Living and
Dying Among Grizzlies
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Among Grizzlies
by Timothy Treadwell, Jewel Palovak
Who must have this book: Anyone who is interested
in Timothy Treadwell and his legacy.
Who should have this book: Anyone who is interested
in bears.
ISBN: 0345426053
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I,
like many people, read this book just after I heard that Timothy had
been tragically killed by the bears he was studying. Before that I
only knew Timothy from his appearance on Late Night with David Letterman
and the short news briefs of his mauling.
This book left me with a very strange picture of Timothy. By the end,
he seemed like he was a blend of Grizzly Adams and a crazy old lady
who has tea parties with her 75 stupidly named cats. I can’t
say that I was left with a good impression of him nor was I overly
impressed by what he was accomplishing in the field. His “scientific
advances” were mostly a collection of anectdotes and his protection
of the bears was dubious since he was protecting bears in a well visited
national park
.
The book is an engaging and quick read. His recounting of his adventures
with the bears is at times suspenseful and at times troubling. However,
the dialog between Timothy and the bears or Timothy and anyone is
painful, stilted, and lame. But by the end of the book I believed
he said every word.
Here is a sample.
Seriously, there is 190 pages of that. I'm not kidding. But I still
would recommend anyone interested in the Treadwell story to read this
book. But if you do read this, make sure to read Grizzly Maze, Death
in the Grizzly Maze, or see the movie Grizzly Man to get a balanced
look at the story.
Overview
The first chapters describe Timothy Treadwell’s
youth and descent into drug culture. His Salvation came in the form
of a friend’s advice to follow his dreams of meeting a grizzly
bear in Alaska. On his first trip, he has an encounter where a bear
steps over his body as he lays in the fetal position in the middle
of a bear trail. From that point, Timothy’s destiny is sealed;
he is hooked on the adrenaline of being with bears.
The rest of the book discusses several of his seasons living with
the bears of Katmai National Park. His stories swing from scary to
humorous to down right irresponsible. At one point he leans over and
kisses the nose of a yearling bear that comes to check him out as
he baths in a lake. Which I think covers scary, humorous, and irresponsible
in one action.
The book ends with his 1995 season in Katmai, a handful of years before
Timothy’s death. In some passages, he foresees his possible
death at the hands of bears but his love of bears comes through. It’s
worth the time to read, but after reading other Treadwell biographies,
I would take everything in the book with a grain of salt.
Author
Authors Among Grizzlies was team written by Timothy
Treadwell and Jewel Palovak. It was Timothy’s only publication
before his tragic death. For more information on Timothy, check our
Alaskan Hall of Fame Tribute that should be coming soon. Or check
out the Grizzly People website.
