Incredible Bear Attacks: Terrifying Tales of Savage Encounters between Bears and People.

by Lamar Underwood (Editor)

A new book by Lamar Underwood about the most incredible bear attacks ever, including attacks by Grizzlies, black bears, brown bears, Kodiac bears, and others. Bears are not to be trifled don’t ever feed them, shout at them, or try to play with them. This book is about people who have had nasty—and often fatal—encounters with all different kinds of bears.

Genres: Nonfiction

284 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published March 4, 2025.

1.5 stars.

Who can make a book about bear attacks unbearably dull? Lamar Underwood is your man (should you need him.) This was so, so disappointing. I was hoping for “Grizzly Man” in print and, instead, got looooong section of Lewis and Clark’s diaries where they mention each. And. Every. Animal. They. Saw. Which made sense at the time, but doesn’t really make for fascinating reading today, and then a bunch more historical stuff that is also more about hunting with a quick note that the bear came after them or something. I thought this would never be over and I only kept reading because I was hoping there was good stuff to come. There wasn’t. The two only slightly interesting articles were at the beginning. Go rewatch (or watch) “Grizzly Man” instead….dont waste your time here.

Also read as part of Book Riot’s 2025 Read Harder Challenge #12 Read a nonfiction book about nature or the environment.

[Ceeceereads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story about a horrific bear attack on a lone female camper was completely gripping and very well written. When I started the second story, it was a little disappointing to find the tone had changed completely and it was instead diary excepts from a time long past, the perspective of bear hunters. It was interesting enough and I read on. There was another completely fascinating story about a male hiker/ photographer who made a tragic error of judgement when trying to get the perfect picture. A fictional short story was added to the mix, not sure why but I initially thought it was non fiction.

Then lots more 1800s bear hunting stories which were not as interesting as the 2 bear attack stories mentioned above. I found it pretty sad to be honest. The relentless hunting of bears, even female sows and cubs. What an awful history bears have with humans.

Overall I thought this would be better than it was. If it had of focused on the bear attack stories, it would have been far more interesting. It didn’t seem as coherent as it could have been as the different types of bear stories were a bit mish mash.

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

This had some interesting parts and many parts that felt like they didn’t really fit with what I was expecting. The historical parts were informative, but felt a little more drawn out and harder to stay focused on. I also felt that the title was a little misleading based on the content in some of the chapters. The kid in me that grew up watching nature documentaries about close encounters and reading animal books enjoyed many of the stories in this book, but overall I was expecting more current/recent stories of bear encounters. One thing is for sure, I definitely don’t want to cross paths with a polar bear! Thank you to the author, The Globe Peqot Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the ARC.

[Kelsie · Rating 1 out of 5]

How do you make a bear attack book boring? Well follow Lamar Underwood's structure.
1) Lure in the audience with a gut wrenching tale of a Swiss woman visiting Yellowstone Park who follows all precautions but still gets attacked & killed by a bear. Hard stuff to read. You'll trick your readers into thinking they're in for a real,'edge of your seat', intense type stories of bear attacks.
2) Your next chapter is going to be 30 odd pages taken from Lewis & Clark's journals, written in hard to read English, make sure to mention bears, but focus mostly on the animals Lewis & Clark find & kill. Maybe to make it fall under the 'bear attack' category, include a few times a bear charged at them & how they unfortunately survived.
3) To trick your readers into thinking that was one off, include a very short chapter on a man that got killed by a bear. A sad chapter but still intense!
4) Next chapter go back to mundane history that doesn't really include incredible bear attacks.
5) Because you really were disappointed in the lack on interest people had for your bear novel, be sure to include a long excerpt of a fictional bear attack you wrote once.
6) You realise you might be pushing it with the lack on 'incredible bear attacks' so include a polar bear attack that will bring your readers back. It'll be real tense & dramatic stuff!
7) You now realise you've no more bear attack stories to include, so from now on you put two very large chapters about Theodore Roosevelt hunting animals & his encounter with the ocassional bear, then maybe the next chapter some boring historical shit, maybe the next chapter you can include your own review of the film The Revenant because why the fuck not? Then the last three chapters more boring historical shit of people hunting animals who sometimes encounter a bear.
I'm shelving this as 'did not finish' because I skipped soooooo many chapters. Truly, incredibly boring stuff. Literally three chapters out 13 where what I would consider 'incredible bear attacks' the rest were probably only interested in people who are either interested in the people who wrote the journal entires/authors or people who are interested in natural history, but if you bought it for scary bear attack stories then you're not in for a treat; do not go down into the woods today because you'll be sure of no surprises.
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[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bears are often misunderstood and therefore evoke a lot of negativity. Some people have the attitude that the only bear is a dead bear. How wrong they are! Bears try to avoid conflict with humans and usually react when surprised or when in protection mode (their cubs or food). Bears are powerful, curious, intelligent (they are capable of circling and surprising prey, then caching it and even playing dead) and beautiful. I have seen several bears in the wild and thankfully we have avoided eacn other. They should be respected and better understood. This book examines what happens when our worlds collide. It is an excellent reminder that one can be as cautious and prepared as possible and still suffer tragic consequences in the wild, in their environment. They are apex predators, after all.

