readers.
Montague Stevens was much more than a one-armed British remittance man with a passion for bear hunting. Educated at Cambridge, he was one of the most literate chroniclers of New Mexico's rural history. That he lived in a time when grizzlies still roamed the wilds of southwest New Mexico makes Steven's observations of great interest to today's bear enthusiasts. His well reasoned comments on natural history, dog training, and the life of an early day cattleman are an invaluable reference.
Customer Reviews:
Meet Mr Grizzly.......2003-06-30
An outstanding and well written book. This book is an absolute must for those who love the great bear. Even though it relates to hunting of the grizzly, it offers terrific insight into the personality and intelligence of this great animal that once roamed so much of the American west.
Western Americana Classic.......2003-04-20
Meet Mr. Grizzly is a great classic of Western Americana. It is also the best book on training dogs and horses that I have ever read. Montague Stevens was an Englishman who took up ranching in New Mexico in the late 1800's. Among the problems he faced in learning the business of cattle and sheep ranching were Apaches, rustlers, and stock-killing grizzlies. While this book provides a colorful and highly literate description of ranch life on the western frontier, it focuses primarily on the methods he developed for hunting marauding bears. These, in turn, depended largely on his genius in training dogs and horses. For me, the most fascinating aspect of this book is the gentle creativity and the shrewd experimental approach he applied in working with his animals. His experiences are described with clarity, modesty, and humor.
Grizzly Bears, Hounds and an iconoclastic Englishman.......2000-10-30
Montague Stevens (the author) lightly mentions losing an arm in an accident and then never returns to the subject or the difficulties it must have caused as he chronicles his joyous escapades of hunting Grizzly bears near his ranch in New Mexico. This combined with his quote "Any good horse would be insulted by spurs" typifies his iconoclastic personality.
This book (non fiction) is about a man (Stevens) who lived in the late 1800's and early 1900's on a ranch in New Mexico near the Arizona border. The author spent a good portion of his life hunting Grizzly's by what he terms the "hit and miss method" before learning to catch grizzly's with "reasonable certainty". Written with the feel of a "fireside chat", "Meet Mr. Grizzly" discusses Stevens' many adventures of hunting bears, training hounds, ranch life and interesting people he met along the way. His opportunities to hunt with Teddy Roosevelt and several prominent Military men of his day are intriguing.
Stevens' unorthodox methods of training hounds to trail bears is both thought provoking and entertaining. Stevens understood dogs better than most dog trainers. He was able to train "liason dogs" to trail the hunting pack once the hunting pack were out of hearing. Stevens was an animal lover with a personality and demeanor similar to James Herriot. His analytical approach to problem solving allowed him to kindly train and own what was probably the worlds most successful pack of hunting dogs. His simple explanations of training methods make the reader feel as though anyone can expertly train dogs to do anything desired.
This book is of wonderful value even if only for its historical content regarding a species (Ursus Horribilis - Grizzly Bear)that is now extirpated both in New Mexico and Arizona. An absolutely wonderful read for any hunter, biologist, historian or nature enthusiast.
Book Description
In the tradition of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and Peter Jenkins's Looking for Alaska, a riveting adventure story of one man's passion to understand and protect the grizzly bear—and his last foolhardy, violent encounter with one
Ursus arctos horribilis, commonly known as the grizzly or brown bear, is one of the most feared animals on the planet. As its most outspoken protector, Timothy Treadwell tirelessly sought to overturn the perception of grizzlies as dangerously aggressive. It was therefore a media sensation when in October 2003 Treadwell and his girlfriend were fatally mauled by a bear in Alaska's Katmai National Park, the first such attack in the park in eighty-five years. The horrifying audiotape of Treadwell's final, frantic screams begged the question: How could this happen?
In The Grizzly Maze, Nick Jans, who for years has written expertly and lyrically about the Alaskan wilderness, ventures to answer this question. Based on exclusive access to the killing site and his own and other's expert knowledge of Alaskan bears, Jans plots out Treadwell's final expedition and encounter with the grizzly. In doing so, Jans provides a moving and complex portrait of the man known as the “Bear Whisperer,” whose controversial ideas earned him the scorn of hunters, the adoration of some animal lovers, and the skepticism of naturalists. The Grizzly Maze also offers a definitive, close-up look at bears, bear behavior, and our complicated relationship with them. It promises to be the blockbuster adventure read of the season.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book That Demonstrates What we Should NOT Do In Bear Country.......2007-03-04
There is no denying that this is an well written book, that does a great job of explaining the events that led up to Timothy Treadwell's death by the animals he loved.
