Mark of the Bear - Hardcover

Sierra Club

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0871569035 ISBN 13: 9780871569035

Publisher: Sierra Club Books, 1996

The Tracks Disappeared as the bear walked out of the thin snow, as the new snow disappeared into open patches of sun. I thought of how the mild sun must feel on his thick coat ... I thought of the sweeping length of his claws. How can the world still have such a wondrous beast in it -- just on the edge of surviving, but still here? -- Rick Bass

Powerful, fierce, and magnificent, the Bear is the subject of myths and legends -- an animal that strikes in us a sense of fear, caution and curiosity. Portrayed in folklore and fiction as naive yet intelligent, forgiving yet vicious, the Bear transcends all that divides man and animal, suggesting how alike we are, yet how fascinatingly different.

If we are lucky, we see the Bear through its tell-tale signs -- a claw-scarred tree, the buried carcass of an elk or deer, or the chewed remains of a salmon left along a mountain stream. But we come to know the Bear through those who have encountered them, those who have met the Bear face-to-face and survived.

Mark of the Bear is a remarkable collection of ten original and previously published essays by leading American nature it is a tribute to the spirit of this American icon though Filled with spectacular full-color of the nation's best nature and Mark of the Bear provides a unique personal encounters with these living with these living legends.

Natural historian Paul Schullery is the author of many books and articles on nature, natural history, and Americana, including The Bears of Yellowstone, Glacier & Waterton: Land of Hanging Valleys, American Fly Fishing: A History, and the critically acclaimed Mountain Time. Schullery is an avid wilderness supporter who has observed bears for many years while living and working in Yellowstone National Park. Adjunct professor of history at Montana State University, past executive director, and now trustee emeritus of The American Museum of Fly Fishing, Schullery divides his backcountry time between Glacier and his home park of Yellowstone.

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From the Back Cover:

... I fell asleep on my back ... and awoke some time later to a darkness in the tent doorway.... I made out a black shape hovering above me. Actually I think it was the terrible smell that woke me.... I fought the urge to shrink toward the back of the tent.... So there I lay, inhaling the stink, until the darkness moved away. -- Jeremy Schmidt

Midway in its crashing leaps the bear suddenly froze motionless. A vagrant down-scent had carried Hosea's location to its nose. It rose on hind feet and for ten long seconds looked upward to study the face of the enemy.

-- Frank Dufresne

It was quite late in the afternoon. ... A grizzly had been at the during the preceding night, were in the ground all around it, and the carcass itself was gnawed and torn, and partially covered with earth and leaves... -- Theodore Roosevelt

... Suddenly there was a roar, and I heard a huffing and the sound of animals running through the brush. The sow broke into the open a hundred feet in front of me and raced across the saddle. The tiny cub struggled with the brush. ...The Black Grizzly gained ground until his jaws were but a yard from the cub's hindquarters.... -- Duog Peacock

I envied them their power, their speed, knew them to be faster than our fastest horse, understood that they could usually scent me more accurately than I could sight them. I was fully aware that if I was unlucky, on uncareful, that a bear might kill me.

-- Mark Spragg

From Booklist:

Bears are among the most popular animals, and this book of photos and essays will satisfy the most particular ursophiles. Divided into sections, the text runs the gamut from classic nature writing (Ernest Thompson Seton and Theodore Roosevelt) through factual essay (Frank Dufresne and Gretel Ehrlich) to philosophical musings (Barry Lopez and Mark Spragg). All the authors write with reverence about the bears found in North America: the grizzly and black and polar bears. The majority of the authors have chosen to write about grizzly bears, which, owing to their large size and fierce nature, seem to capture the nature of the wilderness. The photographs, all taken by well-known photographers (Jeff Foott, Thomas Mangelsen, and Tom and Pat Leeson), do not so much illustrate the essays as add to them, their captions providing some insight and information on bear behavior. Though this is not a factual book per se, it still has value as a secondary source. Those with a passion for bears will find an equal passion in this collection. Nancy Bent

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