Incredible Bear Attacks is a fascinating look at a few harrowing and gut wrenching attacks, historical documentation of bears during Lewis and Clark expeditions and what makes them tick. Included are experiences with species in addition to brown and grizzly bears, black bear hibernation (though I would have liked to see mention of torpor which is slightly different), and bear behavior. Humans remain their greatest threat.

Though there is no new information contained in this book for bear enthusiasts, it is still goosebump-inducing as bears are so majestic and enthralling. They leave me in awe.

[Denice Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having lived half of my life in areas frequented by bears, I sometimes wonder why I find books on the subject of bear attacks so interesting. Luckily, I've never appeared in one of these books as a victim. My husband and I both have read this book reecently and both found the stories realistic. The drama has NOT been increased to make the stories better. A bear attack story is not only horrifing, it should be at least a little educational. When you enter bear territory, you roll the dice. Great stories that we enjoyed immensely. Easy 5 stars.

[Jacqueline Hamlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the $

I did a preview and was interested enough to not wait for the price to drop, as I never go beyond $10 for a Kindle book. Paying over $20, I rhought I was in for original stories of bear attacks just like the first story. Not hunting stories previously told in long drawn out detail by the likes of Teddy Roosevelt and others, three of which stories filled most of the book. What a disappointment this book was.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley. I love a good animal attack book, but unfortunately this wasn't one. There are only 3 case studies of actual bear attackings ranging from the 1980s to early 2000s. The rest are excerpts from historical documents....giant yawn. The writing was pretty bad with lines such as "women like to be in nature". Skip this one and read some animal attack stories online or find a good podcast, such as "Get Out Alive".

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in the book. It only includes a few reports on bear attacks. Filler was the journals of Lewis and Clark and Theodore Roosevelt.

[Helen Frost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some superbly stunning scenery and backdrops and truly enlightening detail about creatures obviously to be wary and respectful of. I feel I learned a great deal about these beasts, in all their terrifying detail, I certainly don’t think I’d like to come across one in the wild…. The chilling details of bear attacks on humans is told in grisly, pun intended, detail so is certainly not for the faint hearted. Despite the gory and horrific deaths recounted it is hard not to be in awe of these magnificent creatures who fight to the bitter death and are immensely protective of their young. So much so that tales of human bear hunters and the vast number of bears that some of them slaughtered made me feel very sad.
A very enlightening read, some pictures would have been great, not of the actual attacks but as background info and scale. Tremendous read, would definitely recommend.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, just wow. This was a really good read. There are so many things that you should never do around bears, and this book highlights some of the incidents that occur when respect is not given to bears.

I really did not want to put this down. In some instances, I could not believe how people behaved, leading toward a more antagonistic approach, while others were unfortunate accidents. Truly, this was eye opening, and a great overall read.