American Bear - by Clay Newcomb (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An unforgettable deep dive into the history, mythos, and cultural significance of America's wildest survivor, the black bear--from the host of the hit podcast Bear Grease

For seven generations, the Newcomb family has lived alongside the American black bear in the wild lands of western Arkansas. In this eye-opening, wondrous exploration, Clay Newcomb, the renowned host of MeatEater's Bear Grease podcast, and an avid hunter, conservationist, and storyteller, travels across North America in search of these bears, bringing their remarkable world to life and cementing their significance in the American experience.

Part natural history, part campfire-storytelling, part untold ancient and American history, American Bear explores why these animals have been revered, feared, and hunted for tens of thousands of years. The black bear is our most misunderstood animal, and its comeback is one of the greatest conservation successes of the century. Newcomb tracks the black bear's astonishing arc, beginning with its appearance 1.5 million years ago, when the era's glacial climate shaped them into today's master generalists who gorge on everything from White Oak acorns to wasp larvae to elk calves, before vanishing into winter dens for months without food or water. We follow bears to various Indigenous communities, who venerate them as spiritually significant, powerful beings; to the frontier era, when market hunters nearly erased their species; to modern-day suburbia, where everyday encounters demonstrate their explosive adaptability.

Both a captivating personal narrative and a work of environmental and historical significance, American Bear tells us as much about ourselves as it does about possibly the most intelligent, most resilient creature on the continent.

Review Quotes

"American Bear is a wonder of scholarship, superb narration, hands-on experience, and passion. Clay Newcomb is a storyteller you cannot resist. He has created a masterwork of cutting-edge science as well as love of the hunt, with lessons in woodsmanship, conservation, and faith, with many surprises. This book is a model of candor and expertise. The reader will never think about black bears and hunting in the same way again."--Robert Morgan, New York Times bestselling author of Boone: A Biography

"There's not a man alive who's better equipped to write this book than Clay Newcomb. Not only has he spent his lifetime studying black bears, his reverence for the animals borders on the spiritual. American Bear is informative, inspiring, and entirely thought-provoking. You'll never look at American wildlife the same way again after reading this book. It will blow you away."--Steven Rinella, New York Times bestselling author and host of the TV show and podcast MeatEater

"A fascinating exploration of a truly magnificent American animal . . . Clay leaves no stone unturned in this telling, including the practices and reverence toward the black bear by the Indigenous people of this country--a crucial history that is too often left out."--Sterlin Harjo, filmmaker and creator of Reservation Dogs and The Lowdown

"The first chapter wakes you up. Then you learn about an amazing animal, along with a tremendous amount of American and environmental history. To someone like myself who has never hunted, it opens up a new world."--John M. Barry, New York Times bestselling author of Rising Tide and The Great Influenza

About the Author

Clay Newcomb is the host of the top-ranked Bear Grease podcast, part of the MeatEater podcast network. A seventh-generation Arkansan, he is a hunter, naturalist, and chronicler of rural American culture.