The Great Bear: Contemporary Writings on the Grizzly

Bears haven't had the happiest of times in the last two centuries; like wolves and elephants, they serve as unhappy symbols of the failure of humans to come to terms with the natural world. John Murray, a prolific anthologist, gathers recent writing on one species, the grizzly, Ursus horribilis, in The Great Bear. Among other contributors, Rick Bass makes an appearance on the trail of a Montana giant. Ed Abbey, Doug Peacock, John McPhee, and Adolph Murie focus on remote areas in Alaska where grizzlies still enjoy large, mostly untroubled territories; and Aldo Leopold recounts a meeting with Old Ephraim high atop a mountain on the Arizona-New Mexico line. Murray's anthology is good bedside reading for bear enthusiasts.