Bears: A Brief History - Hardcover

Brunner, Bernd

3.72

170 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300122993 ISBN 13: 9780300122992

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2007

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This engaging book examines the shared history of people and bears. Hopscotching through history, literature, and science, Bernd Brunner presents a rich compendium of the interactions between the two species and explores how bears have become central figures in our inventory of myths and dreams. He reveals the remarkable extent to which human feelings about bears have been and still are mixed. People have venerated, killed, caressed, tortured, nurtured, eaten, worshipped, and despised bears. Interestingly, the varied dealings of humans with bears raise the same question over and again: do our images of bears have much in common with the animal as it really is?

The book uncovers new and little-known stories and facts about bears in European, North American, Japanese, Russian, and South and Southeast Asian cultures. Taken together, these perspectives show us new things about the animals we thought we knew so well. Quirky and bizarre anecdotes, scientific information on bears threatened with extinction in some areas, a discussion of the phenomenon of bearanoia,” and more than one hundred historical illustrations contribute to this unique account of the shared history between bears and humans and the continuing presence of bears in our personal and collective dreams.

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About the Author:

Bernd Brunner, a graduate of the Free University of Berlin and Berlin School of Economics, is an independent scholar, freelance writer, and editor of nonfiction books. He is the author of The Ocean at Home: An Illustrated History of the Aquarium. Lori Lantz received a Ph.D. in comparative literature from UCLA and attended the Free University of Berlin as a Fulbright Scholar.

Review:

"A fascinating exploration of how many cultures see bears as almost human."—Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Inquirer 2007-09-09)

“Bears is a much-welcomed book about the shared and surprising connections between two amazing animals. Bernd Brunner covers numerous matters—ursine-human—in an easy to read and compact work. Packed with facts, stories, and light humor, this book will have global appeal because bears appear universally in history, science, literature, religion, ritual, culture, and myth.”—Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals and Animals Matter
(Marc Bekoff)

"Bernd Brunner's book Bears: A Brief History is engaging and accessible. This book reminds us how poorly we treated bears in the past. Let's hope we can do better in the future."—Ben Kilham, Author of "Among the Bears"
(Ben Kilham)

“From the era of cavemen and cave bears, the author takes us on a well-informed romp through history and around the world, with some lovely illustrations of the discovery of the panda and hibernating polar bears. Bearly putdownable!”
—Good Book Guide (Good Book Guide 2009-03-01)

"Brunner's comprehensive book on the history of humans and their encounters with bears is one of the most complete that has been written. . . . The book is understandable and quite informative." —Joyce Tallman, Library Journal (Joyce Tallman Library Journal)

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