A Thrilling
Alaskan Classic
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Alaska Bear Tales
by Larry Kaniut
Who must have this book: Anyone who spends
time in bear country and doesn't mind getting a little wigged
out.
Who should have this book: Anyone who loves
thrillers or spends any time in bear country.
ISBN: 0882402323
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This
is the book that started it all in 1983, which was well over twenty
printings ago. Today you are hard pressed to find a book store, gift
shop or even a grocery store that doesn’t sell this book. And
for good reason, this is a easy and thrilling read. The subject touches
a nerve that is deep in each of us which makes the hair on our back
raise if we hear a strange creaking while reading the book.
Perhaps this isn’t the hardest book to author. The content is
engaging, the research is as close as the newspaper, Alaska Sportsmen
magazine, or any Alaskan you meet on the street. Everyone in Alaska
has their bear story and is very willing to share it with you. How
can you not have a thrilling book when working with Alaskan bear stories?
But Kaniut excels at linking the stories together and delivering them.
This book is very hard to put down once you get started
on it. Also I found that it made your bed seem much warmer when you
went to bed. Unfortunately, I just finished reading it so I can’t
say how it makes the tent feel yet. Luckily spring is still a couple
of months off so I can “forget” a little bit of what I
have read.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone with interest in bears,
bear attacks or true life survival stories. In fact if you love true
life survival, check out Larry’s entire library.
Overview
The first ten chapters are all loosely grouped around individual themes
like Grizzlies, unprovoked attacks, predatory attacks, polar bears,
nuisance bears, and humerous bear stories. At times each paragraph
is a separate bear story and you seem barraged by different stories.
Sometimes entire chapters are devoted to just one mauling and the
victim’s thoughts during the attack and through the recovery
process.
Much of the information is pulled from back issues of Alaska and Alaskan
Sportsmen magazines. Other information comes directly from those involved
in the maulings and some comes from just local legends. Often the
information is contradictory which Kaniut points out. In reality,
if you ask any two people what bears are like or apt to do and you
get two radically different answers. The fact is that bears are unpredictable
from one bear to another so it’s hard to say anything that is
true about all bears.
As the book nears the end, Kaniut starts to focus on the lessons that
should be learned from the stories he tells. Again, there is some
vagueness and contradiction. For example, should you carry a gun in
bear country at all time? The answer is that some people think you
should, some think you shouldn’t and depending on the person
you are talking about, the whole answer changes. It’s hard to
find any hard advice on bears, but there are some good rules to follow
and he spells them out in the last chapters.
Author
Larry Kaniut has authored a string of books from Alaska
Bear Tales, More
Alaska Bear Tales, Bear Tales for the Ages, Some
Bears Kill, Danger Stalks the
Land, and Cheating Death
and his newest book Tales From the Edge. He maintains
a web site at www.kaniut.com,
but his books are cheaper at Amazon.com
Other books by the Author
