Rating: 
Summary: Bear Attacks: Life's manual for living with bears
Review: Stephen Herrero has done an excellent job of illustrating and teaching the average "Joe" about bear psychology. He not only touches grizzly bear pyschology, characteristics, and behavior but includes, in great detail, how one can understand black bears as well. The book tends to be detailed in its descriptions of the attacks, but it is necessary to better understand how to protect oneself better in the rare case of an attack. His book is a great read that I recommend to anyone to better understand how to live with and understand bears that inhabit the contiguous United States and Canada. It will grab any individual who just wants to learn more about bears or individuals involved with bear management in all locations.
Rating: 
Summary: As expert as anyone can be on this subject.
Review: Stephen Herrero's "Bear Attacks : Their Causes and Avoidance" is a good, serious, informative, bear attack read. The presentation is more scientific than literary and the book could have been written in a more captivating style, however. It's hard to imagine a book dedicated to true to life bear attacks that wouldn't keep outdoorsmen up at night, flipping page after page, but this is that book. If you'd like to combine true bear attack stories with a more masterful literary style, try Scott McMillion's "Mark of the Grizzly".Those who go on to read more by Herrero about bear attacks (legal documents, etc.) will find that he ultimately admits that this is far from an exact science too. In his testimony as expert witness in the Mt. Lemon (Arizona) attack, Herrero contradicts some of the most fundamental premises found in this book. Read this book, by all means, but before entering bear country, keep in mind that sometimes bears will do the unexpected. After all, what's the difference between black bear poop and grizzly bear poop? Griz poop has bells in it and smells like pepper.
Rating:
Summary: As expert as anyone can be on this subject.
Review: Stephen Herrero's "Bear Attacks : Their Causes and Avoidance" is a good, serious, informative, bear attack read. The presentation is more scientific than literary and the book could have been written in a more captivating style, however. It's hard to imagine a book dedicated to true to life bear attacks that wouldn't keep outdoorsmen up at night, flipping page after page, but this is that book. If you'd like to combine true bear attack stories with a more masterful literary style, try Scott McMillion's "Mark of the Grizzly". Those who go on to read more by Herrero about bear attacks (legal documents, etc.) will find that he ultimately admits that this is far from an exact science too. In his testimony as expert witness in the Mt. Lemon (Arizona) attack, Herrero contradicts some of the most fundamental premises found in this book. Read this book, by all means, but before entering bear country, keep in mind that sometimes bears will do the unexpected. After all, what's the difference between black bear poop and grizzly bear poop? Griz poop has bells in it and smells like pepper.
Rating:
Summary: Very Informative
Review: This is a great book with lots of info not only about bear attacks, but about their behavior in general. There are different circumstances in a bear attack depending of the type of bear, whether the bear is startled or looking for a meal. This book explains eveything for you, even how to recognize the tracks of the different bears. The author is careful not to make assumptions and speculations, but just to present known facts and conclusions. He won't say that a certain response to a bear attack will or will not always work, but just how it has worked in the past. I would be interested to know about Polar Bear attacks, which is not covered in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Informative
Review: This is a great book with lots of info not only about bear attacks, but about their behavior in general. There are different circumstances in a bear attack depending of the type of bear, whether the bear is startled or looking for a meal. This book explains eveything for you, even how to recognize the tracks of the different bears. The author is careful not to make assumptions and speculations, but just to present known facts and conclusions. He won't say that a certain response to a bear attack will or will not always work, but just how it has worked in the past. I would be interested to know about Polar Bear attacks, which is not covered in the book.
Rating:
Summary: informative scientific review
Review: This is a great book. I love to hike in bear country and feel much more prepared now that I have read it. Herrero presents his data in both a scientific and honest way careful not to overstate what we do or don't know about bears. He is clearly the world's authority on bear behavior as he has been on site after nearly every bear attack in north america in the past 30 years. He describes in detail (often gorry but necessarily so) what happened in each account and provides a critique of what the injured did or did not do correctly in the given situation. Clearly anyone who reads this book will be better prepared to enter bear country with both respect for bears and how to avoid confrontation. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Invaluable information about a fascinating animal
Review: This is a great book. I have read it several times since I spend a fair amount of time hunting and hiking in the remote areas of B.C. I do not hunt bears, yet I feel the need to understand them as much as I can so that I might be able to avoid difficult and dangerous encounters with them. Indeed, I have had reason to put into practice some of the strategies in the book. I have found the practical applications in this book to have been very helpful as I have de-fused a couple of potentially dangerous incidents. Before making any trip into the wilds where bears might roam, I pull out this book to review and refresh. I believe the things I have gleaned from it have saved me from injury and possibly even from death. This is an interesting book which is relatively easy to read, but is not simplistic or insulting in its presentation. Herrero is to be commended for a very informative, comprehensive, yet understandable product. The accounts of the attacks are not sensationalized nor are they over-dramatized. Herrero does not exploit the victims nor their tragic injuries for the purpose of creating excessive fear or to generate some kind of false hysteria in the reader. This is not "Jaws" for bears. It is a scientific account blended with real-life stories of successful and unsuccessful encounters with a beautiful, powerful, unpredictable, and very dangerous animal. Whenever I am wandering bear country, whether armed with a rifle or not, I realize that the bear is the king of the forest, not me. I commend Herrero for writing a book which is so valuable, informative, and practical.
Rating:
Summary: informative scientific review
Review: This is a great book. I love to hike in bear country and feel much more prepared now that I have read it. Herrero presents his data in both a scientific and honest way careful not to overstate what we do or don't know about bears. He is clearly the world's authority on bear behavior as he has been on site after nearly every bear attack in north america in the past 30 years. He describes in detail (often gorry but necessarily so) what happened in each account and provides a critique of what the injured did or did not do correctly in the given situation. Clearly anyone who reads this book will be better prepared to enter bear country with both respect for bears and how to avoid confrontation. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Bear Book Hall of Famer
Review: This is it!! The authoritative piece of literature on avoiding bear attacks. An absolute must for anyone who travels or works in bear country, especially grizzly bear country. I have over 350 books and publications on bears and refer to this book when friends want advice on their next hike in bear country. I learned how really useless "bear bells" are in bear country and that in itself might have saved me from many "ugly" encounters of suprising a grizzly bear on the trail. Sometimes it is only one small bit of advice that "saves" you from so many problems in life and this book is full of great advice.
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