The Biography of a Grizzly

by Ernest Thompson Seton

Wahb fulfills the destiny of a silvertip grizzly bear in this reprint of Ernest Thompson Seton's classic, originally published in 1900. In vivid language and in seventy-five drawings, the author captures for a new generation of readers the freedom and danger, joy and pathos, of Wahb's life.

After his mother and siblings are shot by a cattle czar, Wahb grows up alone in the mountains of northwestern Wyoming. As a cub, he collects wounds and stores up hatred for omnipresent enemies—men and beasts. But in maturity he owns the territory. His arms can "toss pine logs like broomsticks"; his paws "with one tap" can "crush the biggest bull in the range"; and his claws can "tear huge slabs of rock from the mountainside." During summers at Yellowstone National Park he is on good behavior, except for his one intimidating visit to the hotel. Now his only enemies are time and the roachback grizzly who challenges his power.

Genres: Fiction, Nature, Animals, Natural History, Childrens, Young Adult, Environment

167 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Ernest Thompson Seton was a Scots-Canadian (and naturalized U.S. citizen) who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Seton also heavily influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. His notable books related to Scouting include The Birch Bark Roll and The Boy Scout Handbook. He is responsible for the strong influence of American Indian culture in the BSA.

He was born Ernest Evan Thompson in South Shields, County Durham (now part of South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear), England of Scottish parents and his family emigrated to Canada in 1866. As a youth, he retreated to the woods to draw and study animals as a way of avoiding his abusive father. He won a scholarship in art to the Royal Academy in London, England.

He later rejected his father and changed his name to Ernest Thompson Seton. He believed that Seton had been an important name in his paternal line. He developed a fascination with wolves while working as a naturalist for Manitoba. He became successful as a writer, artist and naturalist, and moved to New York City to further his career. Seton later lived at Wyndygoul, an estate that he built in Cos Cob, a section of Greenwich, Connecticut. After experiencing vandalism by the local youth, Seton invited them to his estate for a weekend where he told stories of the American Indians and of nature.

He formed the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 and invited the local youth to join. The stories became a series of articles written for the Ladies Home Journal and were eventually collected in the The Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians in 1906.

He was married twice. The first marriage was to Grace Gallatin in 1896. Their only daughter, Ann, was born in 1904 and died in 1990. Ann, who later changed her first name, became a best-selling author of historical and biographical novels as Anya Seton. According to her introduction to the novel Green Darkness, both of her parents were practicing Theosophists. Ernest and Grace divorced in 1935, and Ernest soon married Julia M. Buttree. Julia would write works by herself and with Ernest. They did not have any children, but did adopt an infant daughter, Beulah (Dee) Seton (later Dee Seton Barber), in 1938. Dee Seton Barber died in 2006.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

🏔️ I grew up with this book. Probably one of the reasons I longed to live in or very near the wilderness with its turquoise lakes and snow sculpted peaks and animals at liberty to roam.

It’s a wonderful book by a wonderful writer. Dad always said he felt sorry for Wahb and I do too. The story is good and strong, but bittersweet.

🌲 Seton wrote a number of superb books about the North American wilderness. I believe he ended his years in New Mexico.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I run in to grizzly bears on the trail sometimes while hiking in Glacier National Park. They always bound off in to the forest as they tend to be solitary creatures. Nevertheless these moments always leave me with a sense of wonder and appreciation for these terrifyingly beautiful creatures.

Having read 2 scientific books about grizzly bears and their habitat I was impressed with how accurate ETS's information in this story was. It was fun to be able to step in to the life of a grizzly, see what he sees, and feel what he might feel.

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4 stars!

I checked this book out of the library when I was ten years old. The story is told from an orphaned grizzly, Waub's point of view. Originally published in 1900 as "Biography of a Grizzly"; Disney made it into a movie in 1970. The book was republished in 1970 as "King of the Grizzlies".

Life is tough for Waub without Mama Grizzly. Plenty of danger in Yellow Stone. Follow Waub's adventures from a curious cub to a powerful adult. The story plucked every emotion my ten year old self could feel.

Wonderful YA animal story! They don't make 'em like this anymore.

[Eleanor Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most entertaining and vivid story I’ve ever read/listened to. Wahb is such a sweetie little bear. Def going to read more from this author

Also I found out he wrote this in 1900???!?!!?? Ahead of his time

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading one of the early editions with the wonderful drawings and plates. A big thank you to my sister-in-law for sending me this find.

[Carri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but very sad.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audio book on my phone, and at the end found myself in tears because of it's poignancy. Biography of a Grizzly is a heartfelt and also heartbreaking tale of an orphaned cub who grows to learn the wilds of life on his own.

The book addresses the impact of man on nature and Wahb's life but finds a lot of strength in not portraying all men as evil. Only a 90 minute audio book, it is definitely worth the time!

[Scott White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I can remember reading. Staying up late reading under the covers I was probably 9 or 10. About a year later I found my dads stash of Louis L’Amour books and I was hooked.
I gave this book 5 stars because it kindled the love of reading in me!

[jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cried. He cried. We both crode.

Hhehahhahehehhe bear I love bears! Very interesting and somewhat upsetting but I feel like I could’ve read this and had a grand old time at 10 years old. Maybe my mistake. GRIZZLY!!!!! 🐻🐻🐻🐻❤️

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this as a ten year old. 70 years later, my admiration triples. Seton did illustrations as well as the prose. Both are wonderful.

