The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival
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- Create Date：2021-12-17 09:53:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John Vaillant
- ISBN：0340962585
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Summary
A man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russia's Far East。 To the horror of a team of hunters， it emerges that the attacks are not random; the tiger is engaged in a vendetta。
Injured and starving， it must be found before it strikes again， and the story becomes a battle for survival between two main characters: Yuri Trush， the lead tracker， and the tiger itself。
Injured and starving， it must be found before it strikes again， and the story becomes a battle for survival between two main characters: Yuri Trush， the lead tracker， and the tiger itself。
Reviews
Ian Maertens
，
Definitely a bit of a letdownThis book seemed to promise two things， a story about a man-eating tiger， and an explanation as to what drove it to kill out of vengeance。 The former was technically met， but the latter was nothing more than， “we will never know why the tiger did this”。 In a book that talks at length about how a single leopard or tiger has been known to kill hundreds of people， I don’t see the point in writing a book about a tiger that killed two。 And if you are going to say it’s due Definitely a bit of a letdownThis book seemed to promise two things， a story about a man-eating tiger， and an explanation as to what drove it to kill out of vengeance。 The former was technically met， but the latter was nothing more than， “we will never know why the tiger did this”。 In a book that talks at length about how a single leopard or tiger has been known to kill hundreds of people， I don’t see the point in writing a book about a tiger that killed two。 And if you are going to say it’s due to vengeance， then you better give me a compelling reason for it。 。。。more
Jaret
，
The book had interesting information。 The focus of the tiger hunt was very short compared to the descriptions of the history of the region。 But I found that interesting， too， so I didn't mind so much。 The non-fiction text was able to hold my attention， and I did learn things。 It was a solid read for me。 The book had interesting information。 The focus of the tiger hunt was very short compared to the descriptions of the history of the region。 But I found that interesting， too， so I didn't mind so much。 The non-fiction text was able to hold my attention， and I did learn things。 It was a solid read for me。 。。。more
Marylovesreading
，
An interest study of a man-eating tiger in Russia and the history of the area， politics and poaching problems。 A haunting study of the relationship between humans and animals。 The reason I didn’t give 5⭐️ is that there were some slow parts。
Traci
，
I enjoyed the history of the tiger and the history of that area of Russia。 The latter was definitely unexpected。 I realized I knew very little about the time/area so a good chunk of the book is not specifically about tigers but more building the picture so you can understand how central these animals are to so many areas。I probably would have rated this higher but I really struggled to keep characters straight in my head。 I'm not sure if that's because of the winding way the story was narrated o I enjoyed the history of the tiger and the history of that area of Russia。 The latter was definitely unexpected。 I realized I knew very little about the time/area so a good chunk of the book is not specifically about tigers but more building the picture so you can understand how central these animals are to so many areas。I probably would have rated this higher but I really struggled to keep characters straight in my head。 I'm not sure if that's because of the winding way the story was narrated or all of the Russian names that started to blur together for me。 。。。more
Monica
，
I don't give out 5 stars lightly， but this book is incredible。 Vaillant's narrative style makes the story almost like a thriller， interwoven with the historical ecology of Amur tigers and the various peoples of the taiga。 Absolutely brilliant， tragic， and hopeful。 I don't give out 5 stars lightly， but this book is incredible。 Vaillant's narrative style makes the story almost like a thriller， interwoven with the historical ecology of Amur tigers and the various peoples of the taiga。 Absolutely brilliant， tragic， and hopeful。 。。。more
Alejandro Sanoja
，
