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Bernd Brunner discusses the motivations behind his recent book Bears: A Brief History. Humans and bears— two species that exhibit both peaceful and violent behaviors—have shared a lengthy history. And the bear has become a central figure in our collective consciousness: many children sleep with teddy bears while some adults suffer from “Bearanoia.” But do our images of bears have much in common with the animal as it really is?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RHvycnas1bQ]

Bernd Brunner is the author of Moon: A Brief History and Inventing the Christmas Tree, both available from Yale University Press.