Alaska Books

I bought the 1992 edition, The All-new Highway Angler, the first year it was available, in a bookstore in Anchorage, and have used it on 4 trips to Alaska. If you are new to Alaska and looking for quality fishing you don't have to access from a float plane, Pederson's book tells you where and when. Recognizing that there are early and late springs, differences in snowfall and amounts of runoff into streams, I've found the book to be a great help in identifying waters to fish. When the book says fish average a certain size, they invariably are that size. Locations of spots to fish are easily found, times of year are accurate, and methods and baits/lures to use for various species are a great help to those new to the region. Whether we fly to Alaska and rent a motorhome or drive to Alaska, we always spend time fishing, and The Highway Angler has not only guided our choices of equipment, it has made the trip up and back often enough it is dog-eared and in need of replacement. Besides, it's a new edition, and there's probably some places in there I've missed!

Fishing Alaska's streams and rivers can be difficult. If you're not there when the salmon are, your just getting your line wet... you aren't fishing! This book will tell you when to fish, for what species, for every stream in Alaska. Plan your Alaska fishing trip, guided or unguided, by the salmon runs!

Without a doubt the best guide book to fishing Alaska's roads and highways on the market. Very thorough, detailed, and concise. Bargain price for the rich content. Easy to find information on species and locations as well as useful how-to tips. Having lived and fished in Alaska for over a decade, I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning to fish the state's roadside waters.

This is such a helpful book, I'm almost sorry it was written! This is *the* definitive guide to renting public cabins in southcentral Alaska. As an Alaskan who appreciates the availability of inexpensive cabins -- especially when B&Bs and hotels are $... nightly -- I must say I hope too many travelers don't catch on. Excellent and informative.

Andromeda Romano-Lax's How To Rent A Public Cabin In Southcentral Alaska is recommended for the rugged wilderness traveler: it tells hikers, kayakers, anglers and more how to locate and rent such cabins for very little money. While often bare-bones and lacking amenities, these cabins provide shelter and portals to the wilderness.

Few people who live outside of Alaska know about Alaska's wonderful public use cabins available for rent. This book explains how to enjoy some of the best Alaska has to offer (very inexpensively, by the way). A great resource for vacationing in Alaska.

This collection captures the "real" Alaska. Years ago I was a wildlife biologist in the Alaskan bush, and these stories are haunting and evocative of that time. Any reader interested in how the Great Land affects genuine people at work, at play, and just trying to keep alive or sane when working in the elements will enjoy these. Warner's well-crafted work is wonderful, and imparts a flavor of wild Alaskan and the inevitable adventures on airplanes, boats, as well as the type of characters I met in the Alaskan outback.

In many ways the texture of these stories reminded me of Charles Frazier's best-selling book Cold Mountain. While a very different type of fiction, Warner's work and Frazier's work carefully record the small things that are going on in the natural world around the characters. It is a quality -- one also evident in Hemingway -- that I enjoy and admire.

It is hard to say which story I enjoyed best -- the namesake was wonderful, as was the Journal From the Bay of Islands (in part because my wife and I are big fans of Ecuador). And Fever and Islands of the Four Mountains are superb. We are fortunate that a man with Irving Warner's talents and experience has spent so much time writing these great gems.

I've lived in Alaska for over 20 years, watching it grow from "the last frontier" to a virtual suburb of Seattle. This book brings back memories--and gut feelings--of what life in Alaska was like: the wilderness shorn of romanticism, indifferent to human life or death; the strange and powerful characters with all their mix of good and bad who shaped everyday experience; the reality that must seem mythical to anyone who hasn't lived it. Warner's characters are true-to-life and evoke memories of many people I've known here. "In Memory of Hawks" is a must-read for anyone who wants to recall what Alaska was like in the 70s or who wants to know how it feels to be alive at the fringes of civilization.

Two sorts of people write about Alaska: 1) those who take their journalistic or literary talent on a whirlwind tour of the state, then compose an account of `first impressions,' contrasting what they see with what they know of other places, and 2) those who endure Alaska and write from the gut about the beauty and the beast of the place.