Many people comment on how he lived his life the way he wanted and that alone justifies his actions.
In reality Timothy endangered not only himself but every other person who may have come in contact with these bears. He conditioned them not only to the presence of humans, but he reacted to them in ways that another person may not. In that case the bear could have interpreted the different action as hostile, and we would have had another mauled or dead person. Just like a visitor at Yellowstone who leaves open food contaniers at the campsite teaches bears that humans are a source of food, Timothy took away any natural fear the bears had of humans. That cost him his life.
Bears are wild animals, capable of killing. They should be respected and admired, but anything that conditions bears to the presence of people should be avoided.
This is a great book to try to understand Timothy but it is also a testament that wild, dangerous things need to be respected.
my hikes will never be the same..............2007-02-08
What a great book, informative, intersting and very well written.
Great job Nick!
As an avid hiker (from Juneau) I never even took a stick with me in the past and have seen many bears over the years.
Once I hiked a trail that had not been maintained anymore and ended up in a meadow full of recently used "nests" and plenty of poop.
I turned around and left, but never knew how dangerous this place could have been until I read the book.
I will change my (hiking-)ways for sure!
This book is a must for any outdoor enthusiast in bear country.
A Riveting love story of a man and the bears he adored.......2007-01-30
I loved this book. I am into nature reading and just stumbled across this book. It is a thriller to say the least and I read it in just a couple of days and could not put it down. Now I find myself seeking out everything I can find to read and hear about Timothy Treadwell. The author does a fairly neutral commentary on his story although slightly on the negative side. I have to say I did not come away with anger towards Timothy Treadwell, but a deep admiration of someone who did what he loved and tried to contribute something to the world. The information at the end regarding bear attacks I would think would be invaluable to persons that are wilderness people. It is very detailed and easy to understand. This book was very much an emotional experience for me and I am still grieving for Tim and Amy's deaths even though I never knew them. Even though I have no anger at all towards Tim, I do towards the so called overeducated experts who instead of rejecting Tim could have tried harder (in my opinion) to pull him in and help him. This might could have saved his life if he had gotten more support rather than just snobby rejection. I wish I could have met Timothy Treadwell. Although, I have doubts about his mental stability, he did have passion and that is rare in today's world.
"Animal Protection" Gone Awry.......2007-01-04
I found this book to be a real page-turner. Timothy Treadwell imagined himself to be a protector of bears, when in reality he was a great danger to them. He had access to a great deal of professional help and advice but unfortunately considered himself to be the greatest authority of all. Anyone who has the tiniest inkling to research bears versus human behavior would find out quickly that habituating bears to humans is anathema to both, at the least. View the DVD "Grizzly Man", and read this book to see a disturbed man destroying not only his own life but the life of another, innocent, human and possibly many bears.
Read with Confidence.......2006-09-05
Being a nature photographer but quite unfamiliar with bears, it was with great interest that I read comments in an on-line forum about Grizzly Man, Tim Treadwell, a Californian who went to Alaska for 13 summers to be with the brown bears on the Katmai coast. He raised California and Colorado money to fund these summers with the bears and foxes and subsequent programs for school kids. I had never heard of Timothy Treadwell or Amie H., the person who camped with him part of that final summer in 2003, until reading the threads and digging in to find out more. But the news of their hardships, ambiguous relationships with themselves and the bears, and subsequent shocking deaths as told by Alaskan writer-photographer Nick Jans in "The Grizzly Maze" was hard to put away. The book is a thriller, not only for what we learn about Ursus but that the reader, from a safe distance, can imagine the situation so clearly.
Nick Jans has a way with words. Whether morbid or having to do with human motivation, he cleanly lays out information but then turns around and presents the other sides or another plausible angle. There's all the possibility for a tangled mess in this maze, but the author leads clearly and we follow without getting lost. That's a neat feat. He has the ability to ask the questions we are thinking; yes, every one. Just as we're about to ask the next question, he asks it for us. It's as if Jans can read the reader.
For example, we wonder and he asks, "Why?" Who in their right minds would willingly camp at the crossroads of ancient bear trails, especially at the end of the season when bears were making final attempts to do what bears do, eat and den away in fat oblivion for the winter? On the other hand, given one's choices, who wouldn't exercise absolute ultimate control in their own life, living freely where and when possible, answering to few people until something better comes along? The answers are too complex; it may seem a bit too easy for some to say, "Only a crazy would do something like that."
