Product Description

With a body twisted by adolescent scoliosis and memories of the brutal death of a woman he loved, Lynn Schooler kept the world at arm's length, drifting through the wilds of Alaska as a commercial fisherman, outdoorsman, and wilderness guide. In 1990 Schooler met Japanese photographer Michio Hoshino and began a profound friendship forged by a love of adventure and cemented by their mutual obsession with finding the elusive glacier bear, an exceedingly rare creature, seldom seen and shrouded in legend. But it was only after Hoshino's tragic death from a bear attack that Schooler succeeded in photographing the animal -- and only then that he Was able to complete his journey and find new meaning in his own life.

Set amid the wild archipelagoes, glittering fjords, and dense primordial forests of Alaska's Glacier Coast, The Blue Bear is an unforgettable book that shines with purity and passion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156130 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-01
• Released on: 2002-05-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Amazon.com Review
"People step into the [Alaskan] landscape and vanish without a trace," writes wildlife guide Lynn Schooler in this ode to the wild beauty of the Alaskan coast, an unusual friendship, and a mysterious bear with fur the color of "burnished metal." Schooler spent a decade searching for the elusive blue (or glacier) bear with Michio Hoshino, Japan's preeminent wildlife photographer. Hoshino was a gentle genius who would sit still for hours, his face swelling from mosquito bites, for the perfect photograph, and who had the same patience and consideration for a bruised heart like Schooler's. Schooler had lost all ability to trust, scarred first by the scorn of classmates for his twisted body and finally by the brutal murder of the woman he loved. But as a guide--both for wildlife photographers and for readers of this evocative and gracefully composed memoir--Schooler richly reveals the place that sustains him. He makes remarkable connections between whales and the complex workings of old-growth forests, between glaciers dropping 100-foot columns of ice into waiting fjords, and the breathing of the planet. Ultimately, though, it is Hoshino's death by a bear that finally enables Schooler to make peace with humanity and death. A quiet, profound gem. --Lesley Reed

From Publishers Weekly
The strength of this beautifully crafted memoir lies in its evocation of the overpowering Alaskan landscape and the thoughts it imposes on the author's agile and receptive mind, gradually opening his solitary heart to the grace of true friendship. As photographer and writer Schooler recounts, it's been his lifelong tendency to turn inward, ever since his "grandmother's hunchback gene put its weight on my shoulder... trying to hold me down even as my body grew taller." At 16, he fought his scoliosis by strapping on a steel body brace that extended from his chin to his hips, isolating him from other kids. It was a distance he chose to maintain when, two years later, he exchanged his brace for a backpack and departed for the lonely freedom of the countryside around his Alaskan home. Readers meet him as a middle-aged wilderness guide based in Juneau, emotionally battered by the brutal death of a woman he loved, yet still subsumed by the endlessly unfolding drama of wind, weather, predators and prey along the glaciered coast. On an auspicious chartered trip, Schooler leads renowned nature photographer Michio Hoshino to a circle of humpback whales that explode to the surface of a sun-flecked sea with brimming mouthfuls of herring. The Japanese man's simple questions and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world and to his guide slowly draw Schooler out. Over the next decade, the men's bond deepens as they decide to pursue the rare and elusive glacier, or "blue," bear in an archetypal journey whose meaning becomes apparent only after Schooler has suffered the loss of his friend. 8 pages of color photos.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-A memoir by a wilderness guide along Alaska's glacier coast. It includes tragedy and heartache almost beyond measure, but also profound beauty, deep friendship, and enormous respect for the world we inhabit. Schooler's friendship with the acclaimed Japanese photographer Michio Hoshino and their search for the highly elusive blue bear (aka glacier bear) is the central story. The author's portrait of this thoughtful, engaging man evolves slowly and is thoroughly convincing. Another story concerns the brutal death of a woman the author loved at the hands of a monstrous mass murderer. That this killer and Hoshino could live on the same planet and be of the same species is just one of the many wonders of nature that appear in Schooler's excellent book. His sincerity, honesty, and humbleness are palpable, and there are lessons here for readers of any age.
Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Almost like being there
I was driving around, running errands on a hot June day, when I stumbled across a National Public Radio talk show on which Lynn Schooler was promoting this book. By the time it was over, I was at the nearest bookstore, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the first chapter of The Blue Bear.
Schooler is a natural-born story-teller and his knowledge and love of the Alaskan wilderness make every paragraph glow with authenticity.
Like most good books, the Blue Bear can be enjoyed and appreciated on many different levels: it's a wonderful adventure story, it captures the precious qualities of friendship and it encapsulates Schooler's life-affirming world view in a way that is powerful, but never preachy.

The Blue Bear--or The Meaning of Life in a Nutshell!
The Blue Bear is one of the best and most concise expressions of the meaning of life that I have ever read since Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Especially Schooler's experience with the Kingfisher and the crows. It's a beautiful story about love and friendships between man and nature, man and himself, and man and God, however one envisions Him. I could not put the book down once I started to read it. Schooler's quotes from Michio's book seemed to hold a very personal message for me.

It made me cry
This book had more impact on me than anything I've read in the past few years. I've never especially wanted to see Alaska (too cold) and never appreciated it as a special place, but Lynn Schooler's writing pulled me in to the land and its enchanting forms of life and interesting residents. I kept thinking how brave he was to write as he did about his demons and pains and the healing he painfully found, as elusive for most of us as the Blue Bear itself. I taught classic English literature for years, and I know powerful, gripping language when I see it. This is the real thing. If I could write to Schooler, I'd tell him how moving his book was. Read it right away, and slowly.