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In-Depth Reviews
(Books, CD-ROMs, Videos and Gear)
! The Bear Den In-Depth Reviews of books, videos, cd-roms, gear and equipment related to bears is another way of giving you the in-depth information you need to make informed choices in the way of purchasing items for your collection or personal/professional use.
The current items reviewed are as follows:
1. "Bears and Pandas" - an exciting and comprehensive new CD-ROM on bears
around the world. The publisher is Webster Publishing.
[go directly to review]
2. "Polar Dance: Born of the North Wind" - an outstanding new book with
photography by Thomas Mangelsen and text by Fred Bruemmer. The publisher is Images of
Nature.
[go directly to review]
3. "Bear Necessity" - a great bear proofing pulley system to make sure your
food is kept safe from bears. It is manufactured by Expedition Leader.
[go directly to review]
Webster Publishing is the first company I've come across to bring to the marketplace a CD-ROM about bears and judging from the results, they have produced a top-notch product. "Bears and Pandas" is simply chock full of hundreds of outstanding full-screen color photographs from world-class photographers. Even better, the product includes approximately twenty minutes of high-quality video showing all eight bear species.
Not to be outdone by its visual smorgasbord of bears, "Bears and Pandas" provides accurate in-depth information about bears written by people who know bears including Don Middleton (author of The Bear Den), Stephen Herrero (author of "Bear Attacks"), Peter Stanbury, Ron Strahan and John Uhler. Topics on the CD-ROM include the evolution of bears; a comprehensive description of all eight bear species; bear behavior; conflicts between bears and humans; bears in legend and literature; stories about bears; and much more. Information on bear conservation organizations from around the world is also included to encourage everyone to become involved in saving bears for ourselves and future generations.
In addition to the content, Webster Publishing has developed a very user friendly approach to their CD-ROMs. The use of voice-overs for the written text; an easy-to-use multi-media project creator; and advanced search tools make this product ideal for students of all ages. A quiz designed to test how much you really do know about bears is also included for your entertainment.
For everyone who has ever said to themselves, "Why doesn't someone make a CD-ROM about bears?", the long wait is finally over and you will find yourself returning evening after evening to revisit "Bears and Pandas of the World - The CD-ROM".
This book, from Images of Nature, is the kind of coffee-table book that you had better keep track of lest one of your guests spirit it away. When you purchase it, you are actually getting two fantastic books for the price of one. The creative merging of Mangelsen's and Bruemmer's individual talents creates a spiritual linking with the polar bear and the surrealistic land in which it lives.
Through his photography, Thomas lets us see the animal the Inuit call "pihoqahiaq" or "ever-wandering one" in a way seldom recorded. Over eight years, Thomas had taken over 85,000 images of polar bears and other arctic wildlife. From this collection, 280 images were chosen for this book. Through the mastery of his art, Mangelsen's is able to give us a glimpse of the land and life of the polar bear in as close to a three-dimensional quality as one will ever experience.
The writing of Fred Bruemmer provides a lilting and sensitive complement to Mangelsen's photography. Fred has an intimate knowledge of the polar bear, the arctic and the Inuit people. Through his evocative use of language, Bruemmer lets us experience the natural life cycle of a female polar bear with two cubs and the solitary life of an adult male bear. Along the way, a barren land we usually envisage as inhospitable becomes an amazing world teeming with life where, for many thousands of years, both polar bears and the Inuit have been able not only to survive, but even to thrive.
I can give this book no higher compliment than to say it is a must book for every person who wishes to truly understand the polar bear in a more complete way. If you wish to purchase it before its arrival in bookstores on September 15th, call Images of Nature (1-800-228-9686).
Going into bear country? If so, here is a piece of gear I wouldn't be without. Lightweight and easy to use, the "Bear Necessity" pulley system produced by Expedition Leader Inc. helps to ensure that you don't have a totally unnecessary and unplanned bear encounter.
This pulley system makes it easy to hoist food and all the other things which attract bears up into a tree and out of reach. The 3 to 1 mechanical advantage provided by the stainless steel pulleys allows me to easily lift a pack weighing 100 pounds up and out of harms way. While the entire product including two stainless steel pulleys, a throw line, a hauling line, an attachment line, a stuff bag and easy-to-follow instructions weighs a mere 460 g (16.2 oz), the system is rated to hoist up to 91 kilograms (200 pounds) up into the trees.
I am always cautioning visitors to bear country to make sure that food and other odourous items are kept away from the immediate vicinity of their campsite (at least 50 to 100 metres downwind). The Bear Necessity (Bear Proofing Pulley System) provides an easy and effective way to make sure we don't create problem bears by letting them develop a taste for human food. I have been informed that, at present, the product is available in the U.S. and Canada through Hiker's Haven (1-800-795-6979).
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