The Blue Bear: A True story of Friendship, Tragedy, and Survival in the Alaskan Wilderness Book

In The Blue Bear wildlife guide Lynn Schooler writes, "People step into the [Alaskan] landscape and vanish without a trace." The book is an ode to the wild beauty of the Alaskan coast, an unusual friendship and a mysterious bear with fur the colour of "burnished metal". Schooler spent a decade searching for the elusive blue (or glacier) bear with Michio Hoshino, Japan's pre-eminent wildlife photographer. Hoshino was a gentle genius who would sit still for hours, his face swelling from mosquito bites, for the perfect photograph, and who had the same patience and consideration for a bruised heart like Schooler's. Schooler had lost all ability to trust, scarred first by the scorn of classmates for his twisted body and finally by the brutal murder of the woman he loved. But as a guide--both for wildlife photographers and for readers of this evocative and gracefully composed memoir--he richly reveals the place that sustains him. Schooler makes remarkable connections between whales and the complex workings of old-growth forests, between glaciers dropping 100-foot columns of ice into waiting fjords and the breathing of the planet. Ultimately, though, it is Hoshino's death by a bear that finally enables Schooler to make peace with humanity and death. This is a quiet, profound gem. --Lesley ReedRead More