Most people conjure up fearful images of mammoth-sized grizzlies with gaping mouths of razor sharp teeth when they think of bears, but wilderness aficionado Howard Smith and internationally acclaimed photographer Michael H. Francis show another side to these massive bruins. In the Company of Wild Bears melds fascinating real life human-bear encounters with never before seen world-class photography to create a unique experience most readers have only dreamed about. Instead of scaring people out of the forest, In the Company of Wild Bears invites them in to take a closer look at the lives of these incredible beasts. Join Smith as he takes a Beaver floatplane to the majestic mountains of Alaska to mingle with Alaskan brown bears, treks the Teton Wilderness to get an up close and personal glimpse of grizzlies, and almost gets bowled over by a mother black bear and cub who crash, bam, and boom through the brambles on the Appalachian Trail--literally inches away from him. Smith's deeply descriptive writing makes you feel like you're right on the trail experiencing everything firsthand as he does. Also included are numerous informational sidebars on bear protection, hibernation, understanding bear language, sharing living spaces with bears, and more. And with the continued threat of grizzlies being an endangered species, a new light is cast on the important value of bears in the wilderness. Each chance encounter will leave your mind racing, your heart pounding, and your feet itching to get out into the woods on your own