We have been meeting them in the wilderness, and in our dreams, since the dawn of human history. Immortalized in art and myth since we began drawing on the walls of caves, they cast a long shadow over our collective subconscious. Wherever bears endure, they are an indicator of the health of their ecosystem. Their decline—some to the edge of extinction—foretells a bigger story: that of our planet's peril.

In a series of remarkable journeys, Brian Payton travels the world in search of the eight remaining bear species. Along the way, he encounters poachers in the jungles of Cambodia, the cruelty of China's bear bile trade, and Canada's insatiable polar bear paparazzi. From the spectacled bears of a cursed Peruvian mountain to the man-eating sloth bears of India, Payton vividly captures the power and beauty of these majestic creatures while exploring their unique place within very different cultures. His quest ultimately leads to the Colorado Plateau, where an ancient reverence for black bears collides with the will of trophy hunters in pursuit of game they do not eat. The result is a collection of gripping and moving meditations on the fate of wilderness—and the vestiges of wildness in us all.

True tales masterfully told, Shadow of the Bear chronicles an unforgettable trek down the braided path of bear and human experience.

"Insightful and compelling, Shadow of the Bear appeals to both heart and mind..."
–Quill and Quire

“High adventure combined with dazzling passages of nature writing.”
—Booklist

"An extremely satisfying and sometimes provocative read."
—Publishers Weekly

"Brian Payton's global journey into bear country is one-of-a-kind. In this fearless-and fearlessly honest-exploration of the habitats and histories we share with the eight surviving species of bear, Payton takes us to places most of us would never think or dare to go. He is an eloquent witness to a series of beautiful and terrible collisions taking place between humans and bears as we compete for habitat and resources. At its core, Shadow of the Bear is a mirror; in it we are offered not only a wild reflection of our former selves, but a stark assessment of how much it will cost us to lose the deep and ancient connection we share with these astonishing creatures."
—John Vaillant, author of The Golden Spruce

"Following the stars of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor in his journeys to the last redoubts of the earth's bears, Brian Payton has accomplished a rare thing. Possessed of an insatiable curiosity, a disciplined humility and an abiding capacity for wonder, Payton has sculpted a fine work of art from the language of common speech. Even in his witness to the obscenity of Asia's bear-bile trade, or the last stand of the sloth bears of India's Bilaspur forest, and even in his treks to the fading, final refuge of the spectacled bears of Peru, Payton is ever mindful of the delicate human geography he traverses. Because he treads so carefully through that ragged and disorienting landscape, Payton notices the important things, not least of which are all those telling details that so amply illustrate humanity's ancient empathy for the wild things of the world. This is a book in the traditions of Peter Matthiessen and John McPhee. It is the sort of writing the world needs a lot more of, especially now."
—Terry Glavin, author of Waiting for the Macaws and The Last Great Sea

"Brian Payton is the real 'Grizzly Man.' With energy, freshness, and no small amount of humor, he takes us deep into 'bear country'—a place that exists not just in the forests of India and Peru, but, as Payton shows us, resides within each of us. Never has the primal bond between man and bear been so richly explored."
—Michael D'Orso, author of Eagle Blue and Plundering Paradise

"Among the most sustained efforts to investigate the bear-human relationship ever recorded...fascinating. It becomes clear our co-existence with bears proves a despairingly delicate one."
—The Edmonton Journal

"Top rate...an infectious evangelism."
—The Georgia Straight

"Elegantly articulates the ranges of human experiences with bears in many cultures."
—The Globe and Mail

"The bear and the wilderness, although threatened, still exist and are too important for civilization to lose. Brian Payton’s book makes this abundantly clear."
—The Globe and Mail

"A gripping story of a species at the crossroads of extinction."
—Winnipeg Free Press

"An in-depth and thoughtful look at a species that may just be tied to the future of humanity itself."
—Winnipeg Free Press

Listen to this BBC radio interview with Brian Payton, the author of Shadow of the Bear.