The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival - Rilegato

John Vaillant

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0340962569 ISBN 13: 9780340962565

Casa editrice: Sceptre, 2010

Riassunto

It's December 1997, and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russia's Far East. The tiger isn't just killing people, it's annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs must hunt it on foot through the forest in the brutal cold. As the trackers sift through the gruesome remains of the victims, they discover that these attacks aren't random: the tiger is apparently engaged in a vendetta. Injured, starving, and extremely dangerous, the tiger must be found before it strikes again. As he re-creates these extraordinary events, John Vaillant gives us an unforgettable portrait of this spectacularly beautiful and mysterious region. We meet the native tribes who for centuries have worshipped and lived alongside tigers, even sharing their kills with them. We witness the arrival of Russian settlers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, soldiers and hunters who greatly diminished the tiger populations. And we come to know their descendants, who, crushed by poverty, have turned to poaching and further upset the natural balance of the region. This ancient, tenuous relationship between man and predator is at the very heart of this remarkable book. Throughout we encounter surprising theories of how humans and tigers may have evolved to coexist, how we may have developed as scavengers rather than hunters, and how early Homo sapiens may have fit seamlessly into the tiger's ecosystem. Above all, we come to understand the endangered Siberian tiger, a highly intelligent super-predator that can grow to ten feet long, weigh more than six hundred pounds, and range daily over vast territories of forest and mountain. Beautifully written and deeply informative, The Tiger circles around three main characters: Vladimir Markov, a poacher killed by the tiger; Yuri Trush, the lead tracker; and the tiger himself. It is an absolutely gripping tale of man and nature that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the taiga.

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Recensione:

'The Tiger is the sort of book I very much like and rarely find. Humans are hard-wired to fear tigers, so this book will attract intense interest. In addition to tiger lore and scalding adventure, Vaillant shows us Russia s far east and its inhabitants, their sometimes desperate lives interwoven with the economics of poaching and the politics of wildlife conservation. I was startled to learn about the zapovedniks and Russia s primary place in global conservation. This is a book not only for adventure buffs, but for all of us interested in wildlife habitat preservation.' (Annie Proulx)

'This elegant work of narrative non-fiction has it all - beauty, intrigue, a primeval locale, fully realized characters, and a conflict that speaks to the state of our world. Obsessively well-researched and artfully written, The Tiger takes us on a journey to the raw edge of civilization, to a world of vengeful cats and venal men, a world that, in Vaillant s brilliant telling, is simultaneously haunting and enchanting.' (Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, and Hellhound On His Trail.)

'Writing in a vigorous, evocative style . . . Vaillant paints a haunting portrait of man's vexed relationship with nature.' --(Publishers Weekly)

'This elegant work of narrative non-fiction has it all - beauty, intrigue, a primeval locale, fully realized characters, and a conflict that speaks to the state of our world. Obsessively well-researched and artfully written, The Tiger takes us on a journey to the raw edges of civilization, to a world of vengeful cats and venal men, a world that, in Vaillant's brilliant telling, is simultaneously haunting and enchanting.' --Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers , Blood and Thunder and Hellhound On His Trail .

'Writing in a vigorous, evocative style... Vaillant paints a haunting portrait of man's vexed relationship with nature.' --Publisher's Weekly

Descrizione del libro:

The gripping tale of the hunt for a man-eating tiger across the forbidding landscape of Russia's Far East....

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Sceptre
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0340962569
• ISBN 13: 9780340962565
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 304