The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival

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John Vaillant's narrative about Amur tigers and the people who live with them in the remote village of Sobolonye, Russia is compelling enough that you'll start looking suspiciously at your cat by the time you're a quarter of the way through. But although the narrative is brilliant, and possibly the star of the book, the book is far more than just narrative, as Vaillant paints a fully-realized portrait not only of the tiger, but of post-communist Russia and the people who live there.

If you’ve seen the Life of Pi movie, you should read the original book that inspired it. The award-winning novel by Yann Martel is a tale about the unlikely bond that grows between a teenage boy named Pi Patel and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Vaillant gives us a strong flavor of the relationships between the men (and they are mostly men) and animals in this harsh environment, often through quotes with those living there. In talking about a tiger that killed a hunter, one friend says: "If the tiger had felt that it was his fault--if he had killed a dog or done something else wrong--then he would have gone away." (p.175) "The tiger is strong, powerful, and fair." (p. 178) There is much anthropomorphism here, not only as quoted, but also by Vaillant. In fact, he makes a case for its inevitability, even necessity. Certainly if it helps a hunter or trapper avoid crossing a predator like a tiger, and keep himself more or less adequately fed--who's to argue?In hunting societies, such as the Udeghe, the !Kung, the Haida, or the Sioux, animals were not merely food, they were seen as blood relatives, spiritual companions, hunting guides, and sources of power and connection to the surrounding world. The boundaries between the umwelten of humans and animals were, of necessity, much less rigidly defined.” Tyger reminds me a lot of Varjak Paw, a previous novel by Said that I adored, mostly for its feline focus and chapter lessons in opening up the mind to achieve remarkable things. However, the rest of this novel seems like a very timely reminder that more unites us than we think and that the real threat comes from pale, well-dressed men who lure the needy into insurmountable debt and in-fighting. Like the beast this book is about, The Tiger is patient. It stalks ahead with care and diligence as it learns about its prey, and each step forward the tension builds until the target is reached and then it pounces with devastating fury. The Great Patriotic War had scarcely concluded before the USSR began rebuilding and retooling for the Cold War. While Soviet engineers and scientists perfected the now ubiquitous AK-47 and tested the country’s first nuclear weapons, the general population reeled from the catastrophic synergy generated by six years of war and the seemingly endless nightmare of Stalin’s psychotic reign. During the two decades prior to Markov’s birth, the Soviet Union lost approximately 35 million citizens—more than one fifth of its population—to manufactured famines, political repression, genocide, and war. Millions more were imprisoned, exiled, or forced to relocate, en masse, across vast distances. With the possible exception of China under Mao Zedong, it is hard to imagine how the fabric of a country could have been more thoroughly shredded from within and without.” This children’s classic was written and illustrated by Judith Kerr. It was originally published in 1968.

Living with Tigers reflects his love for the majestic beasts as he recounts significant insights about the old days of Indian tiger reserves and fascinating observations on tiger behavior. Vaillant's book is in part true life animal story, part love poem to the dangerous cat in the world. On one level, Vaillant presents the natural history of the tiger. On the next level, Vaillant discusses the history of tiger resuce and Russia's far East. On the last level, Vaillant tells the story of a tiger's search for vengeance. This book recounts author Alan Rabinowitz’s journey to the Hukaung Valley in Northern Myanmar to establish the largest tiger reserve in the world. The Tiger Who Came to Tea was first published in 1968, but it has remained an all-time favorite across generations.One thing I couldn’t get my head around is the mob - I didn’t really find a full explanation of how it started or why it’s there. It feels like it just comes out of the blue. I would’ve loved to see a spark of rebellion or a development of the mob.

The tiger in this book was much less mellow than this tiger I saw at the Saint Louis Zoo, pain-maddened by an encounter with a human poacher. A couple more adds, from my sparse notes: Well-written and well-researched but TMI at times. Then again, chilling grace notes: an incident when a pride of lions in Africa slaughtered an entire troop of baboons. When the baboons realized they had no hope of escape, they covered their eyes and awaited their fate.

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. The book won the 2010 British Columbia National Award for Canadian non-fiction. In addition, it was voted The Globe and Mail Best Book for Science the same year, and its French translation got the Nicolas Bouvier Prize in 2012. Pros and Cons of The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival byJohn Vaillant Pros The story focuses on Adam Alhambra, a young lad who is the delivery boy of his family though really he dreams of becoming an artist. However his parents fear that this will draw unwanted attention and lead to greater persecution than they already suffer for having darker skin. However, when he stumbles onto the last living Tyger in a derelict building, magic takes hold of Adam's humble life and danger isn't far behind. A tiger goes man-eater and terrorizes a remote Siberian village. Can Yuri Trush and his men end the tiger's bloody reign of terror or join its long list of victims? This book chronicles author Valmik Thapar’s experiences in Ranthambore National Park. Thapar has observed about 200 tigers over the past 40 years, each of which has its own unique traits.