The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (Vintage Departures)

It feels like a disservice to call this book a true adventure story or a book that falls into the nature genre. It is much more. In fact, this book may cover more fields than any other book I have read of its length. It is a labor of love that was fully realized, and deserves to be read by more.On its surface, this is the story of the hunt for a man-eating tiger in the Russian forest, the Taiga. In the course of telling the story, fascinating enough to keep your attention all be itself, the author covers a lot of ground. Here are some of the highlights that I really enjoyed.* History of the Tiger. The author goes into detail about both native Russian and Chinese history concerning the tiger. It may be easy to scoff at any who would revere the tiger as a god, but by the end of this book you will see how easy it would be to let something like this happen.* Russian geography. This book takes place at the far end of Russia, past Siberia, where Russia and China meet. I had never heard of Primorye, but the abundant and unique wildlife and ecosystem there sounds unique to the world. The author struggles to even describe it at the beginning, and it is the only place where tigers currently live in such frigid temperatures.* Communism and perestroika. The good and the bad are highlighted through human triumph and tragedy, mainly the latter, as the tale unfolds around a number of small villages. The towns on this end of Russia are practically ghost towns at this point.* Psychology of human & animal relations. This was one of the most interesting facets of the book. What makes animals tick? How different are humans from animals? How do they communicate?* Tigers. Vaillant covers the biology and history of the tiger. It is awe-inspiring, and will cause you to look at this animal in a new way. His description and anecdotes of the vengeance of tigers are chilling . . .So much more is covered in this small book. It is an excellent read and one that will stay with you long after you close the book. The Tiger is a unique tale that will alter how you view the world. Highly Recommended.

The Tiger, by John Vaillant had been on my list of books to read for a while, but because of travel and work, I hadn't got to it yet. I have now read it. It didn't take me very long, which is a good sign. This is non-fiction, but Vaillant is fairly good at creating an interesting narrative out of a true story. In Far East Russia, an Amur (Siberian) tiger has been shot at and wounded by a logger and poacher. The tiger stalks him, kills him and eats him. This sends the Primorye region into turmoil, because in spite of the bitter cold, its inhabitants have to go into the Taiga to make a living. There are a number of tigers living there, but they normally don't attack people. This tiger, however, proved it can be different. Because he was wounded (and indeed many times) he found it hard to hunt, and was starving as a result. After killing and eating his first man, he turned to others and killed a second person from the same village as the first one. This is not new - many similar stories have happened and still happen in India. A search mission was instigated, and the tiger killed. This is all that happens in the book (and not just quite enough for my liking), but Vaillant excels at describing the region, its people, and their drastic living conditions. He also distils very interesting information about Amur tigers, which is why I found the book fascinating. Having said that, after reading the story you don't really want to go there - if you forget about the beauty of the Taiga, the living conditions and the poverty of the people are just staggering. I have always been fascinated by this part of the world and this is one of the reasons why I picked up this book. I'm less sure now, but come to think of it, I'd still go at the drop of a hat. I know the other side of the border, Chinese Manchuria, and as too often happens in China, not much of the original natural environment remains (and forget about tigers or any kind of animal!). Russia is a different story. Vaillant's descriptions of the living conditions and unemployment remind me of a few stays I had to make in Moscow in the years 1989-1990. These were tough times, and I do not have great memories of the place. I just couldn't find anything decent to eat or drink. Quite an experience, but not one I was looking forward to at the time. I understand things are different today. If you are interested in discovering Far East Russia (North West of Vladivostok) and want to know more about the fascinating Amur tiger, then this book is for you. Amur tigers (like most tigers) are heavily poached and their numbers are ever decreasing - this is partly due to the interest and beliefs of the Chinese in regard to the potency of Tiger organs, meat, paws, claws etc. They are ready to pay a fortune for them. This is bad news for the tiger, just as shark fin soup is bad news for sharks. I won't delve more into the lack of environment protection in China - we're all aware of it - but as far as tigers are concerned, The Tiger is a great book.