Mark of the Grizzly, 2nd: Revised and Updated with More Stories of Recent Bear Attacks and the Hard Lessons Learned [Paperback]

Scott McMillion (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2011

A must-read about these magnificent but sometimes deadly creatures—thoroughly revised, expanded, and updated

Editorial Reviews

Review

From Montana Magazine, January/February, 2012:

Nature teaches us many lessons. For those of us lucky enough to live in Montana, we live in a wide-open, ever changing classroom. As the tango between humans and grizzly bears intensifies, we need to be reminded of how our decisions affect these great creatures. That’s why it’s important that writers like Scott McMillion have taken the time to chronicle bear encounters, old and new.

If nature is our classroom, then McMillion’s recently updated book, Mark of the Grizzly, should be on the syllabus as required reading.

 

From The Helena, Montana Independent Record Dec. 18, 2011:

Scott McMillion…likes to write up a good story when he hears one. He did that in “Mark of the Grizzly,” which was first released in 1998 and sold more than 100,000 copies. It’s a compendium of stories of grizzly encounters, which author Tim Cahill said is “more terrifying than a shelf full of Stephen King novels.”

Yet since the book’s debut, the use of DNA has revolutionized not just the study of bears but also the way attacks are investigated. And with the four unusual and deadly encounters in the past year near Yellowstone National Park alone, McMillion felt compelled to update the book, which has been re-released by Lyons Press.

It’s a page-turner from the first sentence of the first chapter.

 

From the Great Falls Tribune Dec. 21, 2011:

In 1998, “Mark of the Grizzly” left its mark on me. Scott McMillion’s straightforward and matter-of-fact recounting of encounters between humans and grizzly bears made it an unforgettable book.

Now, McMillion has revisited his book to update some of the chapters and add some new ones. The result is an even more gripping “Mark of the Grizzly.”

 

From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Jan. 5, 2012:

Scott McMillion recalls interviewing a veterinarian lying in the Jackson, Wyo. Hospital, who’d just survived a grizzly bear attack. The man got a little tearful as he said, “Your book saved my life.”

McMillion, author of “Mark of the Grizzly,” downplayed his contribution, saying the credit for saving Tom Crosson in 2002 should go to his fast-thinking companion, who sprayed the bear with pepper spray to make it turn tail and run.

Still, it was reading McMillion’s riveting stories about grizzly attacks “and the hard lessons learned,” that prompted the two friends to buy bear spray before venturing into Yellowstone’s backcountry.

Thirteen years after “Mark of the Grizzly was first published in 1998, after 16 printings and selling roughly 100,000 copies, McMillion has updated the book to include new hair-raising stories of bear attacks, why they happen, why some people survive to tell the tale and others don’t.

 

From National Parks Traveler Dec. 20, 2011:

Bear attacks horrify us, and yet they also, in a morbid way, fascinate many. They are evidence that even in today’s modern world, tragic confrontations with nature do occur and, in the case of bears, demonstrate that man in not always the apex predator.

“Mark of the Grizzly” is not a book for the faint of heart, nor for those filled with trepidation at the thought of leaving a parking lot in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, or Glacier. But it’s a powerful book if you’re trying to better understand how attacks happen, and what safeguards you can take to protect yourself against bear attacks.”

 

From The Missoulian, Nov. 23, 2011:

It’s easier to get hit by lightning than to be attacked by a grizzly bear.

So Livingston author Scott McMillion practically caught lightning in a bottle when he decided to update his book, “Mark of the Grizzly,” just before 2010 became Annus horribilis for Ursus arctos horribilis. McMcillion wrote the original book in 1998 to both peel back some of the myths surrounding grizzly bear attacks and pile up the lessons learned from actual encounters. The senior editor of Montana Quarterly and former Bozeman Daily Chronicle reporter researched incidents going back to 1977.

“I want people to be safe out there,’ he said. “I think posting a dry list of what to do and don’t do at the trailhead isn’t that effective. A narrative is a better lesson for how to act around bears.”

The books chapters recounted hunting mishaps, photographers who got too close and in-your-face encounters with bear spray. It also detailed the responses that may have saved a life or turned a bluff charge into a full-on smackdown. Each chapter had interviews with victims and rescuers, along with insights into bear behavior.