Warner is definitely of the latter sort. If you want la-de-da accounts of what people from cities THINK Alaska and Alaskans are, accounts which will maybe confirm your own first impressions of the Great Land, then this book is not for you. If, however, you want to get as close as possible to Alaska without flying a Cessna into a mountainside or freezing on a mudflat, this book is your ticket. I know because I was a resident of Alaska for 20 years, and became well acquainted with the land and the people.

The only common denominator of these well-crafted and diversely set and plotted stories is Alaska. They are not all about pretty topics, nor do the protagonists always survive. But the stories are no stranger than life itself in the Far North, and they are entertaining. A couple of years ago, a visiting German friend of mine picked up this collection and could not put it down for two days until it was finished, which put quite a damper on our visit.

Warner's tales have broader literary value than your run-of-the-mill, sled-and-igloo saga, in that they aptly analyze universal human motivations and emotions under adverse circumstances. Simply put, they are a literary treat. I strongly recommend this book

This book, illustrated by charming line drawings, is chock full of the kind of fishing nuts-and-bolts that I enjoy. Not only the tale of a young guy growing up as a hunter and fisher, with plenty of poignancy and real-life insight into being alive on the planet, but also worthwhile as angler education. Zimmerman's voice is modest and self-deprecating, and wryly humorous. If you like John Gierach books, you will like this.

If there's a fisherman in your family who loves to read, give him a copy of Jay Zimmerman's In Neck Deep: Stories from a Fisherman. This is a coming-of-age memoir of a young man who retained a lifetime passion for fishing. First-person life encounters blend with fishing memories in a simple, let lively set of stories from a dedicated fellow angler.

Jay Zimmerman has given us a young man's story, much like Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River," that tells of crisis and growth. His memoir treats his Midwest childhood and his journey into adulthood...including time in the military, then returning home to Ohio, and on to Alaska. Throughout his joy and meditation on the process of fly-fishing brings him home. It's a remarkable book and a debut by a fine writer.
-Larry Smith, director of Bottom Dog Press

this book takes one to alaska -to the people who work hard and take pride of their state. we meet the people who are proud of their state.
ruth gruber went to israel as a correspondent during a difficult time in their history.we learn a lot of the country and the places that she lived in and visited.

A role model because of her age, sex, and faith. I didn't find out much about Alaska but was captured by her involvement in her world. It was a different time. Could her experiences be repeated today?

What an amazing woman. Ruther Gruber is interviewed on BookTV.org. Don't miss the book or the interview!

In the book's epigraph, from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Biographia Literaria, we are reminded of the importance of awakening "the mind's attention from the lethargy of custom" and directing the mind "to the loveliness and wonders of the world before us." This is where Bradfield's work as a poet intersects with her work as a naturalist; she is devoted to training us to observe the world closely, "searching for a response unlayered, genuine / true to what was there, gone, there in the woods" ("Fireflies First Seen at Age Thirty") and "unable to not listen, unwilling to miss anything" ("No More Nature").
You'll come away from Interpretive Work feeling inspired and illuminated. You'll want to fall, headfirst, deeply in love with the world and with someone in it, knowing you'll get your heart broken time and time again, knowing it will be worth it.

Gorgeous. Smart. Funny. Literate. Tender. Thick. Grounded. Lyrical. Intense. Sweet. Tough. This poet does it all and more. One of my favorite books of poems of the year.

The poems in Elizabeth Bradfield's wonderful debut collection explore complex territories--the Alaskan wilderness as well as suburban Anchorage, transgenic science and working as a naturalist on a commercial cruise ship. Most prominently, Bradfield shares with unassuming intensity her life as a lesbian in our culture, negotiating family expectations and the often uncomfortable assumptions of acquaintances and strangers. The language here is clear and plainspoken, but Bradfield never simplifies the difficulties and pleasures of human interactions with the natural world or of the many varieties of love. As she writes in "Nonnative Invasive": "None of us knows how to accept / the way love changes what it's drawn to . . ." Bradfield's spirit is generous and inclusive, and her poems help us see that our interpretive work of understanding the world is a collective and bracing task.