What an amazing book！ It would've been the best of the month if I hadn't also finished Leonardo's biography in the same month。 It would be great to learn about how this book was written。 Part story， part history， it feels like a masterclass on many different topics。 You'll learn about evolution， predators， Russia， and many other interesting topics。 Flow: 5/5Actionability: 3/5Mindset: 5/5Some of My Highlights:"。。。tigers can wight six hundred pounds; they have been hunting large prey， including hu What an amazing book！ It would've been the best of the month if I hadn't also finished Leonardo's biography in the same month。 It would be great to learn about how this book was written。 Part story， part history， it feels like a masterclass on many different topics。 You'll learn about evolution， predators， Russia， and many other interesting topics。 Flow: 5/5Actionability: 3/5Mindset: 5/5Some of My Highlights:"。。。tigers can wight six hundred pounds; they have been hunting large prey， including humans， for two million years; and they have a memory。""The tiger will see you a hundred times before you see him once。""Lenin may have envisioned it， but Stalin mastered it: the ability to disorient and disconnect individuals and large populations， not just from the physical surroundings and core communities， but， ultimately， from themselves。""。。。Soviet Russia's secrecy and paranoia are legendary to the point of caricature。。。""The Russian State， in other words， is masculine and paternalistic。""It is no coincidence that， in Russia， the divorce rate is one of the highest in the world， and single mothers （both literal and practical） are nearly as common as children。""Men carry their superiority inside; animals outside。" - Russian Proverb"。。。in order to survive， they need to kill roughly one large animal each week， and they miss their mark between 30 and 90 percent of the time。。。 As a result， injured or not， there is no rest for a tiger - no hibernation as there is for bears， no division of labor as with lions， and no migration to lush pastures as there is for many ungulates。""Fights between animals are rarely to the death because killing a powerful adversary is dangerous and takes an enormous amount of energy。""In Primorye， tigers attack and eat both black and brown bears on a daily regular basis; this is striking because， ordinarily， no animal in its right mind would take on a bear。""If a lion could talk， we would not understand him。" - Ludwig Wittgenstein"Objectively， these two creatures inhabit the same umgebung， but their individual umwelten give them radically different experiences of it。""I've read a tiger's not dangerous， they say the tiger won't attack。 But one thing's not clear to me。 Has he read this， too？ Does he know？""It is striking， too， that， unlike so many other species - cats， for example - we are the only branch of our family （Hominidae） who survived the journey。""In the West， a certain level of psychological awareness - and the language to go with it - is taken for granted now， but in Russia， with the exception of some in urban， educated circles， this is virtually nonexistent。""The brand-name Viagra is derived from vyaaghra， the Sanskrit word for tiger。""Optimists study English; pessimists study Chinese; and realists learn to use a Kalashnikov。" "To end a person's life is one thing; to eradicate him from the face of the earth is another。""The hunt - like lovemaking - occurs in a timeless zone where all the external measures temporarily cease to apply。 It is a ritual of concentration that determines life and death for all concerned。""The one certainty in tiger tracks is: follow them long enough and you will eventually arrive at a tiger， unless the tiger arrives at you first。""Over time， I realized that if you have accumulated more anger inside yourself than a tiger has in him， the tiger will be afraid of you。 Really， quite literally so。" - Yevgeny Smirnov"This wasn't the fault of the hunters; it was because effective predators excel at engineering situations that skew the odds in their favor， and this is what the tiger had managed to do， even though he was injured and， most likely， in unfamiliar territory。""If you're afraid of the wolf， stay out of the forest。" - Russian Proverb"Odysseus and Ahab would have been impressed。" 。。。more
DJ
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The book， “The Tiger， A True Story of Vengeance and Survival” by John Vaillant is about the chase of a man killing tiger in Taiga of Russia。 Involving poachers causing provocation to the tiger for their desire and greed of their pelts and paws and claws。 If I had to pick my favorite character from the book， I would pick the tiger。 I find the tiger's story more interesting standing against the odds and prevailing。 The characters felt somewhat real as when reading the story， it seemed like somethi The book， “The Tiger， A True Story of Vengeance and Survival” by John Vaillant is about the chase of a man killing tiger in Taiga of Russia。 Involving poachers causing provocation to the tiger for their desire and greed of their pelts and paws and claws。 If I had to pick my favorite character from the book， I would pick the tiger。 I find the tiger's story more interesting standing against the odds and prevailing。 