Night of the Grizzlies

By: Jack Olsen

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Jack Olsen's true account, traces the causes of the tragic night in August 1967 when two separate and unrelated campers, a distance apart, were savagely mangled and killed by enraged bears.

©2014 Jack Olsen (P)2014 Gregg Olsen

More captivating than I expected

Reading the reviews about the long introduction about the natural history of
Glacier national park I didn't expect to be so engrossed in the narrative right away.
Interesting and well told story

Incredible book!c

Shocking, horrible true story. Tell us what really happened and what led up to it, Contributing factors. The National Park Service failure to enforce basic safety rules and lax dangerous bear population management that year in glacier national Park.Bears fed garbage in order to provide a nightly entertainment show for the tourists. All this led up to two unspeakable tragedy's in one night at the park. The story is riveting because it is true.

Absolutely riveting!

Great narration added to this fantastic account of the Night of the Grizzlies in Glacier National Park! I've been telling everyone I know about this story and audiobook!

Another fascinating true tale by Jack olsen!

There is no mystery to be solved in this book, but the unraveling and examination of all the threads that made up the complex human -Grizzley bear relationship that lead to an unimaginable tragedy one summer. Olsen's story telling is complex, thorough and compelling and Kevin Pierce is a brilliant voice for his stories.

Stunning...

The events within this story took place 53 years ago as I was not yet born until 1968. The glory days of free ranging in Yellowstone didn’t exactly slow down until the mid 1970’s.
As an adult I can’t imagine the level of ignorance the Park Rangers of 1967 displayed which lead up to the tragic events of that fateful night in 1967.
So much has been learned regarding wildlife and it’s habitat these past 50 yrs that it just seems unimaginable the Yellowstone caretakers of 1967 were so oblivious to at least some wildlife management concepts.
I don’t think they were actually.
After listening to this book, I believe what occurred was a perfect storm affected from complacency and willful oversight.
I grew up knowing the number one rule at Yellowstone is “Do Not Feed the Bears!” Now I know why this rule is effectively enforced. The cost of human life to learn that lesson and many other lessons as to why we don’t entice, or feed the bears with food, or food waste was a very high one.
Why didn’t certain higher ups in 1967 Park Management be held accountable and fired over this tragedy? The rule existed in 1967 but was lacking enforcement.
I was disturbed by the trash waste dumps near shelters and camping grounds described in the story as used to attract bears for tourists to get a glimpse at them.
More disturbing was the ignorant suggestions being tossed around back then about eliminating the Grizzlies from Yellowstone altogether to make it safer for visitors to the park.
Thankfully we’ve come a long way in the 53yrs since that fateful night. We have so much to learn yet still.

What a story

I think most memorable moment was when two fellow hikers, a priest and a surgeon realize that Julie is too badly injured to survive. After being carried in from woods and placed on dining table in an improvised operating room it becomes obvious to doctor she has lost too much blood since the bear attack hours before. The priest understanding this nonverbal communication from the doctor changes messages in his soothing whispers to the barely conscious Julie. Subtly and seamlessly he no longer encourages her to hang on and endure, but to feel Gods love, leave this life feeling love, peace and comfort. He baptizes the dying young woman with water from a canteen.

Never wanted to go to Glacier so much

This is a great story about a tragic accident. The author paints a wonderful scene in his description of nature. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Don’t feed the bears!

I look for books that will grab & hold my attention. Through most of this book I just stared blankly ahead & had to remind myself to breathe. I would say that qualifies.

Engaging

This is set in the 1960s and we’ve learned a lot about wildlife and grizzly management since then. Sad ending, so not uplifting if that’s what you’re looking for. That said, narration is solid and story is well written. Editing flows well. Worth the listen.

Incredible story, well written and excellent dictation.

I enjoyed it immensely. The story flowed smoothly and was read nicely. Would recommend it.