A Shape in the Dark: Living and Dying with Brown Bears

by Bjorn Dihle

Overview

"With its vivid prose, this moving homage to Alaska and those who live there really hits home."― Publishers Weekly

2021 Banff Mountain Book Award finalist in Mountain Environment and Natural History

2021 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Silver Winner in Nature

In A Shape in the Dark, wilderness guide and lifelong Alaskan Bjorn Dihle weaves personal experience with historical and contemporary accounts to explore the world of brown bears--from encounters with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, frightening attacks including the famed death of Timothy Treadwell, the controversies related to bear hunting, the animal’s place in native cultures, and the impacts on the species from habitat degradation and climate change. Much more than a report on human-bear interactions, this compelling story intimately explores our relationship with one of the world’s most powerful predators. An authentic and thoughtful work, it blends outdoor adventure, history, and elements of memoir to present a mesmerizing portrait of Alaska’s brown bears and grizzlies, informed by the species’ larger history and their fragile future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680513103
Publisher:	Mountaineers Books, The
Publication date:	02/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Writer and wilderness and wildlife film guide, Bjorn Dihle is a contributing editor for Alaska Magazine and Hunt Alaska Magazine and has been published in Outdoor Life, Sierra, High Country News, and Birdwatching, among others. He is the author of two books, Haunted Inside Passage: Ghosts, Mysteries, and Legends of Southeast Alaska and Never Cry Halibut: And Other Alaska Hunting and Fishing Tales. A native of Southeast Alaska, he lives on Douglas Island with his family.

Table of Contents

Prologue 9

Introduction 13

Part I

1 The Skin of the Bear 19

2 Blood Trails 30

3 California 41

4 The Man Who Killed Bears 50

5 Breath of Wilderness 61

6 Killer of Beasts 70

7 Doonerak 79

8 Alaska Bear Wars 86

9 The Ghost of Hasselborg 95

10 Wilderness Lost 105

Interlude 113

Part II

11 Pray 119

12 The Woman Who Married a Bear 135

13 Meat 144

14 Wilderness of Brown Bears 155

15 The Trail to the Mountains 168

16 Trust 176

17 Brotherhood of the Bear 184

18 The Grandfather Trail 189

Acknowledgments 199

Select Bibliography 201

Editorial Reviews

10/26/2020

Wilderness guide Dihle creates a wide-ranging portrait of brown bears in this adventurous collection of essays. The book, Dihle writes, is “about our relationship with brown bears,” though it’s also an ode to Alaskan wilderness as his home state becomes “more encroached upon.” His experiences run between panic and reverence in the face of the “incredibly muscled and poised” animal, and interspersed with his encounters are profiles of past adventurers and their relationships with bears. Among them are John “Grizzly” Adams (it’s “unlikely that anyone has been mauled by bears more” than him, Dihle notes); Theodore Roosevelt (who “famously refused to kill a bear”); and hunting guide Ralph Young (who said he loved his wife but “loved the bears more”). In one touching moment, Dihle reveals that he named his son after the Shiras grizzlies from southeast Alaska: “When he is older, I will tell him the story of his name. How the government and corporations wanted to clear-cut and build roads across Admiralty.” He creates memorable portraits of fellow explorers, but where Dihle’s writing shines is in his unwavering appreciation of and commitment to preserving bears’ wild habitat: “Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.” With its vivid prose, this moving homage to Alaska and those who live there really hits home. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

[A Shape in the Dark] offers thoughtful, nuanced depictions of human-bear interactions from both centuries ago and the modern day. The book tells a series of bear stories—each chapter is generally self-contained, but past stories are occasionally referenced—that show an evolving understanding.

Juneau Empire - Ben Hohenstatt

For hunters, environmentalists and those who want to know more about Alaska’s brown bears, this is a memorable portrait and call to save the species for future generations.

The Cordova Times - Margaret Bauman

What differentiates this book—part history, part adventure narrative—are its striking prose and stoic sensibility. Here, grizzlies appear as “gothic monsters in the rain and mist,” and their tracks “radiate with death.” By resisting sensationalism, Dihle comes across as a convincing authority on everything from terrifying bear maulings to conservation legislation to trekking through bear country.

Outside - Rose Hansen

Approaching nature from a personal perspective, Bjorn Dihle’s A Shape in the Dark overturns the media myth of brown bears as vicious, deranged killers, constructing a poignant portrait of the creatures that recognizes their true complexity.

Foreword Reviews

To walk in the land of the mighty grizzly bear is to delve into the wild of our being. Bjorn Dihle takes us on this journey, exploring those who walked before him, and praying that those who follow can discover their own true nature.

Amy Gulick

Brown bears, in this case, are the means to present an inquiry into his own life of adventure, American environmental history, Alaska’s bear people and places, bear mythology and facts, and more. While the book generally addresses the relationship between humans and brown bears, it comes at the topic from a variety of angles chiefly informed by the author’s own experience and knowledge.

Anchorage Daily News - Nancy Lord

A Shape in the Dark is an at times terrifying, but always thoughtful and vivid portrayal of America’s storied history with brown bears. You’ll find yourself listening for a twig to snap or alder to sway as Bjorn Dihle transports you to another world, one where you are not at the top of the food chain. These tales will stick with you long after you close the book.

Alex Messenger

A Shape in the Dark is a page-turner, enhanced by Dihle’s intimate knowledge of the coastal Alaskan landscape and its wildlife. It’s also a call for action to rediscover Roosevelt’s passion for public lands, Peacock’s practical empathy for wildlife conservation, and Aldo Leopold’s sage acknowledgement that humans are part of the landscape, not removed from it.

Men's Journal - Conor Mihell

Unflinchingly authentic, intensely personal, artfully told, and deeply moving, A Shape in the Dark ranks as not only one of the best bear books, but one of the greatest Alaska books ever.

Nick Jans

Part memoir, part history lesson, ‘A Shape in the Dark’ crafts a thoughtful portrait of brown bears in Alaska.

CoastAlaska - Jacob Resneck

Riveting.... Dihle is a good storyteller and a fine writer.

National Parks Traveler - John Miles

Exceptionally well written, impressively informative, and an inherently fascinating read throughout, 'A Shape in the Dark: Living and Dying with Brown Bears' is a unique, extraordinary, and unreservedly recommended addition.

Midwest Book Review

Guaranteed to have you fascinated all the way through and leave you with new perspectives on one of North America’s most captivating wild creatures.

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers - Zack Williams

12/01/2020

Dihle, contributing editor for Alaska Magazine and Hunt Alaska Magazine, has penned a homage to the brown, or grizzly, bear. In this personal account that also offers plenty of scientific detail, he shares how the bear reached the North American continent and documents contacts with explorers, settlers, and mountain men throughout the years. Described encounters with the bears engendered respect, and often didn't end well for either the men or the bears. The author explains how the bears were all but wiped out in the lower 48 states by bounty hunters to protect loggers and ranchers and their flocks, but conservationists and hunters later worked to protect them. Woven throughout the book are enthralling poetic memories centered on exploring the Alaskan wilderness, observing grizzlies and other wildlife. VERDICT A lyrically written tribute to the grizzly that will appeal to readers who enjoy books about the history of exploration, grizzly bears, and wilderness areas as well as those whose hobbies include hiking, hunting, or learning more about the natural world. Suggest to those who enjoyed Down from the Mountain by Bryce Andrews.—Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove, IL

Library Journal