Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future

by Gloria Dickie

A New Yorker Best Book of the Year // An Economist Best Book of 2023 // A Scientific American Best Book of 2023 // SEJ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, 2nd Place // Shortlisted for the Banff Centre Mountain Book Awards 2023

A global exploration of the eight remaining species of bears―and the dangers they face.

Bears have always held a central place in our collective memory, from Indigenous folklore and Greek mythology to nineteenth-century fairytales and the modern toy shop. But as humans and bears come into ever-closer contact, our relationship nears
a tipping point. Today, most of the eight remaining bear species are threatened with extinction. Some, such as the panda bear and the polar bear, are icons of the natural world; others, such as the spectacled bear and the sloth bear, are far less known.

In Eight Bears, journalist Gloria Dickie embarks on a globe-trotting journey to explore each bear’s story, whisking readers from the cloud forests of the Andes to the ice floes of the Arctic; from the jungles of India to the backwoods of the Rocky Mountain West. She meets with key figures on the frontlines of modern conservation efforts—the head of a rescue center for sun and moon bears freed from bile farms, a biologist known as Papa Panda, who has led China’s panda-breeding efforts for almost four decades, a conservationist retraining a military radar system to detect and track polar bears near towns—to reveal the unparalleled challenges bears face as they contend with a rapidly changing climate and encroaching human populations.

Weaving together ecology, history, mythology, and a captivating account of her travels and observations, Dickie offers a closer look at our volatile relationship with these magnificent mammals. Engrossing and deeply reported, Eight Bears delivers a clear warning for what we risk losing if we don’t learn to live alongside the animals that have shaped our cultures, geographies, and stories.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Animals, History, Audiobook, Environment

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 2023

About the author

Gloria Dickie is an award-winning journalist and is currently a global climate and environment correspondent at Reuters News Agency. Her writing has been published in the New York Times, the Guardian, National Geographic, Scientific American, and Wired, among others. She was nominated for a National Magazine Award, was named a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in international reporting, and has served on the board of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Originally from Canada, she now lives in London, England.

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

EIGHT BEARS is a fantastic book. I loved that some of the longer chapters were about the lesser-known bears. My favorite chapter was on the lesser-known Sloth bear (whoa. Deadly but also sorely abused). This is a great book for anyone who enjoys nature books, esp those focused around specific animals of the wild kingdom. I'm thinking of Ben Goldfarb's EAGER: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter and Dan Flores' COYOTE AMERICA. This is the bear book you've been waiting for!

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few thoughts:

1. Holy shit I didn't know bears were so fucking smart.
2. Wow, humans are really awful.
3. Humans are truly shit.
4. Bears deserve the world.
5. Humanity fucked everyone and everything over in the quest for short-term profits.
6. Not going to miss that bear-species trivia question ever again.

[Spencer Orey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading bits of this all summer at different bookstores. The subject is great and the material is often super haunting. I’m worried about the bears. Anyway I bought a copy for a family member and then finally read it myself.

[Orsolya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bears play a very important part in my life: my name Orsolya (Hungarian spelling of Ursula) translates to ‘Little Bear’ in Latin and I was given this moniker by my father who loved bears and also had a bear name of his own. For this reason, I’ve been called “Little Bear” my entire life and I have a tattoo of the Ursa Minor (Little Dipper- Little Bear) constellation and another tattoo with a bear. As a young child, I attended an Indigenous Tribe Pow Wow and they called me “Little Bear” ON THEIR OWN without knowning my name! Bears are also one of my two spirit animals. Okay, okay… I get it. This is GoodReads and you don’t give a rat’s ass about me. I’m simply prefacing this review with “Orsolya Facts” to showcase my connection to bears. I am not alone, however, in this adoration of bears and am in the company of award-winning journalist, writer, environmental and wildlife correspondent and article contributor Gloria Dickie. Dickie embarks on an ursine journey in, “Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future”.

In the introduction to “Eight Bears”, Dickie informs readers that there are 35 species of canines, 41 of felines, 90 porpoises/whales/dolphins, 500 primates but only EIGHT species of bears (hence, the title, “Eight Bears”). “Eight Bears” is a combination science investigative journalism piece, evolutionary/biology article, wildlife conservation expose, anthropological/social history adventure and memoir reduced to a book numbering slightly over 200 pages. Sounds like a hectic, mish-mosh of a text, right? Wrong, oh so very wrong! “Eight Bears” is not only OCD-friendly broken down into a categorical study of the eight bears by species/region of highest population; but it is also a gripping, incredibly well-written text that even called ‘mind-blowing’ is understating its range.

