Mark of the Grizzly: True Stories of Recent Bear Attacks and the Hard Lessons Learned

So I have this weird obsession with bears. I absolutely love them - I could (and have) watch them for hours. I'm also terrified of them. The only nightmares that I continue to have from childhood are ones where I am running from bears. On trips to Yellowstone, Glacier, or any national park with bears, I am both thrilled and horrified at the idea of seeing a bear. Its definitely a mixed relationship.

So of course, I had to pick up this book.

In each chapter, Scott McMillion begins by describing the circumstances surrounding a bear mauling. The who, the when, the where and (most times) the why are all discussed. He then attempts to address the larger issue, whether it has to do with human error (i.e., hiking quietly and alone) or show more controversial practices (i.e., does a bear develop a "grudge" if it is constantly trapped and relocated?). Although he attempts to be somewhat neutral, he clearly wishes his readers to have an understanding about why bear attacks happen, and what practices should be used to make the chances of a mauling significantly smaller.

The writing is very good. It was definitely a book I enjoyed reading. I would have rated the book higher if he spent a little more time discussing grizzly behavior, policies, and arguments - at times it felt like we were spending a lot of time discussing what the victims' bodies looked like - but I realize that many people are drawn to the gory details, and this may be a good way for McMillion to get more readers and thus promote his message to a wider audience. It's definitely not for the weak minded - I don't consider myself a squeamish reader, and I had trouble at a few parts. Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone interested in why grizzly attacks happen.

And for the love of god people, don't feed the bears! show less

This collection of encounters between human and grizzly bears confirmed my previously held opinion that, in general, humans are idiots. Most of the incidents described here were a result of people failing to have respect for wilderness and wild animals. I certainly couldn't blame the bear in most of these cases.

The writing style is smooth and casual, the details interesting, and the advice sound.

Definitely worth reading.

Couldn't stop reading it but hated every minute of it. Not the author's fault -- but reading about grizzly attacks it just a terrible thing. Bears are scary!

I would have given this book a higher rating, but what it primarily consisted of stories about bear maulings. It was interesting to read, and there was a lot of information in it, but I didn't feel like the author really picked and chose from the information to provide useful information about being in bear country to the reader.

This book is frightening and awesome. Bears are the coolest animals in the world and they command our respect. Read this before you go to Yellowstone. When the sign says Do Not Feed The Bears, man, you better not feed the bears.

I hope I'm riding a horse when I meet a grizzly.