Bear Attacks of the Century: True Stories of Courage and Survival
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Product Description
Do bear attacks touch people in the far-back recesses of their psyches? Reach latent ancestral memories of cave days when humans were potential prey? Indeed, there are those who say their nightmares involved bears before they ever saw one, either in the flesh or in the movies. Unfortunately, these nightmares all too often come true. People perform almost superhuman feats in their fight to survive bear attacks. Jim Marriott, for instance, was attacked and
mauled by a grizzly while carving out a moose head. When playing dead didn’t work, he slammed his skinning knife into the attacker’s neck. The surprised bear backed off only to charge again, cut his tongue trying to bite at the knife, and got the knife sunk into the
same place. By the third charge, Marriott was on his feet despite chewed buttocks and damaged legs. This time the bear left with the knife still sticking in his neck. “In bear attacks, the human survival instinct is extraordinary,” says a doctor who sees the terrible punishment victims of bear attacks live through. “And equally amazing are the heroics and seemingly superhuman efforts of those around the victims.”
BEAR ATTACKS OF THE CENTURY gathers together these stories of courage,
chronicling the most horrific encounters between bears and people. With expert advice on avoiding attacks and information that may help both species leave an encounter unscathed, this book is required reading for hikers, hunters, campers, or anyone visiting bear country, and those who want to learn more about these sometimes deadly but always fascinating animals.
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
Be afraid, be very afraid
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Comment:
I've read dozens of bear books, many of them multiple times. To give an indication of my preferences, Stephen Herrero's work is at the top of my list for a good balance between informative and honest. As a bear biologist, I find his writings to be the most carefully researched and insightful--I learn something new every time I read his work. On a personal note, I've also spent a considerable amount of time in Alaskan and Canadian backcountry and have had several breathtaking, but ultimately benign bear encounters.
_Bear Attacks of the Century_, is, in my opinion, one of the worst bear books I've ever read. It focuses more on guns rather than bears. In the introduction, the authors claim that there is no sensationalization in this book, that the stories are "true." And while these stories may be edited versions of those told by the victims, to say that they are not sensationalized is highly debatable.
There's absolutely no consideration of bear motives in this book, and very little practical advice about how to avoid such encounters. The motto of this book seems to be: "carry a big gun and shoot often." Other bear books offer much more thoughtful and critical insights about how to handle bear encounters. Toting along a gun can be a terrible idea for someone who is not comfortable enough with it to shoot steadily under such high-stress situations. I could compile a companion book for this one that would tell all of the horror stories of people who took a shot and missed, or worse, took a shot and only injured a bear. There is little worse than having to confront a wounded grizzly.
With bear books, I prefer a much more balanced, nuanced consideration of all of the factors involved in bear attacks--what were the motives of the bear, what could the humans have done better, what did they do correctly, how could this situation be helpful to others who might learn from it? These are all very important questions that are ultimately unanswered in this sensationalized book. Bears need to be better understood, not misrepresented as human-hunting beasts.
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Summary:
Bear attacks of the century
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Comment:
I found the book to be informative; however, even though the stories are "true," I can't believe people could be so stupid. How could they ignore, for the most part, that they are in the bears' territory? They don't belong there. To deliberately go there for the purpose of killing another animal for "sport," is beyond cruel. One would almost say that some of them deserved what they got, as horrible as that sounds.
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Summary:
Amazing Accounts
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Comment:
This book portrays some amaazing accounts of Grizzly bear encounters, with both survival and not accounts. Some very good rules and reccomendations on what and what not to do.
If your going into Bear country a must read.
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Summary:
Worst book ever
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Comment:
If you consider buying this book: Don`t do it. This is without a doubt the worst book i ever read. Take for example this quote from the chapter "lethal punch": "Gene drew back his left fist, and as the bear leaped at him , he threw the hardest punch of his life. He missed the nose but struck her cocked head just under the eye. The impact of the punch combined with the momentum of the 750 pound brown was so powerfull that his arm and hand went white and he had no feeling left in the knuckles. The sow`s head twitched and she bared two front teeth that were still covered with Genes meat, before suddenly dropping with her pawns under her body." Come on man give me a break. What the f.. is that. Unless you suffer from a serious disease of the central nervous system like the author of this book obviously does don`t buy this book. 1 star is one too much.
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Summary:
Best Book I've Ever Read
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Comment:
I could not put this book down. It is true stories of man encountering Brown Bears (largest carnivores on earth) and Grizzly. There is one story of a poloar bear too. This is without a doubt the most exciting and horrifying book I have ever read. I would do almost anything for $1 Million, however, you could offer me $1 Million and I would never go into Alaska bear country, never. The courage of these men is unfathomible. This book will horrify, excite and interest the average reader for sure. Worth the money and time. You won't be able to put it down. The chapters are not long and drawn out either. I recommend this book to everyone, especially those living in "bear country".
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