Dickie has spent over a decade researching bears (and that’s saying a lot as she is young in age and borderline Gen Z) with much of that time spent traversing the globe in field study. Dickie can therefore safely be called an expert on the subject of bear/human interrelationships and coexistence. Impressively, Dickie doesn’t force biases on the readers (even though she is obviously a wildlife conversationalist and enthusiast) and maintains an objective tone. In true journalistic reporting style, Dickie even infuses “Eight Bears” with varying perspectives and “both sides of the story” in order to offer a macro-view on the past, present and future states of bear existence.

Dickie holds true to academia by offering hard-hitting science and jargon but never overwhelming the reader. In fact, “Eight Bears” is smooth and readable with easy-to-retain information. So much so, that it serves as an ample conversation-starter with readers eager to share information with anyone that will listen.

“Eight Bears” covers a wide net of bear subjects: bear evolution, DNA, how each species of bear lives, how Pandas became so popular, Sun and Moon Bear ‘bear bile’, India’s ‘Dancing Bears’/bear abuse, Panda diplomacy, climate change and the future of bears, individual bear encounters and the list goes on and on! Readers are highly invested in devouring the page-turner but yet not wanting the book to end! Even with the high number of micro-subjects; Dickie never strays from her hypothesis allowing “Eight Bears” to speak for itself and flow like a river.

Alongside the credible science, Dickie also incorporates a relatable voice and occasional humor into the text making “Eight Bears” comparable to the best podcast or documentary available with her first-hand memoir snippets. This lightens the load “Eight Bears” which can be needed as relief to general audience readers. This tactic is especially important as some topics are difficult to digest (bear abuse and cruelty) but necessary in its inclusion to create public awareness. It is a power move that Dickie didn’t gloss over and/or completely avoid these areas.

Dickie’s chapter on American Black Bears is somewhat one-note as it only explores the bears residing in California’s Yosemite National Park. As a California resident, I respect this but still wish Dickie spread her wings wider. “Eight Bears” returns to its former glory with the final chapter highlighting polar bears. Most everyone is aware of the fate ever quickly coming of climate change eradicating the ice walkers; but, Dickie explains this in a much more manageable and enthralling manner truly lighting a fire under the urgency of the critical situation. This chapter also reveals lesser-known avenues such as ‘Pizzlies’ (Grizzly and Polar Bear crossbreeds) making for an incredibly captivating conclusion.

The epilogue rounds up “Eight Bears” with an emotive essence that is so moving to readers that many will find themselves literally applauding the book. I almost hate Dickie, as a fellow writer and journalist, for her stunning writing! I’m envious but bow down to her!

“Eight Bears” includes a notes section, although not annotated. Absent are photo plates of bears which would have strengthened the piece over the black-and-white chapter header illustrations.

Dickie’s “Eight Bears” is one of the best science books on the shelves and is comparable to Jennifer Ackerman’s “The Bird’s Way” (but about bears rather than birds) which is high praise, indeed. “Eight Bears” is recommended for all wildlife/animal lovers, nature conversationalists, readers who count bears as their favorite animal, etc. Actually, EVERYONE should read “Eight Bears” as it isn’t just about bears but illuminates the entire human/animal fight for coexistence. “Eight Bears” is one of the best nonfiction book releases of 2023. BRAVO!

[Patrick Tullis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a non-fiction investigative journalism book about the 8 species of Bears. It is the best book I’ve read so far this year and I learned so much about bears. It is the first book of the year that made me cry, particularly the part of the book that describes Bear Bile Farming. Please read this book if you are at all interested in nature, animals, or human/nature connection.

The author is a journalist and she travels to see all the different bear species. She talks with local people, government officials, conservationist, scientists, and hunters. There is also a little bit of a travelogue in here, in which the author describes the different locations bears are encountered and local customs related to bears. This book can be sad in places but there is hope. I thank the author for writing this wonderful book.

[Bargle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program.

I had heard of 5 of the 8 bears in this book. The rest were completely new to me. As usual, the expanding population of humans is screwing things up. Bears in Asia being raised for the bile trade. Polar bears becoming endangered because of global warming and so on.

While I had heard of most bears, there were still new facts I didn't know. The most dangerous bear is one that doesn't eat meat, the Sloth bear. They're just hair trigger violent as that idiot who tried to snap a selfie with one a while back found out.

A very good read.

[Kurt Neumaier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only knew about 4 Bears before this book! I have doubled my knowledge of the world's Bears and it turns out I didn't even know that much about the 4 Bears that I did know about.

