The Bears in My Life: A Collection

Bears have captured the human imagination for tens of thousands of years, simply by being bears. Mysterious, powerful and nurturing of their young, bears' natural characteristics (and the many, colorful, human beliefs associated with them) have inspired creation of bear images in wood, stone, ink, glass, bronze, and more. This book showcases of the results and concisely conveys a wealth of information about the significance of bears within diverse cultures, over time. Special attention is given to the history of carved, wooden, bear images and the carvers who made them, topics that correct a common misunderstanding and trace how tourism and bear images combined to showcase the controversial and varying demands of art and commerce. One begins to see how bears, unwittingly, have evoked human beliefs that gave rise to both bear worship and bear genocide. Jon McCracken's collection includes bear images discovered in Europe, Russia, Japan, North America and by the North American Indian peoples. This book is a tribute to his collection and all it represents. In so being, it is also a call to remember the wild creatures that inspired their creation and act on their behalf.