Living in Barrow, Alaska, the farthest north community in the U.S., I have experienced small houses in a harsh environment, like the one in the book. The book takes place in the small Northwest Alaska village of Buckland and is based on tales elders tell the young people all the time.
Kumak and his family have a comfortable little house on the edge of a frozen river, but with several generations living there, it seems crowded.
When I first met my wife Chris in Barrow, she was living alone in a 10x12 dwelling she called "The Box." And we do have a lot of larger and newer houses, but some large families and households still live in smaller houses.
Anyway, the author writes and illustrates the very wise way a local elder helps Kumak and his family deal with their perception of "a crowded house." It is a fanciful and funny at times, but there is a good lesson to be learned.
The book is listed for children age four years old and up, but I'd say it will be interesting to older children and adults ---anyone who has lived the small village lifestyle in Alaska, or who is interested in that way of life.
Now if I can just make some space in our little house in Barrow, so I can find my notes and finish my writing for the day.
Enjoy the book!
Earl Finkler

bravo, michael bania!,more books like this one,please. i adore this book, and so do my nine year old twin son's. the pictures in the book are beautiful, the colors reflect the exact colors in the far north (how did she acomplish that?). and the message this story shares with us is priceless, to be content with what we have, NOW. this is a book we all can learn from, and one we need to teach to our children. give this book as a gift to all the people in your life that you care about. my family is already looking forward to the next one. blessings to you michael bania, your a winner.

My three year old was engrossed as I read this book to her. I couldn't turn the pages too fast because she was busy examining all the details in the illustrations. At the same time, my 11 year old 7th grader who was born reading wanted to see the illustrations also. He did not leave his chair til I had finished the book. My three year old immediately wanted me to read the book to her again. It is a pleasure to be able to read them a story depicting Native children and adults engaged in cultural activities.
From a bush teacher's point of view- a great piece of literature with local ties.
I hope this is only the first in a long line of books from this talented author and illustrator!

The author presents a thoughtful and thought provoking look at an oft misunderstood concept: homesteading in the wilds of Alaska. The reader is held in awe at the tenacity of these latter day pioneers who have chosen a lifestyle far removed from the experience of most of us in the lower forty-eight.

Intimate but respectful study of a unique breed of modern day pioneers in one of the last really remote places in America. Well done glimpse into a world of determination and dreams that most can only imagine.

This is one of the finest books I have read about Alaska. This is a spare, unsentimental portrait of what life in Alaska is really like--both beautiful and harsh. This is not a book that romanticizes homesteading or the poverty of these homesteaders' lives; instead they come alive through the Brice's crystaline prose and her use of defining detail. Here is real life--people struggling to make lives for themselves in a country that is neither easy nor forgiving. The stark, black and white photographs that accompany the book add a beautiful and moving element. If you want to know what life on the frontier can really be like, read this book.

I stumbled across Leaving Alaska in, of all places, Brookings, Oregon. After reading it I was surprised I had not found it in the libraries in Alaska. Maybe it is there and I missed it. If it isn't, it needs to be. I've spent many years in Alaska and am a lover of words and Grant Sims is a phenomenal writer writing about a subject I love; Alaska. I was in great admiration of how this writer puts words together, such an eviable talent. And on the subject of Alaska, he told it how it is from the heart, not the politically correct stand point. Hurray for you Grant Sims! We need more straight shooters like you. Leaving Alaska is more than just a book about Alaska, it is an important history. I was so enthralled with this book and this author that I sought out more information and was saddened to learn that he has left this planet too soon. He gave us just a glimpse of himself in this book, leaving me yearning to know more. What a writer. He has become one of my heroes, one of the great talents I admire.

"Leaving Alaska" is an excellent example of an auto- biography. Grant Sims has a woderful an unique writing style with descriptions of a time and place that puts the reader right into the story. Any would-be-writer should read this incredible account of one man's experiences and memoirs of a beautiful and rugged land. J. Edward Gladden

This complex, brilliant author passed away March 15, 1998 in Chico, CA. He left a number of works unfinished and it is hoped that they may be published in some form. This book is an insightful look at the "romance and reality" of Alaska. A good read for anyone who has ever thought of going to Alaska for an adventure lifestyle.

As Siskel and Ebert would have said, 2 thumbs up. It's a great book to learn about the "shores" of Alaska. WTG Dr.Mason

2 thumbs up....... A book worth it's wait in gold, its a must for readers who want to learn the truth about the "shores" of Alaska.........WTG Dr. Mason

2 thumbs up....... A book worth its wait in gold, its a must for readers who want to learn the truth about the "shores" of Alaska.........