Shout out Katie Varness for the rec! Stoked to help her spread the gospel (bear facts)

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went with audio because that's what showed up from the library first, but I wish I'd read this one -- the narrator had odd pacing and mispronounced a few things.

Even still, this book was fantastic. I learned SO much.

[Samidha; समिधा · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Without bears, our woods and our stories would be empty”

What a fantastic piece of non fiction! I had no idea about the other 4 species of bears. Each chapter focused on the evolution of the bears - the history that they are attached to and their inevitable future.

The sloth bears threaten by population growth. The sun and moon bear exploited for their bile in a capitalistic world. The bespectacled bear at the edge of climate change. The panda losing its touch with the wilderness, relegated to being just another zoo animal. The black bear becoming urbanized and forgoing hibernation. The grizzly and their tussle to remain protected and not hunted. And finally, the polar bear, the apex predator, becoming extinct due to loss of habitat and breeding with the grizzlies.

This was both horrifying and eye opening. Dickie’s put so much effort into her book, and her love for these bears shines through. I applaud the conservationists who’ve dedicated their lives to protecting these bears. I wish there was a resources list at the end where we could donate or help in other ways.

“Only three bears species seemed destined to prosper beyond the end of this century…Indeed, the future reads much like a fairy tale: The Three Bears”

[Katie Varness · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m obsessed with bear facts now. I won’t shut the fuck up about bears and will be spreading the holy gospel (bears facts) every where I go.

[Karagan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Without bears, our woods and our stories would be empty”

[Margaret Kirchner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up because bears have become my favorite animal and it just reaffirmed that stance! So much fun - informative but still easy to read (chapters broken up into anecdotes, etc). Save the polar bears!!!

[Dalton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read but underwhelming overall with much more focus on the memoir aspect of meeting and searching for each of these individual bears than on the bears themselves and their history, cultural impact, biology, and habits. Some dismissive comments on conservation approaches and a surprisingly hurried ending on what to be done in the future, without taking nuanced approaches to protecting each individual bear species in different ways, left me feeling a tad disappointed.

[Annelie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bears are my favorite animal; to me, this book was a disappointment.

This book falls into the trap of many nonfiction books, in that it does it's job and nothing more--I'm familiar with her editor of Norton and know the general nonfiction style, and am not a fan of it (even though I'm a big fan of him). One could even argue that it doesn't even do it's job, since Dickie barely sees any bears. I was looking for a book that was denser, but it was quite fluffed up with random anecdotes that didn't tell me a whole lot about anything. I'm just not sure how this book is any different from information I could find in the most basic article or a Wikipedia page. The writing itself was kind of trite and uninteresting too. :(

(Edit: Many of the positive reviews of this book are from people who have never even heard of all the Bears species--which is totally fine, but is clearly speaking to the intended audience. To me, the ideal reader of this book is someone who (a) has never heard of a "bear" and has no idea what it is and (b) has also somehow attained a high school reading level.)

[Emily Vanderburgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love bears sm idk why it took me so long to get around to reading this

this was so good. it felt like so much time and research went into this, the author evidently really likes bears

if u can get past the way the narrator of the audiobook pronounces touque and the overuse of the word ursine in the intro (I KNOW ITS A BOOK ABOUT BEARS BUT IT WAS WAY TOO MANY TIMES) ur golden

[Madi Calderoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

humans are horrible and I wish I could save all the bears. :(

[Ashley Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a CA girl bears feel special and this book just solidified that. Not only was this book super interesting, it did not become textbook-y in the way some non fic can. Love!

[marv · Rating 5 out of 5]

OUCH! absolutely wonderful yet gut wrenching read. I recommend to ALL bear lovers. I learned so much about bears I didn't know before. I laughed several times, shared many bear facts with my coworkers, and even teared up a few times. This is not for the faint of heart. One thing I wish is that for moon bears, sun bears, and brown bears there was more information given about the species itself, rather than just their exploits. Amazing, in depth research was done, however for those three species I felt like I didn't get to know them as well as the others.
Really great read not just from the biology perspective, but also a great history, anti-capitalism/imperialism, and political read. I especially loved learning about bears' place in folklore and history, I will for sure be doing more research on bear mythology.
Now for the part you all have been waiting for: my ranking of the 8 species of bears.
1. Andean/Spectacled Bear
2. Black Bear
3. Grizzly Bear
4. Polar Bear
5. Moon Bear
6. Panda Bear
7. Sloth Bear
8. Sun Bear

[Ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect mix of anecdotes and facts, with an engaging voice. Bears rule, humans drool !

