This book is fairly short but has 8 chapters dedicated to each remaining bear species. It is very informative of each one's current status and population. The author traveled to their respective territories to try and see them as well as what impact people and the environment have on each one. I listened to this book and would recommend reading it as I feel I missed some details. Especially the chapter on the sun and moon bear bile situation in Vietnam. Yes, I did say Bile. As expected, there were some very heartbreaking treatments of several of the species. But I think it's good to stay informed but did have the gut wrench more than once. The author can be very descriptive. 

I've never been very curious about bears but I was in the mood for a nature audiobook this week. There was a period of my life where I had regular nightmares involving bears, but that was the extent of my relationship with bears. This book was so informative and engaging. I even teared up a few times. In the few days it took me to listen to this book, I could not shut up about all the amazing and upsetting things I've learned about bears. I still have a healthy fear of bears, and this book may have even added to it with the descriptions of attacks, but I'm really fascinated by them now. This is one of the best nonfiction books I've listened to/read. 

incredibly bummed to hear that 5 out of 8 bear species likely won’t make it past this century if humans don’t make some big environmental changes. well researched and balanced, though i didn’t care for the author’s voice towards nonwhite cultures at times. but that one lady did literally say she would rather be attacked by a bear than a human. 

This book was so incredibly informative I did not realize how much bear information I had been missing! It was quite devastating particularly the chapter about the Vietnamese practice of harvesting moon/sun bear bile for medicine and aphrodisiac, which I had no idea about. As well as the ignorant practices of yellowstone campers, torturing bears into dancing bears in India, and the misconceptions about spectacled bears in Latin America. I also learned that polar bears are the only bears who can smell period blood which confirms that they are the scariest bear lmao. I wanted to know a little bit more about the author while she was writing it but otherwise this was awesome. 

This book is very informative, and I loved all the facts I learned. It is, however, incredibly sad. There wasn't any hope given or really any advice on how to fix the problems of the declining bear populations. Instead, it was just full of incredibly grim tales about the treatment of bears. This, I think, is just the consequence of the reality. It's the situation as it is. But I do wish a little more time had been dedicated to what I, the reader, could do.
I also am quickly learning that a pet peeve of mine is nonfiction with too much focus on what the author did to research the book, and this one has a lot of that. Dickie tells a lot of stories about the trips she took to see bears, and it was just not to my taste. I lost interest whenever the book switched to first person.