Rating: 
Summary: Timothy Treadwell: Eaten by a bear
Review: On March 2, 2000 reviewer Stephen Stringham from Alaska wrote this about Tim and his book;
"Wandering among a herd of black angus cattle is riskier." Well, poor old Tim Treadwell would have to diagree with that now, he was killed and partially eaten by bears in Alaska last week. This is from the Anchorage Daily News: "Katmai park rangers who went Monday to retrieve the remains of Treadwell and Huguenard (his girlfriend) -- both of whom were largely eaten -- ended up killing two bears near the couple's campsite. Katmai superintendent Deb Liggett said she was deeply troubled by the whole episode. "The last time I saw Timothy, I told him to be safe out there and that none of my staff would ever forgive him if they had to kill a bear because of him,'' she said. "I kind of had a heart-to-heart with him. I told him he was teaching the wrong message. "This is unfortunate, (but) I'm not surprised. It really wasn't a matter of if; it was just a matter of when.'' Shame, the guy meant well, but pushed the envelope a little too far. Better buy the book, I don't think anyone else will be filming bears so close up for some time.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the Decency???
Review: At least Timothy Treadwell died doing something that he loved. How many of you "reviewers" can say that you even have a reason to wake up eary morning???? I think it's pretty pitiful that so many people lack compassion and respect. Whether his approach was right or wrong, there is still something called human decency. Basing the validity of his work on how he died may be just as unfair as anyone who gets killed in the process of helping others (police,teachers) or those who just die doing what they love (race car drivers, athletes). Have respect for family members and friends who may read these reviews...
Rating:
Summary: Great guy; not much of a book
Review: People seem to have difficulty seperating Tim Treadwell the person from Tim Treadwell the author and Tim Treadwell the guy who was killed and eaten by a bear.
There's no question in my mind that Treadwell was a sweet, tender man who cared passionately about bears. Few people on the planet have anywhere near the amount of up close and personal experience with bears that Treadwell had. Treadwell's years among grizzlies are testimony to his expertise--and the tolerance of bears.
In Among Grizzlies, I think Treadwell hyped the idea that he was protecting bears in Katmai National Park from poachers. Poaching along the coast of Katmai was a non-issue before Treadwell arrived, and it was non-issue when he was there. In Among Grizzlies, Treadwell hyped the danger posed by the grizzlies he lived with. He failed to explain why it was reasonably safe for him to get so close to coastal bears, while the same behavior in Yellowstone or Glacier would be suicidal. He did a great job of self-promontion, but a lousy job of using his experience to educate people about bears.
In Among Grizzlies, Treadwell would have one encounter with a bear, he'd name the bear Cuddles or Fluffy or whatever, and then, a year later, he'd meet a bear and claim he recognized Cuddles. He suggested that Cuddles recognized him. I don't buy it. The fur coat of a bear changes dramatically from season to season and year to year. Their weight varies a lot, too. I think bears that spend months or years in the company of the same person "recognize" that person (biologist Terry DeBruyn in Walking With Bears), but no bear is going to remember a person it met for a few fleeting moments. Treadwell's book is filled with inappropriate anthropomorphism. When Treadwell describes his relationships with bears, I think he goes too far too fast. He's making assumptions about what a bear thinks, and he may or may not be correct.
Treadwell had thousands of interactions with bears over the years, maybe tens of thousands of interactions. Then one encounter went haywire. That doesn't make Treadwell a flake or a nut. If you have 10,000 interactions with people on the streets of New York, odds are at least one of those encounters will go haywire. That doesn't mean you should lock yourself in your apartment. That doesn't mean all people are evil or behave badly, and Treadwell's death doesn't mean all bears are evil or behave badly.
Despite my criticisms of Treadwell, I admire him for opening the door a crack and looking into the heart and soul of bears.
Rating:
Summary: Where is the Decency???
Review: At least Timothy Treadwell died doing something that he loved. How many of you "reviewers" can say that you even have a reason to wake up eary morning???? I think it's pretty pitiful that so many people lack compassion and respect. Whether his approach was right or wrong, there is still something called human decency. Basing the validity of his work on how he died may be just as unfair as anyone who gets killed in the process of helping others (police,teachers) or those who just die doing what they love (race car drivers, athletes). Have respect for family members and friends who may read these reviews...
Rating: 
Summary: A dangerous and misguided book
Review: Treadwell represents pretty much what all Alaskans hate about the "environmental movement." He was from outside, Malibu no less! He was arrogant. He openly derided Alaskans with far, far more experience dealing with the great bears than he had. He came here only for the warm season, and promptly fled at first snow fall. He accused Alaskans of being poachers, though he never provided any evidence to back up his claims. He even claimed Alaskans were trying to kill him, again with no supporting evidence. These allegations were either the product of a deranged mind or the cold efforts of a con artists to raise money from naive audiences in the lower 48. His actions led directly to the deaths of two bears, killed in self-defense by rangers coming to collect his remains. Both bears charged the rangers. Put this in perspective. Even big brown bears (they were NOT repeat NOT "grizzly bears") will typically run off a kill when humans come. They are terrified of us. Something had conditioned these bears to lose their fear of humans. That something was Treadwell himself, and his constant efforts to make the brownies feel he was no threat. As a result those bears died. So far from saving "his" bears, Treadwell ensured that two would be killed. Now the entire area must be sealed off since the current generation of bears there no longer fear humans.
Rating: 
Summary: Publicity Seeking Charlatan
Review: Timothy Treadwell got his wish. Sad, but true. And his adventure was shared by a 37 year old WOMAN, not an innocent girl, who made her choice to be there. It is too bad that such misguided "Eco-nuts" end up damaging the very bears that they allegedly wanted to "protect" from the nasty hunters. Ending up as bear scat (feces) is not an admirable goal, and one has to question both the sanity and motivation of this "eco-maniac" who displayed more ego than eco.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: "Among Grizzlies" is a inspiring book. A man, both cowardly and brave, goes to live with the great grizzly bears of Alaska, to fight his own personal demons, and to learn about the most feared animal on earth. He learns to love and respect and eventually protect the glorious beasts that once roamed the entire North American continent. His tales of face to face meetings with the grizzlys are intense, and his tales of 'hunters' killing these noble animals for profit and fun is sickening. However, the most sickening experience was reading some of the reviews on Amazon.com. Some people try to diminsh the author's contributions to our understanding of these awesome animals. Timothy Treadwell truly is a man who deserves respect and praise for raising awareness to the plight of our wildlife. Especially now that there are some greedy, soulless humans (a.k.a. republicans) who want to open up oil drilling in Alaska. Read this book and learn.
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