[Caleb Fogler · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Eight Bears, Gloria Dickie goes into the history of human-bear interaction and the ongoing conservation efforts to save each species. The eight bears include the Spectacled Bear, Sloth bear, Moon bear (aka Asiatic Black Bear), Sun Bear, Panda, Black Bear, Grizzly Bear and the Polar Bear. The Moon bear/Sun bear chapter was the saddest in my opinion because the author goes undercover to interview bear bile farmers in SouthEast Asia who exploit these two bears for traditional medicine alternatives.

[angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

would recommend to anyone interested in bears—or more specifically, the 8 remaining bear species and their plights in the modern era. the book is full of interesting details and original work from the author’s own journalism.

3 rather than 4 stars bc i was often not a fan of the author’s word choice. eg, repeatedly referring to polar bears as “magnanimous” (i don’t think that makes sense even for polar bears’ biggest fans). and the political commentary was often both unnecessary and reductive (eg, after the PRC’s presidential term limits were removed, the author says “The Chinese barely blinked. As long as the money kept flowing, it seemed unlikely that Xi would lose support.”).

[Claudiaslibrarycard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie is subtitled "an ursine odyssey" and that certainly fits. In this very readable nonfiction book, Dickie details the history and current standing of the eight remaining bear species on earth. Across the globe, (almost all) bears are in trouble and this book gives the reader an excellent but not overwhelming understanding of why.

I thoroughly enjoyed the organization and content; each chapter focuses on one bear species. Dickie often begins with a unique tidbit or the cultural relevance of the species and then moves on to her experience seeking out the bears in their habitat, followed by or interwoven with the challenges that species is up against, and ending with a fact based, level headed prediction of what might become of that bear in the near future.

If you have ever been awed or curious about bears, this is an excellent book- even if you are not a frequent nonfiction reader. Well cited and researched, and backed by personal travels, Dickie does an excellent job at making the scientific content very digestible. I learned a lot reading this book and it is a new nonfiction favorite.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read for anyone with a curiosity about the world’s remaining eight bear species. Both educational and adventurous, I learnt so much about the eight bears through the author’s compelling storytelling. Well done Gloria Dickie!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and dirty on bears. There are only eight species of bears. Learned much about them. Had never heard of the spectacled bear of South America. Nor did I know that the most aggressive bear and killer of more humans than any other species is India's sloth bear. There's a chapter on each species and a good discussion of the human connection to bears from ancient myths to the commercial marketing of them via Teddy Bears, Paddington Bear, Pandas, and Coca Cola. She also covers the sordid and cruel practice of farming bears in China and SEA for their bile.

[Inge · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel like i know so much about bears now

[Sydney Bonnin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have more respect for bears and prepare to be sick of my bear facts.

[JOPotatoes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book is an absolute necessity for anyone interested in the history, biology, and plight of our Ursine neighbors. While traversing Rainforest biomes to the Arctic Tundra, Dickie illuminates how important bears are to their individual ecosystems and how climate change threatens their very existence. Amazing read.

[Hannah Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

*8.5 bears - apparently pizzly bears are a thing

[Lydia Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down and I’m kind of obsessed with bears now. It read like a story more than science and I loved following the author’s journey. I’m cracking myself up with this review because it’s literally just a non-fiction book about an animal but it was seriously so good. 4.5⭐️

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bears are my favorite animals (specifically polar bears), so I was highly anticipating this release and it didn't disappoint... except for all of the disappointing facts about how tenuous the continued survival of many of the remaining bear species is at this point. Sadly it seems my favorite, the polar bear, is on an inevitable path towards extinction. ☹️

Still, I learned so much about different bear species across the world and how unique each is and well adapted to their respective ecosystems. I still love polar bears the most (heavily brainwashed by the coca cola ads of my youth, no doubt), but also enjoyed getting to know bears I'd never heard of before:
- The shy spectacled bear
- The beautiful moon bears and goofy sun bears...
...And I have a soft spot for the crazy aggressive/vicious sloth bears that attack humans unprovoked on the reg ... I just hope never to meet one!)

Reading about these majestic creatures is awe inspiring but also heartbreaking; the mistreatment and abuse humans have and continue to inflict on them directly is horrifying (I had never heard of bile bears before reading this and wish I could remove the descriptions of their graphic torture that is now seared into my brain 😭). Not to mention the indirect threats to their habitats/food sources we've caused by overpopulating and melting the planet, et al. We really gotta get it together, people!

Dickie does offer hope by sharing stories of people who are doing great work to try to restore bear populations across the world, while also presenting the challenges of sustaining increased numbers of apex predators in our ever-diminishing wildlife.

Overall- I'm a little smarter but a lot sadder after reading Eight Bears.