Bears : A Brief History / Bernd Brunner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brunner, Bernd, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bears--History.

Bears.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (270 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2007]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE .Tracking the Paths of Bears

CHAPTER TWO. Transformations

CHAPTER THREE. The Mystery of the Cave Bear

CHAPTER FOUR. False Steps

CHAPTER FIVE. Exotic Discoveries

CHAPTER SIX. The Bear's Personality

CHAPTER SEVEN. Sounds, Senses, Signals

CHAPTER EIGHT. Bears as Pets

CHAPTER NINE. An Observer in Eastern Siberia

CHAPTER TEN. Face to Face

CHAPTER ELEVEN. Hunters and Hunted

CHAPTER TWELVE. The Inuit and Polar Bears

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. Closer Than Close

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. Bears on Show

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. Bear Substitutes

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. "Bearanoia"

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Bibliographic Essay

Selected Bibliography

Index

Credits

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780300150230

0300150237

OCLC:

884499519