115 of 119 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Well Balance Chronical of This Tragedy, September 29, 2005
I live in Kodiak Alaska and am proud to associate myself and my fellow islanders as good neighbors to the Brown bear. Unfortunately Mr. Treadwell did not feel the same and felt it was appropriate to intrude on the these wild but magnificant creatures. This turned out to be a deadly mistake to both human and bear alike.
When Timothy Treadwell and his friend, Amie Huguenard were killed in October 2003 at the Katmai National Park most people from Kodiak had no idea who he was. The conservationist and the Park personnel however did. A lot of anger erupted over this incident due to Treadwell's encroachment of the bears and I found myself getting angrier and angrier the more I learned about this man who felt he was a "bear whisperer" when in fact he was self serving and obviously ignorant of the fact that if he was killed the bears would pay the ultimate price.
Jans does a fantastic job telling this story. He is a very good writer and the book is an easy read. He is fair and balanced and he goes a long way to put closure of this incident for many people. He tells it all. The good, bad and ugly. He approached his research in a respectful and scientific way. He was able to gain the trust of the locals here (no easy feat) who shared with him their knowledge of bears and the people involved. Jans does a magnificant job telling the story and due to his prior experiences in Alaska he was able to explain much of Treadwell's actions which helped me channel much of the anger I had over this incident into a deeper understanding of Mr. Treadwell's actions. Jans does this the same way Jon Krakauer did with the main character from his best selling book, Into The Wilds. I felt the negative emotions I had over this experience disappearing and learned even more about our neighbors, the bears and have even more respect for them now. I very rarely give a book 5-stars but I read this book in a single day and just couldn't put it down.
The afterward requires the reader to pay very close attention to the material Jans presents on black and brown bear attacks. One can gather lots of useful information by reading this closely and studying the graphs. Jans seems to be empathetic to the reader knowing he is dumping a lot of material on us but in the end it is worth it. The reader just needs to be patient. He even summarizes the chapter which really helped put it together for me and should be required knowledge for all who trek in the wilds.
I was very fortunate that I got to meet Mr. Jans at a local presentation and this really added to the overall enjoyment of the book. He is very friendly and speaks well and a wonderful story teller. I highly recommend this book to those who want to learn more about bear behavior and what happens when humans interfere with the laws of nature.
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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent and entertaining, August 20, 2005
One day in 1999, as I was channel surfing, I came across a documentary on the Discovery Channel entitled "Grizzly Diaries" which was ostensibly about Alaskan bears. Being that I've had a long interest with both Alaska and bears, I stopped my channel surfing to watch the show. I was therefore treated to the stupifying antics of one Timothy Treadwell of Malibu! As I sat there with my mouth agape staring in disbelief at the bizarre, reckless behavior of this effeminate-sounding wanna-be Grizzly Adams, I was saying to myself: "This man is nuts! And he's going to get himself killed!" Thus, when the news came in October 2003 that Treadwell had indeed been killed by a bear, it sparked an interest to learn more about this man and the events of his death. Nick Jans' book, "The Grizzly Maze," is an entertaining and satisfying reading experience for those interested in Mr. Treadwell.
As other reviewers have noted, Jans is a gifted writer and his laid-back, folksy style is a pleasure to read. I finished this book in two days- it's so well written that it makes an already interesting topic even more fascinating.
Jans attempts to be has evenhanded as possible with his controversial subject. To many people, especially most Alaskans, Treadwell was a benighted greenie interloper who got his ecological comeuppance for trying to make "nicey-nice" with the bears. To others, Treadwell was a heroic eco-warrior who lived a full passionate life that mundane souls can only dream about. Jans finds truths in both of those viewpoints.
Jans finds a lot about Treadwell to admire and, in fact, sees a lot similarities between himself and Timothy. He clearly admires Treadwell's passion, his drive, his refusal to settle, and, above all, his sheer guts! He also discovers through interviews with Treadwell's few Alaskan friends that he was not as naive about bears as his public persona let on. According to his friends, Treadwell had developed a real expertise in recognizing bear behavior. The fact that he was able to live among them for thirteen years speaks volumes that the man knew what he was doing. He was also fully aware that some bears were very dangerous and took precautions to avoid confrontations. Finally, Treadwell's passion was undeniable- thirteen years spent soaking wet, bug-bitten in some of the toughest wilderness on planet shows a man driven by a lot more than a lust for publicity.
However, Jans' book provides plenty of ammunition for those who did not hold a high opinion of Mr. Treadwell. In some ways, Treadwell had the mentality of a con artist. He had no qualms of lying to people about his background- this native NYer with his family still alive and well on Long Island had no problem telling people he was a British orphan or from Australia. This leads to Treadwell's most controversial claim that he was defending endangered bears from hordes of ruthless poachers. It was this claim that still infuriates Alaskans and the National Park Service. And it is this claim that his supporters still fervently believe. Jans shows that the facts demonstrate that Treadwell was either lying or delusional. The bears he was allegedly protecting were in not endangered in anyway and that poaching was non-existant in the areas he frequented. Not even Treadwell's few Alaskan friends bought his stories about poachers. To Jans, the only people who bought Treadwell's poaching stories were well-meaning, but gullible greenies in the lower 48.
So if Treadwell was not providing protection to the bears then what was he doing? According to Jans, Treadwell simply just wanted to be friends with the bears. However, that leads to the question to what purpose would that lead? In the end, it leads to death of the bears- habituating them to humans makes them either dangerous or vulnerable. And that led to what happened during a rainstorm on October 5, 2003. Jans' model for what happened is very plausible based on the known facts. Further, the grisly details of the aftermath are not for the faint of heart- descriptions of the remains of the bodies and the contents of a bear's stomach are described.
Jans' book is a terrific entry to what seems to be a growing cult of interest in the life and death of Timothy Treadwell which has already seen numerous articles, two books, and two documentary films.
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73 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating story, November 15, 2005
This is definitely a book that's hard to put down. Jans has an easy style of writing, not overly florid, yet descriptive. He has clearly bent over backward to approach the subject of the "bear whisperer" with a fair and open mind, giving great consideration to all the various viewpoints that Treadwell inspired.
Those who think Timonthy was solely an egotistical fool, and those who are just as sure he was a blameless hero, should skip this book. All others should be fascinated by the story's complexities and frustrating contradictions.
Personally, I think the "Timothy must save bears from poachers" defense of his actions are way overblown (the only photo that he put forth of a poacher hunting one of his bears, was actually just a pic he shot of an unknowing friend walking with his rifle on his way home -- illustrating that Treadwell had no problem manipulating the truth for his/the bears supposed benefit.)
There are probably only two "truths" to come out of this story: Timothy Treadwell loved grizzly bears. And grizzly bears just want to be left alone to live their lives as intended... and that includes being spared the unwanted presence of bear worshippers.
In the end, these were not "Timothy's bears". They are not Mr. Chocolate and Downy and Cupcake. They never were. They are bears. Wild bears -- and their lives go on without Timothy, just as they always have.
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