Bear Man of Admiralty Island: A Biography of Allen E. Hasselborg

John R. Howe should be thanked profusely for his careful - without being labored - biography of Allen Hasselborg, an Alaskan hunter/naturalist/loner.Howe chronicles the days and times (late 1800s to mid-1900s) of Hasselborg's life through his letters, ledger entries, interviews with those who knew him and occasional newspaper and magazine articles about the somewhat eccentric man.While the emphasis given to detailed research might leave some writers stuck with boring copy, this book "sings" with Hasselborg and who he is. It includes his encounters with grizzlies and brown bears, scientists and government bureaucrats.Howe, blessedly, doesn't get in the way either. His writing is spare, direct and compelling. I would recommend this for anyone with an interest in bears, nature, hunting or people.

"Bear Man of Admiralty Island" is an extremely interesting and detailed study of a true American character, Allen Hasselborg. The stark, simple life Hassleborg lived for many years, in a remote, beautiful, wild, and dangerous place, makes the likes of Thoreau, Burroughs, Dillard, and the many other part-time shack dwelling, nature praising authors seem like commonplace pretenders in comparison. Where they wrote about life in the woods, he really lived it, and the details are fascinating. Were it not for Howe's research, I'm sure we'd never know about Hasselborg's life, and were Hasselborg alive today, I'm sure he wouldn't give a gall-dang anyway!