A number of experts in various disciplines shared their advice,
research, and encouragement at crucial points along the way, among them
Clark Barrett, Rock Brynner, C. J. Chivers, Donald Clark, Amir
Khisamutdinov, Geoff Mann, Frank Mendel, Lubov Passar, Chris
Schneider, Galina Titorova, Kira Van Deusen, Ed Walsh, and Ron
Ydenburg. The late Valery Georgevich Yankovsky offered a vivid
glimpse of a time and place now all but lost to history.
In addition to being classics in their respective fields, George
Schaller’s The Deer and the Tiger, John Stephan’s The Russian Far East,
and Matt Cartmill’s A View to a Death in the Morning are solid base
camps from which many students have launched their own expeditions
into these fascinating realms. That the authors are generous and
personable is a bonus to those following in their tracks. Some other key
sources were Charles K. Brain’s The Hunters or the Hunted?, Donna Hart
and Robert W. Sussman’s Man the Hunted, David Prynn’s Amur Tiger,
and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s The Tribe of Tiger. For those wanting a
rich and readable one-stop source on everything tiger, I would heartily
recommend The World of the Tiger by Richard Perry (sadly, out of print).
Finally, I want to thank Sonny Mehta, Louise Dennys, and Marty Asher
for their potent enthusiasm, and Stuart Krichevsky for his expert
guidance through the urban forest. I am especially grateful to my editor,
Andrew Miller, whose sharp eye, light touch, and good company kept this
beast from getting out of hand. My deepest gratitude goes always to Nora,
and to our children, whose love makes all things possible.
J.V.
Oaxaca, Mexico
December 17, 2009
ron
(Ron)
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