The characters felt somewhat real as when reading the story， it seemed like something out of a movie， and didn't seem realistic。 I wouldn’t say the story kept me guessing， it was more of just explaining what was going on rather than being suspenseful。 My favorite part of the book was when the tiger caught another victim， showing his retaliation to the poachers。There were scenes in the book that formed emotions， for example the men in the woods， scared for their lives hunting the tiger alone。 I wouldn't say the book made me laugh or cry but gave me a satisfied feeling。 At some points the book tempted me to close it due to the lack of action， and at some points urged me to turn to the next page。The only cons to the book in my opinion was how large the book was for the content John delivered， I prefer an action pack， quick and fast book。 It was a little hard to choose a side being that another human like myself was killed by a tiger but the choice was easy。 The story wasn’t scary for me， this theme of revenge was right up my alley as I take interest to books in that rare field。I gave the book a three star rating out of five because it took too long to read personally， I did not feel interested in the book the entire time at all。 In all， I did enjoy the book as it is rare a story of revenge and vengeance gets this big。 I would recommend the book as I’m sure others would find the book great as long as you have more patience than myself。 。。。more
Rie
，
The story itself of a tiger killing people and the people’s connection and relationship to both the tiger and the environment is fascinating。 East Russia is as much a character as anyone else introduced in the book。 But the story went long in a lot of places and elements were either overdramatized or underdramatized - a bit of a strange mix， like the characters themselves。
817MJ220
，
4*This was such an intriguing read from start to finish - but it did test my patience。。。The man-eater at the centerstage of this nonfiction reminded me a lot of a certain fictional movie star-of-sorts based on the book "Jaws" by Peter Benchley。 I read Jaws while still in school and I vaguely remembered the details until I started reading this by Vaillant。 I dug into my shelves for Benchley's book and read the first few chapters of that too parallel with this one and yes！ Vaillant has followed a 4*This was such an intriguing read from start to finish - but it did test my patience。。。The man-eater at the centerstage of this nonfiction reminded me a lot of a certain fictional movie star-of-sorts based on the book "Jaws" by Peter Benchley。 I read Jaws while still in school and I vaguely remembered the details until I started reading this by Vaillant。 I dug into my shelves for Benchley's book and read the first few chapters of that too parallel with this one and yes！ Vaillant has followed a similar vein in writing this book， only this in nonfiction form。 And I see now why I felt the same way with Jaws - the strategy Benchley and Vaillant has in common here is that they both keep the predator offstage a lot， all the while building up the terror and atmosphere until the ultimate tragic end。 （I think I will need to reread Jaws with a new set of lens now。。。）The premise is set in Primorye （Pri-mor-ya）， a territory in Far East Russia that has suffered from the devastation of perestroika and continues to plunge itself in poverty years after the conflict and wars。 Apart from the poor who still reside in this place， the region is home to hundreds of Amur tigers。 I particularly enjoyed reading about these tigers， their species and nature。 The most interesting thing about these beasts is that unlike their Bengal counterparts， they DONT eat people。 Huh。。。go figure that。。。That is until a giant and very intelligent Amur breaks this "truce"， kills a resident hunter in the most savage way imaginable。 It starts hunting and acquiring the taste for human flesh in the most shocking manner。 Yuri Trush， the tiger preservation team commander is then called in to destroy the animal before it strikes again。 What I found very interesting here is two different agendas by the narrator - Yuri was trying to solve the mystery of the tiger's whereabout while Vaillant， a journalist， was trying to find out why this tiger （the only one） turned rogue in the first place。 I absolutely loved the insight into the life of the animal。 LOVED it！What tried my patience were the endless chapters of the history of Primorye and how it came to be。 I appreciate history， I really do and I think it is truly important as a context for any good story but at times i felt it was too much。 I realised however， Vaillant was reporting what he saw day in， day out about the people， the circumstances they lived in and how they survived。 Its heart breaking to say the least。 