I am a firm believer that books are written with the help of friends, jugs of coffee and gallons of tea. This book is no exception and I have enjoyed an abundance of all three. Foremost in the field of toil is Wendy Read Wertz, who put her life on hold in order to proof-read my text and put it into the computer. She also sat long hours going over the text with me and made my English comprehensible, offered encouragement and served up coffee and cookies. Without her labours and her enthusiasm for this project, it would still only be a good idea.
Help also came from my dear friend Zoltan Abádi-Nagy, who introduced me to László Kordos. It was László who guided me through the intricacies of how to interpret cave bear skulls and facilitated a trip to the Bükk Mountains where cave bear remains had been found. I thank them both.
Others suggested books, articles and artefacts that proved valuable to the construction of my tale. They include Riku Hamalainen, Susanne Österlund-Pötzsch, Mia Rehn, David Fahgy, Merike Holmberg, Gerhard Baer, Claudette ‘Teddy’ Latchford, Ann B. Hood and Judith Kenneweg Sturm.
Still others helped in translating from Finnish to English. Here especially I had the help of Rani Andersson. He also, despite illness, hiked through the Finnish forest with me and sat out a night in a cold blind, observing bears. My friend, Henrik Gustafsson, offered aid not only in translations from Swedish but also in the finer points of Swedish linguistics.
Help also came in other ways. Scholars, like armies, also travel on their stomachs. Friends in Hungary, Germany and Finland all spoiled me with their support and I greatly appreciate their generosity and goodwill. They include Imre, Csibi and Eva Becsei, Karen Goihl, Mia and Leila Rehn.
Also deserving of mention for their aid are: Indiana University Libraries, the British Museum, the National Museum of Finland, the Geological Museum of Hungary, the Lincoln Park Zoo of Chicago, and the Indianapolis Zoo. Their kindnesses in fulfilling my many requests for information are appreciated.
Finally, I would like to thank my editor, Jonathan Burt, and all those who listened to me talk ceaselessly about bears for two years and did not let it spoil our friendships. These include not only many of my students and most of those listed above but also, in particular, Maryellen Bieder, Kristina Rusnik, Roy Goldblatt and Martin Zanger.
My debt to all of you is enormous. I love you all.