[Mark McTague · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable book in several ways. Despite the cover, this is not a wildlife biologist's tale of the life cycle of grizzly bears (i.e., brown bears, Ursus arctos horriblis); although there is a good amount of biological fact and observations, this is literature with touches of a poetic sensibility. First published in 1906, it was written by Ernest Thompson Seton (an Englishman whose family emigrated to Canada when he was not yet a teen), who became one of the founders, along with Baden-Powell, of the Boy Scouts. In the book, the omniscient narrator tells the surprisingly unsentimental story of the life of an orphaned grizzly bear, from the moment of losing his mother and siblings through the rest of his life. Despite the narrative fiction of being half-inside the mind of the animal, the tone is matter-of-fact and realistic, yet one clearly comes to root for the bear. An enjoyable read for all animal lovers and a view of nature and man's relation to it from the turn of the previous century. One final note - given the fact that each page has perhaps 2-3 paragraphs (with half the page being white space) and numerous full-page illustrations (from the 1906 publication), the 167 pages are really more like 75, making this a novella or long short story. Either way a pleasant afternoon's read.

[Jeff Swystun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ernest Thompson Seton was an author, artist, and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America. As a youth, he would draw and study animals as a way of avoiding his abusive father. He became fascinated with wolves while working as a naturalist for Manitoba.

Successful as a writer, artist and naturalist, Seton moved to New York City to further his career. Seton later lived at Wyndygoul, an estate that he built in Cos Cob, a section of Greenwich, Connecticut. After experiencing vandalism by the local youth, Seton invited them to his estate where he told stories of the American Indians and of nature.

If he told them the story of Wahb, a silvertip grizzly, they would have been highly entertained. Originally published in 1900, this classic is expressed in passionate language and is accompanied by seventy-five drawings. His is a life well-lived...I could be speaking of both Seton and Wahb. The book prompts a roller coaster of emotions as we follow the grizzly through a life of challenge and joy.

[Jim Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous read.

I first read this as "King of the Grizzly's" in grade school, back in the 70's. I recently lost a toe, and it reminded me of the story. It is such a great storey of over coming diversity and hardship, to become the best you can be. To live life to the fullest no matter what life puts on your path. I would recommend this read to anyone and everyone, that faces diversity in their lives. I really think it shows that life is worth living, no matter what hardships you face.

[Mel Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I truly love Ernest Thompson Seton's Rolf in the Woods: The Adventures of a Boy Scout with Indian Quonab & Little Dog Skookum. The Biography of a Grizzly is a great work of nature writing, although I did not all like the last section of part three, both because of the heavy anthropomorphism and because I didn't like the outcome for the main character.

[Carol Bouffioux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up at a Visitor Center book shop while on vacation in the PNW. It was beautifully written, but melancholy & downright tragic in its earliest scenes. The introduction was helpful to see how the book was received when it first was out in the early 1900s. Of course I knew it was not technically a biography and that the bear would be drawn with human-relatable qualities-who would totally understand a grizzly bear?-but it was a lovely story nonetheless.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Wahb, a grizzly bear who lives his life in Wyoming. It follows him from when he was a cub to his death as an old, word down, but still mighty bear.

It was both sad and quite well done, and I imagine that for the time it was written, this was a truly empathetic look at a bear (even when he kills humans there is always a reason).

[Lisa Buccambuso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checked this out from the library to read to my kids. They hated it at fist because of the death early on, but didn’t stop listening and I had no desire to stop reading. We were mesmerized by the 167 pages. I love old books! My kids debated whether to give it 4 or 5 stars because it was a bit scary in the beginning.

[Sandra Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 78 years you would think I had forgotten a book that my mother read to all of us kids, but I never have. Having her read a chapter of this book to us every night is one of my favorite childhood memories. Highly suggest that every parent, grandparent or other caretaker take the time to read this to your little ones, maybe like me it will chapter forever a relationship.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great story i'd gladly sit and read to any youngster. Seton is truly great at being honest to his reader and always removes the veil that separates humanity from the animal kingdom, the necessary evils within and provides a contrast to the evils man does to it, often unnecessarily.

[Mark Weimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book!

This was one of my favorite books when I was growing up. It really captures the imagination and lets you see the world through the eyes of one of the most majestic creatures to roam the West. This is probably where my love of the mountains was born.

[Kathy L. Swygman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

It was very entertaining but too short for my liking. Wish it was longer. Recommend to anyone but do not get if hoping for a long book.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would be nice if one of these animal stories had a happy ending once in a while!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was great but at some parts it was boring to read

[MrsSRM · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, short read from an interesting perspective.

[John Stantcheff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing chef-d'œuvre ! Nature , painted with heart. I really felt like bear while i was reading that book.

[Jacob Zebulon Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first novel I ever read. Highly recommend.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those nature books that are designed to make you think about how magnificent nature is, but for me they just make me think about how rotten humans are. This is the story of a perfectly nice bear who becomes bitter and enraged because he spends his entire life being harassed by humans when he just wants to be left the hell alone. It's meant to impress you with his strength and fortitude in the face of all these obstacles, but that's essentially what it boils down to: A bear who wants to be alone and humans who very persistently and stupidly refuse to leave him alone.

[Ghostwalkerv1gmail.com]

The very best 👌 Animal adventure novel 😍 I have ever ❤ read.

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too anthropomorphic for my taste... Do boar grizzlies get lonely?

[John L.. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nature revealed

For all of us who became boy or girl scouts by reading this book we can recall many wonderful memories.