Rating:  Summary: A True Story? Review: This is not so much a review as a comment/question.
I have, indeed, read the book, and I am troubled by some of the events and details described.
Fletcher describes the damage done to his backpack by the bear, and this, alone, is enough to make me doubt the non-fiction status of this book. A grizzly does, indeed, have large claws, but they are not particularly sharp, and would not leave five clean rips in the material as described. Nor would one of the claws puncture his boot unless the boot were pinned against some object.
I am very skeptical of the "facts" as recounted in this book.
Rating:  Summary: Very Exciting Review: This is one of the few books in the last few years I can honestly say that I read cover to cover in one sitting. It is very well written and very exciting, the pace never slows and the denouement is very tense and exciting. Do I believe all this really happened? Well, probably not. For a person supposedly somewhat experienced with hiking and climbing in Alaska and who has friends in Alaska to advise him, Fletcher is woefully uninformed as to even rudimentary precautions to hike in bear country. And, his descriptions of how he and the bear ended up in a life and death struggle seem not real likely. Also the vengeful bear seems awfully anthromorphic and Fletchers actions in several parts of the trek, when he is fully aware that the bear is hunting him seem pretty cavalier, such as camping at the end of a dead end creek, stashing food in a cairn, instead of something more secure and then blithly going to sleep after he has already seen the enraged bear trailing him. But, maybe it all happened as written. Even if it didn't, it should have because it is a great story and a great read whether it is fiction or truth.
Rating:  Summary: thrilling story, true or not Review: This story would make a great movie! I'm not so sure all the events described are 100% accurate, but this much is true; once you begin reading this book it will be difficult to put it down. If you like adventure and edge-of-your-seat thrills then you will surely love this book.
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