Alaska Books

Author Chris Kiana plunges the reader into a story with the contrasing images of the cruel and raw Alaska with the urban and seedy side of New York City. I particularly liked his pacing, and his introductory chapter gives us a taste of the shaman-like figure and his mission for his trip to New York.
Kiana sprinkles home spun wisdom and native humor into his tale, with his main character showing his shaman-like tendencies. The culture clash is quite evident on his adventures in the city. I liked his revelations on the use of "paper" in our lives to have great insight. In summation, the story is good and compact, with short chapters and was quite entertaining for the reader. Humor is imbedded in the plot along with unexpected flashes of terror.

I have always been disappointed in the usual albums that attempt to capture the pristine splender and overwhelming viceral expierence that Alaska presents. In this book, it is impossible to put it down before absorbing the entire book, not once, but two or three times! It makes it crystal clear that there is no other part of the world that comes close to matching Alaska's mystery, wilderness, and unbelievable panoramas of seemingly endless spectaclar mountain ranges that collectively make the final frontier a truely "once in a lifetime" experience! To say less would not do it Justice!

Chuck Keim's classic book on Alaska's first Master Guide, Hal Waugh. Filled with stories of hunts, outdoor lore and Hal's own personal hunting ethics, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Alaska hunting.

Paid $.50 @ yd sale. Fast reading. No foul language, sex, violence. Refreshing. Great reading material for younger kids. (I'm 67 - interested because of recent trip to Alaska) Took me back to days when I read good, clean books in school. (Finished in '57). Makes me want to read her other two books. Think I'll look them up on Amazon.com. I'll buy them, keep all three for my grandchildren - IF I can get them to quit playing those games on video machines!!!

I bought this book for my father to read before he got to drive the Alaskan Highway back to the USA... This was always his dream to do and I wanted him to have as much information as possible!!

Eliza Scidmore's (say sidmore) fabulous book of her travels in South East Alaska on the SS Idaho and the SS Ancon of the Pacific Coast Steamship Co. Thorough and accurate representation of coastal Alaska from the future president of the National Geographic Society. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this area of Alaska.
Jim Geraghty
Juneau Alaska

I saw this book alongside more than fifty kindred at the Denali Visitor Center. We chose this for our table display book because it alone showed Alaska as the word itself defines - "The Great Land." This is the book Robert Service would have chosen to illustrate his poetry about "the great, big, broad land 'way up yonder...the beauty that thrills me with wonder, it's the stillness that fills me with peace."

If you can't go, you are the poorer for it, but this book will enrich your eyes and your spirit.

Lee in Tucson

I'm in a business that reaches some out-of-the-way places in Alaska. Areas around Kotzebue Sound, Norton Sound and up many of the rivers in the interior. Up the Nushagak River to Koliganek or to Bethel and the Kuskokwin River. This fold up map is the best for travel and the detail superb. I don't travel without it and use it a lot in the office in Seattle.

Quoting from the back cover:

"In this memoir of adventure and survival in late-1970s Alaska, author John McGoldrick offers a sweeping look at the stunning beauty and natural history of one of America's most scenic states.

"Leaving Maine in 1975, McGoldrick travels to Alaska, working as a clam digger, carpenter, gold miner, and mountaineering guide. He survives Alaskan winters living in the back of a truck, a camper, and a broken-down school bus, and eventually builds his own house. Hunting ducks, geese, and deer, and fishing for salmon across the state helps McGoldrick experience the beauty of Alaska's wildlife and jumping out of a military CH 47 Chinook helicopter in the middle of winter onto the slopes of Mount McKinley to rescue survivors of a plane crash keeps his adventurous spirit content.

"Blending scientific insights with Alaskan history, Alaska Memories is McGoldrick's vivid, witty, and enjoyable story."

This memoir is divides into twelve chapters...all very interesting, informative, and well written. If you enjoy true-life adventure tales, have any interest in Alaska, or just like personal memoirs, you'll certainly enjoy Alaska Memories. McGoldrick lived in Alaska from 1977 to 1983 and then returned to New England where he attended medical school to become an emergency physician.

Kaye Trout
Reviewer

We are in a heated debate if the picture on pg. 26 is Hooper Bay or Tooksook Bay. Hooper Bay is not located on an island. The pictures are very nice. We are enjoying the book.

As Alaska's natives confront the realities of modern living which are changing not only their culture but their familiar environment, they're drawing strength in renewed attention to their heritage - and Alaska Native Ways: What the Elders Have Taught Us is an important tribute to this strength. General-interest libraries as well as Native American specialty collections receive an oversized, coffee-table-type display of gorgeous full-page color photos by Roy Corral, with accompany text by Natives and an introduction by Will Mayo. The text is ten essays, one from each of Alaska's Native cultures, which explores and teaches one special value common to their teachings over the generations: as such they provide not only a tribute to, but a celebration and re-affirmation of Alaskan Native ways in a lovely, highly recommended display piece.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch