With a new introduction on Werner Herzogs film entitled The Grizzly Man
Timothy Treadwell, self-styled bear whisperer dared to... read full description
reviews
Nov 13, 2007
Phayvanh
rated it: 
I read this after seeing the Grizzly Man movie, which I enjoyed for its low-key bizzareness, and I enjoyed this book so much more than the movie.
Nick Jans does his best to illuminate the Timothy Treadwell story by providing as much context as possible, including interviews with those who knew and loved him, as well as those who knew and despised him. Jans is also an Alaskan nature writer by trade, and it shows in his details and intimacy with the landscape, and especially about t More...
Nick Jans does his best to illuminate the Timothy Treadwell story by providing as much context as possible, including interviews with those who knew and loved him, as well as those who knew and despised him. Jans is also an Alaskan nature writer by trade, and it shows in his details and intimacy with the landscape, and especially about t More...
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Nov 20, 2011
dragonhelmuk
rated it: 
A very bad use of my £8! This book is actually really bad, without many redeeming features. It's based on a series of interviews and a collection of opinions gathered right after Treadwell's death, but it doesn't really give any information you cant find out in seconds on the internet. It reads very much like someone trying to make a quick buck after the death of a celebrity. Overall this is FAR FAR from any sort of biography, it cruises straight over his life and death with no detail whatsoever
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May 08, 2010
Matt
rated it: 
This book proved to be a very pleasant surprise. Nick Jans engages with the much-publicized story of Timothy Treadwell in a personal, honest, and complex way, seeking to neither glorify nor ridicule him. Treadwell comes across as complex, contradictory, and controversial, as it seems he was. He was passionate about bears but also foolhardy and endangered the very creatures he loved so much. Jans provides some interesting details about Treadwell's several attempts to re-invent himself, until
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May 04, 2010
Lisa
rated it: 
A much saner, lucid account of the Treadwell story. It finally dawned on me that neither author actually heard the infamous audio tape. The verbatims differ slightly where they should not differ at all. Neither admits to not hearing the tape first hand, either.
I do want to note that in the matter of WHY the camera was turned on, allegedly Treadwell had a line on an enormous financial payoff if he could produce footage of an attacking bear. This would not only explain the camera, it a More...
I do want to note that in the matter of WHY the camera was turned on, allegedly Treadwell had a line on an enormous financial payoff if he could produce footage of an attacking bear. This would not only explain the camera, it a More...
Sep 24, 2009
Kelly
rated it:
I'm going to have to put this one down half way, review it, and consider it read. This is really, really interesting stuff, and well written, too, but the description of the tragic death of Treadwell and his girlfriend are just overwhelming me. It's definitely not a "before bed" kind of read. In fact, the last time I picked it up, it was more like a "before bed and then not sleep until about 5 am, even after trying to read something else and watch some TV" kind of read.
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Sep 17, 2008
Liz (Consumed by Books)
rated it:
It's important to note that if you go into reading this book without seeing the movie Grizzly Man, I would imagine that it would be confusing. As it happens, I saw Grizzly Man this past spring, and this book is all about Timothy Treadwell, his interactions with bears, and other people's perspectives on this.
What this book does is to interview people about what happened with Timothy Treadwell and talk about the way he interacted with Alaskan Bears. It talks about why Treadwell stands out More...
What this book does is to interview people about what happened with Timothy Treadwell and talk about the way he interacted with Alaskan Bears. It talks about why Treadwell stands out More...
Sep 18, 2008
Nicole
rated it:
An interesting look at the man behind Grizzly Diaries. Treadwell and Huguenard's deaths must have been horrific and agonizing, and are certainly haunting to anyone who takes the time to really think about them. I would not wish such a horrible experience on anyone. That said, Treadwell should have seen it come because so many others did. He claimed to want to protect bears, yet he put them in danger by making them accustomed to his human presence. He wanted to "save" these bears, but h
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Aug 12, 2008
Deborah
rated it:
For reasons I have yet to pinpoint, I am fascinated with Treadwell. His life, his personality, the apparent dichotomy within him, the personal Treadwell, the private Treadwell and the way he reinvented himself. Oh yeah, and and all of those BEARS. With zero experience, zero training, and zero education in the field, he decided it was his destiny to spend months every year living in a tent amidst grizzly bears, studying them, protecting them, and taking some of the most incredible footage ever sh
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Feb 11, 2008
Katie
rated it:
I became interested in this story after seeing "Grizzly Man," a documentary, on The Discovery Channel. This was an decent book chronicling the life and death of Timothy Treadwell in a horrific grizzly bear attack that ultimately resulted in the deaths of two people and two bears. The author journalistically explores the incident and the events that led to it, through on-location research and extensive interviews. Timothy was a man who lived on the edge, and after 13 years of exposing h
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Apr 19, 2010
Shauna
rated it:
Good read, interesting, very educational when it comes to bears and their habits. I find I'm much more sympathetic to Timothy Treadwell and the fact that he went 13 years without an incident before his death. Parts of it dragged, though - the whole "how do we identify with bears and what do they mean to us" chapter was a real snore. The rest was interesting and while I can't say I loved it, I'd recommend it to anyone who saw the documentary and wanted to get a very even handed look
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May 16, 2008
P.
rated it:
This book tells of Timothy Treadwell's very spotted career and life as a modern-day 'hero'. Quite often, people start advocating and publicizing things and events for their own reasons. Such a one was Timothy Treadwell. His love of 'his' Grizzly bears was the core of his existence. But, as is detailed in the book in hand: 1. His assertion that he was 'protecting the bears from poachers' was false. 2. His assertion that he was protecting the bears from human interference was false. He wa
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Aug 14, 2010
Rebecca
rated it:
Timothy Treadwell is one of those people who certainly does bring the term "Darwin Award Winner" to life. In this biography, we get to see his obsession with bears, and what is essentially a life gone to ruin. It's just a great pity that he had to take another person's life along that bleak path. Well written, well researched and chilling.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_21673066...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_21673066...
Jun 14, 2008
Erin
rated it:
This book caught my eye because I loved the documentary "Grizzly Man" by the great Werner Herzog and Treadwell's story is rather fascinating. Jans refers to his "intertwining capacity for greatness and folly", and after having seen the movie and read the book, I would say that the scale tips toward folly.....like to 98% or so. Definitely a different vibe to the book versus the movie; the book's tone is more understanding and I enjoyed the distinct views.
My only More...
My only More...
Jun 28, 2010
Donna
rated it:
Timothy Treadwell's love of the grizzly bear was carried to an obsession level. His life was devoted to the grizzly, to the point where it actually cost him his life.
Nick Jan's did a great job putting together the story of Treadwell's life and treated the event of the couple's deaths with sensitivity, and yet accurate information.
Nick Jan's did a great job putting together the story of Treadwell's life and treated the event of the couple's deaths with sensitivity, and yet accurate information.
Aug 06, 2009
Melinda
rated it:
Excellent information about the Timothy Treadwell story. I gave it 4 stars for the muscular action writing and well-researched facts on bears. The author writes a bit "purple" towards the end, belaboring points he's already made, but overall this is a balanced and knowledgeable read, adding context to the Treadwell tale.
Mar 08, 2009
Beverly
rated it:
The story of one of the most idiotic men I have ever heard of, who thought he could become one of the bears.... oops. I have no sympathy for those who mess around with top predators, thinking they are smarter, faster, or more clever than the animals they are pestering.
Oct 08, 2008
Linnae
rated it:
Jans offers a fair portrayal of a complex man and his tragic death. He introduces Treadwell, separates fact from fiction on several accounts, and introduces a whole cast of characters--Treadwell's friends, a few enemies, and several others who had an opinion on who he was and what he was doing. As you might expect, also delves into some natural history on bears, and their relation to man. Leaves us with more questions than answers, but perhaps that is inevitable, given the way Treadwell's lif
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Dec 17, 2009
Dani
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I recently ranted about Treadwell in my journal after seeing Herzog's film Grizzly Man. I thought that this book would piss me off even more. Well, I was wrong. This is a more sympathetic view on Treadwell that is very well written. It doesn't absolve Treadwell of his actions but tries to explain his motives and how his path brought him to Alaska. The author recounts the discovery of the bodies of Treadwell and Huguenard and the aftermath. He interviews people who despised Treadwell and those wh
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Dec 17, 2008
RunRachelRun
rated it:
Please read this book and let me know, are you 1) enraged that Timothy put himself and his girlfriend in this situation, or 2) totally enamored by this crazy loon? I guess you can tell which one I picked...
Oct 03, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
Fascinating read about a guy that thought he was Grizzly Adams--that the laws and rules of nature did not apply to him. This was a fatal mistake for both he and his sort of girlfriend.
Aug 05, 2009
Michaela
rated it:
Read this awhile ago, but it came up in topic yesterday. I loved the book itself I was just peeved with Timothy Treadwell the entire time...but it's an excellent read.
Nov 16, 2008
Kat
rated it:
The cover originally caught my eye as I was browsing but I was drawn back to it in hopes of learning more about this bear from "underneath my bed". It is more than a recount of Treadwell's last moments or a judgement of the choices he made which lead to his and Amie's deaths. Jans offers interpretations of the evidence, first person interview information from several of the park and law enforcement personnel involved in the original rescue attempt. I may have been looking for THE answe
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Nov 10, 2008
Phil
rated it:
I've finally finished thee book and WOW, it is good. At first we learn about tim's history, how he went to college for swimmin and injures his back. Then he turns to drugs and messes his life up for a while. Later on we finally learn about the grizzly maze and More about Tim tredwell. This book is just so interestinig. How he gives the bears names and plays with them, swims with them and looks out for them, or so he thouoght. Then one day Tim and his girlfriend are killed by a grizzly. There was
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Jul 05, 2010
Colin
rated it:
This is a heartfelt but objective study of Treadwell's controversial field-research and violent death at 47 in 2003. Weirdly, it was Letterman who played the prophet when he told Treadwell on his show: Is it going to happen that one day we read a news article about you being eaten by one of these bears?"
Oct 30, 2008
Sherry (sethurner)
rated it:
My husband and I had just rented the documentary Grizzly Man when a book group decided to read this book. I was fascinated by the interviews and research Nick Jans did to recreate the personality of Timothy Treadwell, and to look at the way Treadwell used his vision and drive to pull other people into his scheme for "saving" the grizzlies. I found out more about grizzlies and black bears than I ever thought I wanted to know. In the end the book succeeded for me on both an intellectu
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Apr 16, 2008
Jenett
rated it:
As part of ongoing reading about bears - I'd read this when it orginally came out, but wanted to read it again, because (in and around the specific story), there are some fascinating looks both at bear interactions with humans, and the different factions of thought about how you deal with that.
This time through, I found the last chapter (which looks at some brand-new-at-publication information about bear research, and specifically bear attacks - that is utterly intriguing (and that More...
This time through, I found the last chapter (which looks at some brand-new-at-publication information about bear research, and specifically bear attacks - that is utterly intriguing (and that More...
Nov 12, 2007
Chris
rated it:
This book tries to piece together the life of Timothy Treadwell in Alaska. The author tries to provide some balance between his fact-gathering and what is portrayed in the movie Grizzly Man, by Werner Herzog, and show us the real Timothy. It also reads as something of a confession about the author's fear of bears and the steps he took to try and conquer that fear. It ends on a bit of a low note where the author gives the facts on bear attacks in attempts to balance out or downplay the horrors de
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