For me， when the parts of the book about the tiger came up， the book was unputdownable （for the lack of better words） but when the tiger was offstage， the book tended to bore me a bit。 Vaillant is an excellent researcher and his writing is fabulous。 His insights be it about the tiger， the place or people is just remarkable。 I saw what he was doing here。 He was not only telling a story of a rogue tiger and how it was captured but it was a way of how he could bring out his facts in the service of Primorye。 I really think the Russian government needs to do more here - a heck of a lot more。 The corruption and conflict is appalling and shameful。 When Russians make up quite a number of billionaires in the world， why the hell then is this place in dire poverty？I don't read a lot of nonfiction but I am completely absorbed in ones that tell me a good story like this one。 The Tiger is about an animal that is so smart and cunning but very obviously does not want to be found。 The fear that one has of it heightens when one realizes that they're the ones being hunted。 "A tiger will see you a thousand times before you see it even once。" 。。。more
Randi
，
I tried so hard to finish but couldn’t do it。 There were some cool facts here and there。 But it was one backstory after another to the point that I couldn’t even remember what the point of the book was supposed to be。 I hope they caught the tiger。 I’ll never know because I am so over it。
Jeff Bursey
，
A very well-written non-fiction work that contains two murders， sociology， animal studies and biology， ethnicity， hunting， a concise history of tigers （the Amur tiger especially） and of a particular region of russia， along with evaluations of russia and the far eastern area as they devolved from the ussr。 There's black market activity， guns that don't fire at -30F temperatures （indoors and out）， vengeance， torn-up tents， communal fear， and hidden motives on the part of the victims （the prey） and A very well-written non-fiction work that contains two murders， sociology， animal studies and biology， ethnicity， hunting， a concise history of tigers （the Amur tiger especially） and of a particular region of russia， along with evaluations of russia and the far eastern area as they devolved from the ussr。 There's black market activity， guns that don't fire at -30F temperatures （indoors and out）， vengeance， torn-up tents， communal fear， and hidden motives on the part of the victims （the prey） and the assailant （the predator， also a victim）。 The writing is evocative and atmospheric， the learning carried lightly。 One of the best books I've read this year。 。。。more
Paweł Rusin
，
Starting this book my expectation was that it will be more of a gripping page-turner， like "Shadow Divers" or "Deep Survival"。 And for some short periods， it was。 But those periods were interrupted by the lengthy chapters on Syberian taiga and tigers habitat。 It doesn't take away anything from the quality of the book - it was still an original and interesting read， but not really what I imagined it to be。 Starting this book my expectation was that it will be more of a gripping page-turner， like "Shadow Divers" or "Deep Survival"。 And for some short periods， it was。 But those periods were interrupted by the lengthy chapters on Syberian taiga and tigers habitat。 It doesn't take away anything from the quality of the book - it was still an original and interesting read， but not really what I imagined it to be。 。。。more
Michael Ray
，
Gripping， comprehensive， amazing nookLike a thriller， but absolutely filled with information about Russia， tigers， conservation， etc。 A fantastic page turner of a read。
Jessica
，
This was less a story of a vengeful tiger and more a natural history of the taiga and the unique ecosystem found in and around it， including the apex predators like humans and tigers and the amazing variety of plants and animals that support them。 It was， at times， a history of human politics and conflict， and at others a deep dive into the amazing adaptations that allow a tiger to survive。 This book was utterly fantastic。
P
，
This was a decent read。 If you don't read the summary very carefully， you will think this is some sort of supernatural tiger that murdered a bunch of people。 SPOILER ALERT: it killed two people， at least one of whom who had aggravated and shot it， and there are supernatural abilities ascribed to the tiger which are borderline ridiculous。 This part of the story was fairly ridiculous。But it was seemingly less than half the story。 The other half or more was about tigers in general， and it was very This was a decent read。 If you don't read the summary very carefully， you will think this is some sort of supernatural tiger that murdered a bunch of people。 SPOILER ALERT: it killed two people， at least one of whom who had aggravated and shot it， and there are supernatural abilities ascribed to the tiger which are borderline ridiculous。 This part of the story was fairly ridiculous。But it was seemingly less than half the story。 The other half or more was about tigers in general， and it was very good and interesting。 What majestic， crazy ass creatures。6/10。 。。。more