Between then and now, the human side of the encounters has added several new twists. There are the folks McMillion calls “bear whisperers” like Timothy Treadwell, whose delusions about being able to live with Alaskan brown bear got him and his girlfriend killed, along with at least two of the bears he thought he was protecting. The growing popularity of long distance backcounry races and mountain biking have added new ways to surprise a bear into a confrontation.

 

 

 

From the Back Cover

Every year, millions of people travel to grizzly country, hoping for a glimpse of the Great Bear. And every year, somebody is attacked. The power of the grizzly is almost mythical and has become the stuff of legend.

Mark of the Grizzly relies on neither myth nor legend. Rather, it relies on the true accounts of dozens of attacks, from Yellowstone National Park to Alaska, from 1977 to 2010. Author Scott McMillion examines each attack and its aftermath, interviewing victims, survivors, and investigators. Hikers, photographers, hunters, scientists, and others tell their stories here, offering what they have learned and the lessons that others should know.

Neither mysteries nor tales of horror, these stories create a world of wonder, respect, and fear that make for a book you’ll find hard to put down.

 

In the thirteen years since Mark of the Grizzly first appeared, DNA science has revolutionized how people study bears and how they investigate attacks. Growing populations of grizzlies and people have led to more bear/human encounters—some fatal—and grizzlies now wander parts of the West where they hadn’t been seen for decades. This new edition includes a thorough update of existing material and new or expanded chapters that cover:

 

The recent attacks around Yellowstone National Park and Anchorage, Alaska, which have generated national headlines.

The increased popularity of mountain biking and trail running in grizzly country. Are such sports advisable there?

Bear populations expanding into the prairies of Montana and Wyoming, far from the expected mountain locales.

“Bear Men.” People who get too close to bears, and sometimes die in their jaws. The book includes a profile of Timothy Treadwell, subject of the movie Grizzly Man.

The continuing phenomenon of “dinner bell” grizzlies.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; Second edition (November 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762773251
• ISBN-13: 978-0762773251
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Bears

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read April 17, 2013

By jd103

Format:Paperback

This was a fascinating book to me, especially since I live in the area of half the events related. I know one person mentioned in the book, and another bear mauling victim who is not featured in the book. Every time I go hiking, I could potentially become a chapter in the 3rd edition.

Each chapter began as a mystery. As I wondered if the people described would be killed by a bear, I found myself paying attention to quotes and verb tenses to determine if everyone survived. Some people were innocent victims in the wrong place at the wrong time, while others deserved what they got, and others deserved far worse than they got.

Living in Yellowstone, I've seen tourons do some incredibly stupid things with wildlife such as elk and bison, but so far I haven't seen anyone stupid enough to actually touch a grizzly cub as one man did in this book. Unfortunately, he wasn't even attacked by mom.

The general tone of the book is to give the bears the space and respect they and all wildlife deserve. Unfortunately, humans as a rule aren't that wise, and with increasing numbers of bears and humans in the same area, I'm one of those who expects to see an increase in the number of incidents such as those described in the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight up no nonsense on Grizzly bears October 12, 2012

By Donald Hanley

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a well done documentary on what happens to those attacked by Grizzly bears. . all of it. . gory at times. What is most impressive is the way the author interviews the victims (those that lived) and the discussion on why it happened. I have spent lots of time out in Grizzly country and after reading this book - will think differently about my relationship with this most magnificent animal.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars McMillion bites hard January 20, 2012

By Bman

Format:Paperback

If you're a backpacker, hunter, or Yellowstone tourist, this is a must read. McMillion is a true journalist who knows how to interview victims and scientists, examine the evidence and tell a good story. The updated version presents recent events in Grizzly Bearville, and it shows that McMillion never stops exploring a subject. His writing style is like having a best friend over for beer and a round of horseshoes. Plenty of good times in those paragraphs. I was brought up in the backwoods and thought I knew something about Grizzly Bears. I learned more about Grizzly Bears from McMillion's book than I did in 50 years of kicking rocks down the trail in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Thinking of hiking Glacier National Park or Jellystone, best put this book in your airline carry-on. I've learned to respect these magnificent animals because of this book. Give it a read. You can't go wrong.