Doug Peacock

Author of Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness

11+ Works 348 Members 15 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Doug Peacock has spent the last fifty years wandering the earth's wildest places, studying grizzly bears, and advocating for the preservation of wilderness. A disabled Vietnam veteran and model for Edward Abbey's G.W. Hiyduke, Peacock has received fellowships from both the Guggenheim and Lannan show more foundations for his work on this project. show less

Works by Doug Peacock

Walking It Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War And Wilderness (2005) 68 copies

In the Shadow of the Sabertooth: A Renegade Naturalist Considers Global Warming, the First Americans and the Terrible… (2013) 38 copies

The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears (2006) 25 copies

Was It Worth It?: A Wilderness Warrior's Long Trail Home (2022) 14 copies

In the Presence of Grizzlies: The Ancient Bond Between Men and Bears (2009) 12 copies

Mis años grizzly [Próxima aparición (2013) 8 copies

Baja! (1991) 6 copies

Land of the Spirit Bear: An article from: The Amicus Journal 1 copy

Itinéraire d'un éco-guerrier (2023) 1 copy

Marcher vers l'horizon (2022) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (1968) — Introduction, some editions — 3,956 copies

Tagged

* (2) 2007 (2) activism (2) adventure (6) animals (12) bears (15) biography (7) Critter in title (2) doug peacock (4) ecology (4) Edward Abbey (3) environment (12) extinction (2) first edition (4) grizzlies (3) grizzly (2) grizzly bear (3) grizzly bears (5) mammals (2) melony-office (4) memoir (20) Montana (5) natural history (4) nature (28) nature writing (5) non-fiction (17) outdoors (3) PTSD (5) signed (8) The West (2) to-read (30) USA (3) veteran (3) Vietnam (8) Vietnam War (8) war (8) West (2) western (3) wilderness (12) wildlife (2)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Peacock, Doug
Other names: Peacock, Douglas A.
Birthdate: 1942
Gender: male
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Alma, Michigan, USA
Places of residence: Montana, USA
Alma, Michigan, USA (birth)
Tucson, Arizona, USA
Education: University of Michigan
Occupations: medic (Green Beret)
activist (environmental)
outdoorsman
naturalist
Relationships: Peacock, Andrea (spouse)
Awards and honors: Guggenheim Fellowship (2007)
Short biography: "Doug Peacock is the author of Grizzly Years, Baja, and Walking It Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War and Wilderness. His [2006] book, co-written with Andrea Peacock, is The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears. A disabled Vietnam veteran and Green Beret medic, Peacock was the real-life model for Edward Abbey's George Washington Hayduke. He has published widely on wilderness issues ranging from grizzly bears to buffalo, from the Sonoran desert to the fjords of British Columbia, from the tigers of Siberia to the blue sheep of Nepal. Peacock was named a 2007 Guggenheim Fellow, and a 2011 Lannan Fellow. He lives in Emigrant, Montana." [http://www.powells.com/biblio/74-9781...]

Members

Reviews

Was It Worth It?: A Wilderness Warrior's Long… by Doug Peacock

WAS IT WORTH IT? Nope. Sorry, Doug Peacock, but this collection of essays on the flora and (disappearing) fauna of places ranging from the southwest deserts of the US and Mexico to the frozen wastes of the Russian Far East just didn't register with me. Nor did the frequent mentions of your late mentor, Edward Abbey, or the name dropping of a couple of my favorite authors (James Crumley and Jim Harrison, both gone) and Tom Brokaw. I had already known about your obsession with grizzly bears and your propensity to seek out uninhabited wilderness after a traumatic tour as an Army medic in Vietnam. I have read your earlier book, WALKING IT OFF, which told of those things, as well as your friendship with Abbey. And I didn't love that one either. Ed Abbey I know is probably most famous for his environmentalist book, DESERT SOLITAIRE., which I could never finish. I much preferred his more obscure early fiction - BLACK SUN and THE BRAVE COWBOY. THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG not so much, but still pretty good.

Your essays are, to me, only mildly interesting, though your interests in the environment and species nearing extinction - some bears, tigers, jaguars, etc. - and your voluminous reading and research are obvious. And there are some beautiful photographs of said flora and fauna, in a book that is visually pleasing, thanks to publisher Patagonia.

But sadly, I guess I was just the wrong audience. Couldn't get into it. All that hiking around in the rocks and sand and muskeg. In fact, I skim-read most of it, hoping something would happen. Unfortunately, nothing did. I will recommend the book, but only for dedicated environmentalists, and maybe for the survivalist fringe types.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (more)

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TimBazzett | 1 other review | May 31, 2024 |

Was It Worth It?: A Wilderness Warrior's Long Trail… by Doug Peacock

Interesting. DNF

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CasSprout | 1 other review | Dec 18, 2022 |

Grizzly Years by Doug Peacock

This book was recommended by my memoir teacher as an example of using flashbacks. Doug Peacock writing is so visual, I loved it. The story itself is not of my preference so I focused on specific sections of the story. I will be sending the book to my brother who loves the wilderness and he also came home from Vietnam.

Doug, thanks for writing this story.

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Jolene.M | 8 other reviews | Jul 30, 2020 |

Walking It Off: A Veteran's Chronicle of War And… by Doug Peacock

Bought this book over a dozen years ago, couldn't get into it then. Put it aside. Just tried again. Still find it tedious, repetitive. Peacock was a Green Beret medic in Vietnam. Came home disillusioned and damaged - PTSD. Took him years to acknowledge it. Left his Michigan home to wander the parched, arid deserts of the Southwest, where he met and became friends with the ornery author-environmentalist Ed Abbey. His marriage comes apart. Abbey dies. Peacock studies grizzly bears. Walks and explores. Hikes and thinks. For years. Remarries, More hiking, cogitating, remembering Vietnam, figuring things out. Pages and pages of hiking, endless descriptions of flora and fauna, missing his friend and mentor, Abbey. Sorry, but I was skimming and glazing over. A very strange mix of war memoir and nature study. Just did not work for me. And I'm from Michigan too, and I've read and enjoyed Ed Abbey's books. So I wanted to like it, but, finally, could not. Not recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (more)

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TimBazzett | 1 other review | Feb 26, 2020 |

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