Eileen
，
Very engrossing。
Dean Earnest Card
，
Whoa…
Myles Wolfe
，
Such a fascinating book！ An enthralling and inspiring read。
Mirjam
，
The first letter of the first word of the first recorded story was written—printed—not by us， but by an animal。 These signs and symbols left in mud， sand， leaves， and snow represent proto-alphabets。 Often smeared fragmented and confused by weather time and other animals， these cryptograms were life and death exercises in abstract thinking。 This skill， the reading of tracks in order to procure food or identify the presence of a dangerous animal， may in fact be the oldest profession。
Michael Huang
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 An Amur tiger can weigh 500+lb。 A swipe of its forepaw can crush the skull of a large angulate。 Its canine can put a 1000lb per square inch pressure。 Yet this dangerous apex predator does not bother human hunters who chose to respect the tigers。 They are smart enough to avoid fighting with other tigers or the diminutive but clearly very resourceful Homo sapiens。 But the never ending poaching has not only seriously damaged the environment but made human increasingly vulnerable to tiger’s revenge。 An Amur tiger can weigh 500+lb。 A swipe of its forepaw can crush the skull of a large angulate。 Its canine can put a 1000lb per square inch pressure。 Yet this dangerous apex predator does not bother human hunters who chose to respect the tigers。 They are smart enough to avoid fighting with other tigers or the diminutive but clearly very resourceful Homo sapiens。 But the never ending poaching has not only seriously damaged the environment but made human increasingly vulnerable to tiger’s revenge。 In 1997 A local villager Markov was killed by a tiger。 Desperate tigers are known to attack dogs and livestock。 But this is different。 It’s animal who was incensed and out to take revenge on a specific target。 This became clear when the tiger is finally killed and all kinds of bullets were found inside him。 It’s a hell of a story and pretty well told by Valliant。 He managed to give relevant background of local people’s livelihoods， their beliefs and the personal histories of the key characters。 。。。more
Sandy
，
Really interesting read。 Learned so much about the Far East of the Soviet Union， the people who live there and how Soviet governance has affected their lives。 Loved learning about the amazing tigers inhabiting that part of the world。 Extremely intelligent， cunning animals capable of tracking individual people for revenge but will live near people with no issues if not harassed in some way。 Only negative regards the author's misguided view of evolution。 Really interesting read。 Learned so much about the Far East of the Soviet Union， the people who live there and how Soviet governance has affected their lives。 Loved learning about the amazing tigers inhabiting that part of the world。 Extremely intelligent， cunning animals capable of tracking individual people for revenge but will live near people with no issues if not harassed in some way。 Only negative regards the author's misguided view of evolution。 。。。more
Joseph
，
An insightful read; it was thoroughly informative and yet riveting to the core！The author added lots of factual and geographical background。 There are plenty of wildlife conservation history， lifestyle and behavioural traits of the characters involved - including the animal in question。 All this plays well and is essential to the story。 In this sense， The Tiger did/will not disappoint if you have the patience。However， if you are looking for a fast paced gory thriller， then this is not for you。 T An insightful read; it was thoroughly informative and yet riveting to the core！The author added lots of factual and geographical background。 There are plenty of wildlife conservation history， lifestyle and behavioural traits of the characters involved - including the animal in question。 All this plays well and is essential to the story。 In this sense， The Tiger did/will not disappoint if you have the patience。However， if you are looking for a fast paced gory thriller， then this is not for you。 The Tiger is a real life encounter story。 Not fiction by any means。 The beast here is real。 。。。more
Jackie Adams
，
Broadly the hunt for a man-eating tiger in in one of the farthest reaches of Eastern Russia。 But so much more: Russian history， communism， this primordial unique ecosystem where the last wild tigers are found。 And how in 200 years humans can wipe out a species and coexistence of 2 million。
John
，
Some thrilling， terrifying moments - but overall， far too much theorizing on the nature of man and moralizing on nature generally。 The Russian history was interesting。
Joanne
，
In December of 1997， in the far East of Russia， a tiger is terrorizing a small village。 The animal is not just killing people， he is devouring them， leaving only small pieces of clothing and just enough remains to identify a human。 A chilling tale that unfolds like a fictional thriller。 The author talked with the people who were terrified， the authorities who hunted the animal after the attacks， and somehow went into the mind of the Tiger to try and understand its motives。 There is no other word In December of 1997， in the far East of Russia， a tiger is terrorizing a small village。 The animal is not just killing people， he is devouring them， leaving only small pieces of clothing and just enough remains to identify a human。 A chilling tale that unfolds like a fictional thriller。 The author talked with the people who were terrified， the authorities who hunted the animal after the attacks， and somehow went into the mind of the Tiger to try and understand its motives。 There is no other word than beautiful， that I can think of， to describe the writing。 It drew me in and made me feel as if I was in that forest。All is quiet in this dormant， frozen world。 It is so cold that spit will freeze before it lands; so cold that a tree， brittle as straw and unable to contain it's expanding sap， may spontaneously explodeJohn Vaillant doesn't just tell the story of the attacks。 He guides you through the unfortunate lives of the people who are barely surviving in this remote area of the world。 He researches the reasons why this Tiger would come out of his natural habitat of the forest and not just attack humans， but lie in wait for them after ravaging their cottages or hunting blinds。 In two instances the tiger pulled a mattress from the dwellings， then laid upon them as he waited for the owner to return。The author studied the changing environment， caused by man and his greed to capitalize on the resources of the area。 He also tells of the devastation that occurred to the small economy of this area when Perestroika took over， as the old Soviet Union fell。 A great read， recommended highly for non-fiction readers。 。。。more
anonymousreader
，
What I thought would be a gripping and suspenseful tale of a hunt for a man-eating tiger in the Siberian wilderness instead was a meandering stroll through Russian history， culture， politics， geography， and ecology。 The book also expends significant word count towards detailing the personalities， motives， thoughts， yearnings， beliefs， and ancestry of the main characters， including the tiger。 Ancillary to all of this was the actual hunt for the titular tiger。The book is based on a true story abou What I thought would be a gripping and suspenseful tale of a hunt for a man-eating tiger in the Siberian wilderness instead was a meandering stroll through Russian history， culture， politics， geography， and ecology。 The book also expends significant word count towards detailing the personalities， motives， thoughts， yearnings， beliefs， and ancestry of the main characters， including the tiger。 Ancillary to all of this was the actual hunt for the titular tiger。The book is based on a true story about a tiger that killed 3 hunters in the 1990s and the consequent hunt for the tiger took place。 This story line could have been told in ample detail in probably a third of the total page count of this book。 The author‚Äôs digressions into all of the other topics， while at times interesting， left me feeling like I was reading a book with a multiple personality disorder that couldn‚Äôt decide what it was really about。 While the writing itself was good， the constant deviations from the main topic dragged the pace of the story to a crawl。 The other topics felt like they were added chiefly to fluff a slim volume out into a book-length manuscript rather than to enhance and build on the main story line。 This story would have been much better suited as a feature article in a magazine or as part of an anthology with the fluff cut out。 。。。more
Sean Steel
，
The author did a good job of keeping this a 'true story' rather than a dramatized version of what really happened。 That's important because what happened is friggin crazy enough。 The author did a good job of keeping this a 'true story' rather than a dramatized version of what really happened。 That's important because what happened is friggin crazy enough。 。。。more
Kip
，
It's like Jaws， but with tigers。 Very interesting and informative。 A retelling of the events， but also a history of Far East Russia， tiger poaching， and the Amur tiger。 It's like Jaws， but with tigers。 Very interesting and informative。 A retelling of the events， but also a history of Far East Russia， tiger poaching， and the Amur tiger。 。。。more
Stacy
，
Interesting topic。 I found the writing dry at times - a little too factual/historical for me。
Gary Denton
，