The book is packed with facts, but beyond that, we watch with fascination as other humans go about picking up the pieces after the attack, literally and figuratively. Nick has the ability to let us see where we're going or why he took us somewhere. He knows some of us are plain stupid around bears but by the end of the book, we're with him for what he has to tell us about bears and those who seek them out. I never distrusted the author's style for leaving me hanging or hitting me over the head, so for those who really want to know all that is known about what went on there, you can read with confidence in "The Grizzly Maze."
Average customer rating:
- A great book
- A National Monument
|
Bear in Mind: The California Grizzly
Susan Snyder
Manufacturer: Heyday Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Bears
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Conservation
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Endangered Species
| Conservation
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
California
| State & Local
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
California Grizzly
ASIN: 1890771708 |
Book Description
"There have always been bear stories, as long as there have been campfires and shadows in the night, and as long as humans have shared the earth with their fellow predators....
"Part of humankind's enduring fascination and connection with bears lies in the similarity between us and them. Bears stand upright and their footprints resemble ours. A skinned bear looks much like a naked person. They are intelligent and independent, possessed of distinct personalities. They exemplify maternal care, discipline, and teaching, and they nurse in a sitting position. They can use a claw like a finger or two claws like chopsticks. They can travel fast and lose their tempers. They are omnivorous, and can kill and eat us, as we can kill and eat them. Resilient, brave, and defiant, the California grizzly did not go quietly."—Susan Snyder, from the Introduction
_Bear in Mind_ is the story of the California grizzly bear. Once arguably the most powerful and terrifying animal in the California landscape, he now lives in the imagination, a disembodied symbol of the romantic West. _Bear in Mind_ is also a portal into one of California's great resources, the Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. More than 150 images from the library's archives and collections—newspaper illustrations from the gold rush, paintings from early scientific expeditions, photo albums, sheet music, settlers' diaries, fruit-crate labels, and more—accompany the bear stories of Indians, explorers, vaqueros, forty-niners, and naturalists, among others. The result is a uniquely compelling natural history, a grand book worthy of its subject.
Customer Reviews:
A great book.......2004-08-30
I absolutely enjoyed this book along with the great photographs and illustrations. It is hard to imagine that the great bear once roamed so much of California, especially in the modern day concrete jungles that sprouted from such pristine wildlife habitat. Ms. Snyder did a great job of putting together and telling the stories of this facsinating animal. Can you imagine, hiking Malibu beach and seeing grizzlies feasting on a beached whale? I was born 100 years too late. If you love grizzlies, or California history, buy this book!!!
A National Monument.......2003-11-05
While this book is as hefty as a grizzly, and costs as much as a concert ticket (granted, only an upper mezzanine seat), Bear In Mind is *the* book for my coffee table: I want to read it luxuriously, I want to pore over every written word, every detail of art and artifact in its pages. I want my Californian friends to see it. I want to get copies for their homes.This book reclaims the legacy of the grizzly, and ought to replace the bear flag as the symbol of state and national pride and humility.
Books:
- Guide to Owning a Pomeranian: Puppy Care, Grooming, Training, History, Health, Breed Standard (Re Dog Series)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook (Howell Reference Books)
- Horseshoes, Cowsocks & Duckfeet: More Commentary by NPR's Cowboy Poet & Former Large Animal Veterinarian
- How Buildings Work: The Natural Order of Architecture
- How to be the Leader of the Pack...And have Your Dog Love You For It. ("How to" booklets from Dog's Best Friend)
- How to Think Like A Horse: The Essential Handbook for Understanding Why Horses Do What They Do
- How to Train Your Bichon Frise (How To...(T.F.H. Publications))
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applicatio
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
- Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development
- Aristotle: Selections
- Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
- History: Fiction or Science
- Evolution of to-day;: A summary of the theory of evolution as held by scientists at the present time
- 1997 Canadian Insurance Claims Directory: 65th Annual Edition
- Accessing Capital Markets Through Securitization
- The Death of Colonel Mann: A Beacon Hill Mystery
The Grandest of Lives: Eye to Eye with Whales
Bears : Polar Bears, Black Bears and Grizzly Bears (Kids Can Press Wildlife Series)
Face to Face with Grizzlies (Face to Face with Animals)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao
