A Hunt for Justice: The True Story of an Undercover Wildlife Agent
This consistently engrossing first-person account by a retired special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gives readers the inside track on a 1992 undercover hunt for illegal poachers in the Alaskan wilderness. One of nine women in an often misogynist agency of 210, Schroeder brings to life a motley crew of characters. Lewd, unreliable and usually drunk Roy Hanson is a paid informant who poses as the happily married Schroeder's "boyfriend" and hunting partner. Moose James, a poacher and cunning guide who treats his wife like a servant, bolsters his big ego with the carcasses of hundreds of grizzly bears, bighorn sheep and other trophy animals. The mastermind behind a secret operation that guarantees rich hunters their quarry by herding animals with small planes, Bob Bowman brags that he'll kill any undercover cop who infiltrates his camp. A Spanish client, Pedro, is shameless about his greed: "Every hunter should get what they want, no matter what it takes." Although the penalties imposed by the undercover sting seem unusually light given the danger, and the time, money and energy expended, and the line between legal "harvesting" and illegal poaching will blur for nonhunters, Schroeder illuminates an unusual, insular world with unflinching grit and good humor.(Apr.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.