Nick Jans

"A Place Beyond" by Nick Jans is an inspiring collection of essays that reads a bit like a memoir, a bit like a story book, a bit like a history book, and a bit like a travelogue. Jans combines them all into one winsome treat. In this book, the author shares with us an inside look at life among the Inupiaq Eskimos in northern Alaska. Jans, who lived in Ambler, just south of the Brooks Range, for fifteen years, captures his eccentric and humorous northern lifestyle in easy-flowing prose. His show more ability to capture the beauty and complexity of nature in words reminds of award-winning author Bill Bryson.

Jans shines when he waxes about his Alaskan friends and their adventures together. My heart warmed at each mention of Clarence Wood, a wise Eskimo native, whose few words and relaxed attitude made him my instant favorite. And I was moved to tears when Mr. Jans described the spring funeral of a lonely neighbor; Ambler’s inhabitants, through this writer’s eyes, are people with bottomless hearts.

This Alaskan expert, however, is at his best when he’s penning descriptions of the land itself and its indigenous creatures. Through the author’s writing, I could almost feel the Kobuk River’s mighty power and majesty during its spring ice breakup. And Jans’s stories about his rare and magical brush with a wolf pack left me breathless.

This book is a great read for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of life in the Arctic, but it’s also wonderfully entertaining and informative for those who love to peek into other cultures and lifestyles. show less

Despite the sensationalistic title, this is a much more measured portrait than the wildly hysterical Herzog film. The book lets you see that Treadwell was a serious naturalist, not the obsessed whackjob Herzog needs him to be for his film to work. As always, Herzog films are about Herzog.

Timothy Treadwell and his friend (or girlfriend - I think it depends on who you ask) were mauled to death by bears in Alaska in 2003. It seems that there are two, and only two, camps of thought when it comes to Treadwell: most people appear to believe that he got what he deserved, while a much smaller group seems to think that Treadwell was some environmental hero.

Nick Jans is outside of both of those camps; he really does an excellent job of trying to remain balanced. I always kind of show more cringe a little before reading books like this, because I feel like authors tend to drift toward an automatically sympathetic approach to their subject, sometimes resulting in almost falling in love with them (I'm looking at you right now, Jon Krakauer, who practically deified Christopher McCandless in "Into the Wild"). But Jans doesn't do that. He freely admits that Treadwell is, well, not the brightest bulb when it comes to bear safety. Treadwell took incredible risks doing what he did - I mean, camping right along a bear trail is stupid. It's even more stupid when he refused to carry bear spray (he didn't want to hurt the bears) or an electric fence (same reason).

But Jans is also kind in his evaluation of Treadwell. Yes, the guy was overly dramatic and at least partially fictional (his own "biography" was embellished, to say the least). He said that he was protecting the bears from poachers when there was no real evidence that these bears, protected by the National Park Service, were ever in significant danger of being poached - especially in Katmai, which in spite of being portrayed as this unspoiled wilderness, is actually crowded with tourists on nearly a daily basis. And yes, Treadwell was in actuality putting these bears in more danger by habituating them to human contact (which makes them less wary of approaching humans, which can lead to bad times, usually for the bears). And yes, he approached bears and ignored ALL safety procedures in doing so.

But Treadwell genuinely cared for these bears, something that often is mocked or ridiculed by those who discuss his death. He loved them so much that he named them, followed them for years, spent his entire summer in a primitive campsite to observe them. And, honestly, I don't think that Treadwell would be very upset that this was his end - only that two bears (neither of which can be proven to be the ones who actually killed Treadwell) died in the process, as well.

It's impossible to know which bears actually killed Treadwell. One, an old bear, was shot and killed and found to have human remains in its stomach. Disturbingly, this is one of the bears that Treadwell tracked for years, one that he had named, even. But bears are scavengers as well as killers - just because he did have human remains in him doesn't mean that he was the killer bear. In fact, Jans hypothesizes (although he is the first to admit that it's impossible to know now which bear killed them) that the second bear that was shot, an adolescent (that Treadwell had also observed on multiple occasions) might be the killer, while the first bear was only a scavenger. He points out that adolescent bears are often more aggressive than old, established bears. This bear was scavenged by other bears before its stomach contents could be examined.

I feel like Jans really wants to go back in time and give Treadwell a good shaking and a swift kick of sense and bear safety. Jans has lost a few friends to bear attacks, which me brings up multiple times, as well, and compares and contrasts those experiences to Treadwell's. He also brings up different kinds of bears and which are more likely to attack humans or kill humans. I did learn that it's helpful to know which bear is attacking you - black bears, which are numerous, are less likely to attack humans but, when they do, playing dead is not a good choice; while grizzlies, which are more likely to attack humans, are less numerous and are often just defending their territory, so playing dead with them is a good idea - they'll usually back off if they feel the threat has been eliminated.

The overwhelming conclusion is don't be stupid. Bears are dangerous creatures, and you can't treat them like they're pets or teddy bears. Jans delves a bit into Americans' growing fascination with the wilderness, while many of them don't have much sense when it comes to surviving in the actual wilderness. If you're going to be backcountry hiking, for the love of god, read a book about the animals and plants you might encounter along the way and prepare yourself. If you stick to the paved trails in National Parks, you should be fine.

Altogether, I'd recommend this book, simply because Jans IS so fair in his treatment of Treadwell. show less

A Wolf Called Romeo is nature photographer and author, Nick Jans, reflections on the six years that Juneau, Alaska residents were visited by an unusually friendly male black wolf. The wolf seemed particularly interested in dogs and befriended many. Jans introduction to the wolf was when he was throwing a tennis ball out on the frozen lake and, much to his astonishment, a black wolf ran out and absconded with the ball. The wolf did return and made friends with the author’s golden show more retriever.

Nicknamed Romeo, the wolf became a regular feature for the residents of Juneau. He located himself by the Mendenhall Glacier and was often to be seen on and around the lake. He appeared to be a solitary but healthy wolf and would tolerate audiences getting within feet of himself, especially if there were dogs. Unfortunately this fearless attitude was dangerous for him, for as much as he had admirers, there were some who thought he should be killed or removed from the area. For six years he was a regular visitor, but then in September 2009, he vanished. Slowly the facts came out, he had been shot by two poachers who were looking for an easy kill. Unable to keep the deed a secret they bragged about killing the beloved wolf. They were also known to have been involved in the illegal luring and killing of young bears as well. Although both were charged with illegal game killing, they were simply given minor fines that were not followed up on when they failed to pay.

A Wolf Called Romeo tells an amazing story and the author is very careful to point out that Romeo’s visits were shared by many. It wasn’t just his life that was affected by this creature, Romeo was shared by the community and was grieved by many. The author also includes many facts about wolves, and discusses the boundaries between wilderness and civilization, and the responsibility that humans have to the untamed creatures they encounter. show less