The Bears of Yellowstone [Paperback]

Paul Schullery (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Harbinger House; 3 edition (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881019004
• ISBN-13: 978-1881019008
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Bears

More About the Author

Paul Schullery writes about nature, especially about the history of our relationship with it and the wonder it still holds for us today. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than forty books and hundreds of articles. Paul was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania, in 1948. He has an M.A. in American History from Wittenberg University, a B.A. in American History from Ohio University, and an honorary doctorate of letters from Montana State University.
At various times since 1972, Paul has worked for the National Park Service in Yellowstone as a ranger-naturalist, historian-archivist, environmental protection specialist, senior editor in the Yellowstone Center for Resources, and chief of cultural resources. He retired from the National Park Service in 2008, but continues to write, publish, and speak on a variety of topics.
Paul and his spouse, the artist Marsha Karle, have collaborated as author and illustrator on five of his books, most recently This High Wild Country: A Celebration of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
Paul's other books about nature include The Bears of Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, American Bears, Mountain Time, Searching for Yellowstone, America's National Parks, Real Alaska, and Lewis and Clark Among the Grizzlies. He has written for dozens of popular and technical publications, ranging from the Encyclopedia Brittanica Yearbook of Science and the Future and BioScience to The New York Times and Outdoor Life.
During one of the times when he was not working in Yellowstone, Paul was executive director of The American Museum of Fly Fishing, in Manchester, Vermont, from 1977 to 1982. His series of books on the history and culture of fly fishing includes American Fly Fishing, Shupton's Fancy, Royal Coachman, Cowboy Trout, The Rise, If Fish Could Scream, and Fly-Fishing Secrets of the Ancients. He has received several honors for this work, including the Federation of Fly Fishers' Roderick Haig-Brown Award.
Among other awards, Paul is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of letters from Montana State University, the Wallace Stegner Award from the University of Colorado Center of the American West, a Panda Award for scriptwriting from Wildscreen International, and the Communications Award from the George Wright Society.
Paul wrote and narrated the 2002 PBS film "Yellowstone: America's Sacred Wilderness." He served as an advisor and interviewee for the Ken Burns film "The National Parks," broadcast in 2009.
Since 2009, Paul has been scholar-in-residence at the Montana State University Library.
For a recent interview, see Dayton Duncan's book The National Parks: America's Best Idea (Knopf, 2009), pages 252-255.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incomparable and enjoyable, June 14, 2010

By 

A Reader (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bears of Yellowstone (Paperback)

Sad that this book seems to have gone out of print(?); there are used copies available for very little money, though, and I had no problem obtaining one through the library system at the university where I teach.

I say "incomparable" in the title of my review because, to my knowledge, there really is no other book that does what this one does. Schullery distills centuries of others' collective experience, research, histories, and biological fieldwork into a single, very accessible account. He himself is an accomplished bear researcher, so this is an authoritative study. To put it succinctly: if you're a layman like me (rather than a biologist or natural historian) and you want to know everything a layman could reasonably want to know about the bears of Yellowstone National Park, read this book.

The book is part biological description, part park/conservation history (really the heart of the book), and part narrative account of human interactions with bears (including attacks) in YNP. It's never sensationalizing, though it is strongly biased in favor of conservation efforts; but it's hard to imagine anyone having a problem with that in this day and age. The writing is very clear (at times quite poignant) and never jargony---I'd say anyone with a middle school education or better would find this to be easy reading (which is not to say that it's simplistic or patronizing---just readable).

If I have one criticism, it's that after the first section (which focuses on bear biology and behavior), the book concentrates almost exclusively on Grizzlies. Schullery acknowledges this and explains that it's owing to the fact that Grizzlies have garnered far more attention from researchers, conservationists and the public than have the Black Bears, which are, after all, far more populous and widespread. (People don't go to YNP primarily to see Black Bears; they go to see Grizzlies. Unlike Grizzlies, BBs can be seen in Yosemite--or in Tennessee, for that matter--and almost all points in between.)

When you get bored with reading overblown attack stories that vilify bears-- when you're ready to accept that bear encounters are actually very rare (especially when it comes to Grizzlies) and that attacks are _extremely_ rare and fatal attacks _exceedingly_ rare-- when, in short, you've decided that there's a lot more to learn about Yellowstone's bears than how and how often they eat humans, read this book! Schullery's respect for his subjects is contagious, and you'll come away with a very complete picture of YNP bears that will enhance your experience of the park.