Customer Reviews

Alaska Bear Tales

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The author of this book, Larry Kanuit, is standing in front of my high school English class right now telling the students how he researches his books and how he writes. About myself: I was a journalist for 15 years before becoming a teacher; much of that career was spent in Alaska. I now teach in Bush Alaska. Most of my students are Native Alaskans. Reviewers who have stated that the author is inventing his stories are wrong. Period. Bear-lovers who say that the author is demonizing bears sound as if they have no real-life, consistent, up-close experience with bears. True, most bears leave you alone. Also true, bears are unpredictable and they will attack, maul, and kill you, without provication or apparent reason. Kanuit is explaining right now to the students how he interviews the victims (or survivors), uses police and fish and game documents, and essentially "writes a research paper." His research is good. I happen to know some of the same people in his stories, and their stories match the stories in the book. It's a good read. You won't want to walk into the Alaskan Bush without a good firearm, though.

Larry Kaniut has made a career of writing white-knuckled real life thrillers. This book is no different. It's kind of like a car accident, once you start reading you can't turn your eyes away. It's easy to get into the book but hard to put down. What better material than bear attacks to capture your imagination.

There are lessons to learn from this book, but for the most part it is a collection of sensational bear stories presented for their entertainment value. If you are looking for a scientific look at bear attacks, this might not be the book for you - Try Stephen Herrero's Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidence.

If you want a book that throws one gripping bear attack after another, get this one. And if you didn't get enough from this book, try More Bear Tales by Larry Kaniut.

One more bit of advice, read this one in your bedroom, not in a tent in the middle of Denali National Park.

I read this book and the sequal to it and found this and the other book to be a fairly accurate depiction af a bears traits and also it showed the bear as not a sensless savege killer but shed a little light on his behavior and his reactions to human interaction. Mr Kanut took the time to research his topic and in my mind this is a book that I can read over and over again. Also the fact that he pulled no punches in each of his stories no matter who was to blame for the encounter or the outcome of the encounter.

I will admit a little that am am a little partial to Larry Kaniut's books. I was lucky enough to have Mr. Kaniut as n English Teacher when I was in Junior High in Anchorage around 1980. During that time Mr. Kaniut would read to us the sotries that are contained in Alaska Bear Tales. As a struggling student he made me want to read and write.

I am lucky yo have a first edition copy of the book. In Alsak Bear Tales I knwo some of the people in the book so the stories are more real to me. Mr. Kanuit does a great job in pulling the reader into the story. His ability to get people to share the most horrific details of their encounters with bears keeps you wanting more.

Anyone looking to read real life drama this is the book to start with. You will not wan tto put the book down. Luckt for us Mr. Kaniut has written more then one book. Enjoy!

This book is fantastic and I read this in one day. Literally. I picked it up and did not set it down until I had read every last word. Chills, thrills, and even some laughs.

The "rapid fire" writing style renders this book difficult to read. The book is 300 pages long and it contains over 200 bear stories. Some are only a few words long and lack detail to such an extent that I wonder why they were included. Some are loaded with useful information. Others are simply pointless. Most were taken from a magazine verbatim.

Cynthia Dusel-Bacon's story alone was worth the price of the book. She wrote it herself after her terrible mauling and Larry Kaniut quoted it. Read her story and tell me you don't think black bears are dangerous and predatory.

I'd buy this book and keep it on my book shelf but I must tell you that I couldn't finish it because the last few chapters were simply too boring to be tolerable.

I have been to Alaska and Canada salmon fishing four times. I am planning on going again during the summer of 2000. When we go on these trips, we spend 10 to 12 days out in the Alaskan Wilderness. Although I have always had repect for brown/grizzly bears, I have never been extremely frightened about being mauled or eaten by one. I have only read the first 90 pages of this book, and I am already getting a little chill up my spine thinking about my trip in Y2K.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for me), I accidently left my copy of the book on the plane after a recent out of town trip. I need to decide whether to buy another copy of the book now, or wait until I get back from my trip next year. I'm not totally sure I want to read the rest of the book until I get back from my next trip.

The Book is extremely graphic, gory, and suspenseful. It will really make you think the next time you are spending the night in the Alaskan Wilderness. I'm sure I have learned some good things from this book, but right now I am getting a little nervious thinking about my next trip. I think I will be peeking around every corner the next time I go to Alaska.

If you enjoy real life tales of survival, you'll love this book. If you have a weak stomach, you might want to pass on this purchase.

I have spent a great deal of time over the past 20 years fishing with friends in the Alaskan woods and have seen many bears, browns and blacks. You become too comfortable and complacent after awhile. This book immediately instills new respect for the unexpected. I have ordered three books for my fishing buddies.

The stories are true life and death events of people who have been mauled by both black and brown bears in the Alaskan wilderness. This book gave me a new respect for bear and their habitat. Anyone who likes the outdoors where bears are present should read this book. A note of caution. This stories contian the bloody details that are the result of bear attacks. You may have a few sleepless nights on your next camping.

Even though this book is largely a collection of stories from a generation ago, still....anyone who ever entertains the idea of going out into the wilds of Alaska, or Montana, or anywhere there's a healthy bear population, should READ THIS BOOK FIRST. There's always that guy who thinks 'it could never happen to me', or the family who wants to get off by themselves and enjoy the wilderness camping with the kids. Bears are very unpredictable. Each one is different and what you think you know about them could get you killed. I've passed this book on to several people and will continue to do so.