In The Land Of The Bear

8 reviews for In The Land Of The Bear

1. 

   Ken Kieser – October 30, 2017

   “Your book was interesting from start to finish. I congratulate you. Your book will be placed with a couple of my favorites for reading again on a deep-snow day. I will definitely do reviews on your book!

   Every newspaper or magazine journalist will eventually write a book. Eventually their friends will contact authors like me to write a review of their book. This has created several problems: many of the books were boring and my byline would be on the review. Readers might hate the book that i wrote favorably about and my credibility would be damaged. Readers are a writer’s treasure!
   I Have known Denny Geurink several decades. We reacquainted our longtime friendship at a recent outdoor writers conference in Minnesota. We spoke of old times and then Denny mentioned he had written a unique book about hunting in Russia.
   Admittedly, that sounded interesting, but I held back on promising a written review. Then I started reading Geurink’s book and was pulled in from the first paragraphs. This is a worthwhile book.
   I went back and read some sections over again, not wanting this book to end. I felt envy for this book’s content and Denny’s fine writing style. I was totally overjoyed with my new prize, a book I will surely read again someday during a heavy snow. “In the Land of The Bear” provides an inside look at the excitement, mystery, danger and the adventure of hunting and traveling in Russia from 1991 through 2014.

   Geurink was the first American big game outfitter to take hunting clients to Siberia, operating in a strange land among a foreign culture that, he believes, closely resembled the America’s Wild West 150 to 175 years ago

   Geurink wears three hats in his Russian adventures: hunter, an outfitter for other hunters and occasionally a guide working with the Russian guides. His 20-plus years of running these trips created fascinating stories, many about survival.
   “In the Land of the Bear” is now one of my favorite outdoors books. Here are several reasons why:

   • RUSSIA: Geurink went a step beyond hunting and gave us glimpses of the Russian people. This is not the first time I have heard of Russian kindness, despite the old Cold War news flashes or James Bond chasing Russian villains. After all, people are people!
   People in Russia are envious of what Americans own in homes and food. They would love to give their families this quality of life. So American tourists are welcome, although some behave like entitled Americans – a sad mindset of arrogant people.
   Russian individuals throughout the book showed kindness or generosity in different ways. Even representatives of the Russian government went out of their way to help Geurink lead hunting trips into their land of the bear.
   Were there issues? Of course. But diplomacy and a dollar or two under the table solved all problems.

   • TROPHY HUNTS: Few individuals in Russia own hunting rifles, creating light hunting pressure. Geurink’s hunts that started in 1991 found many world-class trophies. Most notably, the trophy brown or grizzly bear hides squared to 10 feet – 9-foot square is considered a trophy.
   Moose sported up to 68-inch antlers – world-class-sized animals. And stags were shot with monstrous antlers while wild hogs tended to be larger than species generally found throughout America, often dangerous, too.

   WILD ADVENTURES: The Russian wilderness is not for the weak-hearted. Throughout the book several close calls are mentioned, including: two men on snowmobiles chased by a giant bear, plus moose attacks, bears in camp, a puppy sadly carried off by a giant sea eagle, being surrounded by bears, being stalked by bears, a bear dragging a hunting guide into the wilderness in his sleeping bag, wolves in the perimeter, a huge moose in camp, wild weather and meeting the KGB
   A combination of qualified Russian guides, prepared American hunters and a bit of luck helped everyone survive these potentially fatal ordeals.
   There, too, is a section on Puster citizens who did not survive bear attacks or the two women who walked up on a bear eating a corpse at the local cemetery.

   TRAVELS: Some travel arrangements went smoothly while others not as planned. Geurink learned to deal with issues that arose. Airplanes and ground travel vehicles were less than acceptable in the early trips, adding to the adventure. But no one died.
   Reading Geurink’s book was a wonderful discovery. I Highly recommend it to anyone interested in travel, big game hunting or a better understanding of the Russian people. I am ordering several copies as Christmas presents. It also is available at Cabela’s & Bass Pro
   Kenneth Kieser — A veteran outdoors writer and member of the Waterfowlers Hall of Fame and National Fresh Water Fishing Hall
   of Fame, writes a weekly newspaper outdoors column.
   “
   Ken Kieser, Outdoor columnist, Independence/Blue Springs Examiner, Kansas City and book reviewer for numerous major magazines

2. 

   Tom Watson – October 30, 2017

   “One of the best reads I’ve ever enjoyed! The history, personal accounts and natural history information are nicely blended. You hit it squarely with your comments on the friendship and no political boundaries at the one-on-one personal level.”
   Tom Watson, Camping Editor/Sportsmansguide.com & newspaper columnist

3. 

   Gary Howey – October 30, 2017

   “Hard to put down! I’d recommend this book to all my listeners!”
   Gary Howey, Outdoorsman Adventures KTTM/KTTW-TV, radio interview

4. 

   Daryn Z – December 29, 2020

   Great reading! FUN

   I purchased this book from Denny at a sport show and after reading it I booked a trip to hunt the bears of Kamchatka! Was fortunate to have Denny as a host in Moscow and that made this trip extra special. Then when home from the hunt I had to read the book again! The book is so true to the experience of such a different culture and such a fun book to read. Great book! Great gift idea! Great author!

5. 

   Tom Berg – January 14, 2021

   Great High Adventure Book

   This book is filled with stories about the excitement, danger, wonder and adventure of hunting huge brown bears and trophy moose in remote Siberia. The hair-raising hunting stories are wonderful on their own, but when you combine them with descriptions of traveling in Russia in the 1990s, when Russia had just opened its borders to foreign tourists and hunters, the book takes on a whole new appeal. I absolutely could not put this book down! It’s one of my favorite high adventure books ever. I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves high adventure, hunting, and learning about travel in Russia. Every outdoorsman should have a copy – not just bear hunters.

6. 

   Paradise Pete – January 19, 2021

   An Amazing and Entertaining Piece of Work!

   The author was invited to be the first foreign hunter to visit Russia late in the cold-war days. This led to over 20 years of booking and guiding scores of hunters on 50 trips to northern Russia for brown and grizzly bears (plus giant moose, Russian boars, grouse, etc.). More than a hunting book, it relates actual experiences with the culture and people of a country unknown to most Americans. I have lent out my personal copy and gifted others to hunting friends. Never fail to get effusive thanks and comments. Here is one-of-a-kind reading for hunters and non-hunters alike.

7. 

   Coates02 – February 9, 2021

   “Great stories, I don’t read much, but I had a hard time setting this book down. I love the short stories of the adventures and danger of hunting brown bears in Russia’s forbidding Siberia. This book is an excellent gift for those who love the great outdoors.”

8. 

   Joey – March 21, 2021

   “Great read It’s about time to read this book for the third time. I don’t read books, but this one is well worth your time.”
   Joey