Announcing Clay Newcomb's Book, American Bear

For eight generations, the Newcomb family has lived alongside the American black bear in the wild lands of western Arkansas. In this eye-opening exploration, Clay Newcomb travels across North America in search of these bears, bringing their remarkable world to life and cementing their significance in the American experience.

The black bear is our most misunderstood animal, and its comeback is one of the greatest conservation successes of the century. American Bear explores why bears have been revered, feared, and hunted for tens of thousands of years through explorations of biology, archaeology, and American history, along with stories you’d typically only hear shared around a campfire.

Clay tracks the astonishing arc of Ursus americanus, beginning with its appearance 1.5 million years ago. The ancient glacial climate shaped black bears into today’s master generalists, gorging on everything from White Oak acorns to wasp larvae to elk calves, before vanishing into winter dens for months without food or water.

We follow bears to various Indigenous communities, who venerate them as spiritually significant, powerful beings; to the frontier era, when market hunters nearly erased their species; to modern-day suburbia, where everyday encounters demonstrate their explosive adaptability.

Both a captivating personal narrative and a work of environmental and historical significance, American Bear tells us as much about ourselves as it does about possibly the most intelligent, most resilient creature on the continent.

Pre-order American Bear right here by December 9 and get a Christmas card signed by Clay to put under the tree. You'll receive the hard copy of the book when it's published on February 9, 2027.

Stay in the loop with The MeatEater Newsletter

Shop