Alaska Books

I read this book a few years ago, and it practically had me rolling on the floor laughing at times. Finally got it for myself to own, and it's still every bit as good. Gary Paulsen has a wonderful way with words, and is an excellent storyteller. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone.

One of the most entertaining books I have ever read. After reading one of the other reviews where the criticism was the authors lack of writing skills, for-gedda-bout-it. This book wasn't meant for your English Lit class. It's about one crazy dude's journey. It's funny, it's gritty, it's real, and if you're a dog lover, it's both happy and sad. I give it 10 thumbs up (ok, so I'm "all thumbs").

Very disappointing book. Boring, lots of padding. Poor and repetative story line. Not well written. Couldn't even read it to the end which I'm sad about as I love books and don't give up easily.

This book is outstanding.

Some of it is written in the manner of a tall tale, so I had moments when I doubted the narrator's credibility. But then I thought about it. Who cares! It's funny, heartbreaking, and uplifting. "Fine madness" is the point, after all.

Some people may think this is a stretch, but I see this book as a healthy mixture of Hemingway's prose, Faulkner's yarns, and an enthusiasm for animals

This book is going to stay with me for a long time, and for that reason, I recommend it to a broad range of readers.

You will enjoy this book.

Very interesting account of Gary Paulsen's experience preparing for and running the Iditarod. Although it identifies some of the colder sides of nature, it is a warm wonderful book with an excellent sense of humor...one that makes you laugh out loud as you read. This hard to put down book will leave you looking at life in a different way.

read this book about 10 years ago and wanted to read it again... it's a wonderful book it's an easy read and very enjoyable...

I read a professional review on this story from several decades ago, back when this book was originally published, that, while certainly much celebrating the story, suggested that it was almost stereotypical! I beg to disagree. What admittedly could have easily become a flat commentary on folks of differing races in a typical Alaskan setting actually touched my heart and even had me at times understanding the mindset of those we would have considered to be racist. This is an honest sample of what life was like in the Alaskan frontier and what those who lived there felt and thought as well as a beautiful pastoral.

Annie Hobbes is a young teacher from Oregon who falls in love with the romantic idea of teaching in the adventurous and beautiful Alaskan wilderness. Her fun romp turns serious as the ideas with which she was raised are challenged by the citizens of the little town Chicken who demonstrate negativity toward the local Native Americans. This girl, who begins the story as less than a tenderfoot, eventually earns the respect of the same people that want to run her out of town for her ideals.

And yet, fortunately, Annie is never portrayed as a perfect Saint. She is quirky and likeable and, heck, I could sometimes see why everyone was annoyed by her--thus is the magic of the writing.

This story also appealed to me on the level of teacher to teacher. I read this book at the end of my first year of teaching when I was all drained out--this reinspired me to do everything for my students.

The characters are wonderful as well as the plot. The gorgeous descriptions are quick as not to slow down the necessary fast pacing. This is both a story of prejudice and a delightful and fun Alaskan adventure.

I don't know how much of this is actual fact, but goodness me, the author did very well!

THIS IS THE MOST BORING BOOK AND ANYONE WHO SAYS IT IS GOOD IS OLD AND PERSONALLY IT IS THE MOST BORING BOOK!

This is a delightful story about a young woman teaching in the Alaskan interior. Since I love books about life in Alaska, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. If you loved this book, you might also enjoy a new release by author Cheryl Schuermann.


When the Water Runs: Growing Up with Alaska

This book is a keeper. I really enjoyed this story and each
time I have recommanded it they have come away loving this
story also.

Quick read. Definitely worth it if you have been or are going to be in the region. Some of his scientific stuff is a little off but it's not the right book if you are looking for exacting detail on these subjects. Modzelewski's perspectives were very idealistic and I found it a little difficult to believe that the experiences he relates were quite a spiritual or mind altering as he sometimes makes them seem. The author does pull series of stories or facts together well. The chapters addressed themes - like the tribes, animals, the island's owner, etc. Modzelewski doesn't try to tell you everything there is to know about any of these subjects but selects what he thinks is interesting and relates it briefly. Often the points he makes or the stories he chooses to tell are not ones that you might have expected.

I live in Alaska and a friend recommended Mr. Modzelewski's book. And now I recommend it to the world. Sure, there's the usual descriptions of animals, ocean, weather and solitude but what makes this book special is the author goes so much deeper into the Spirit behind things. Haven't stopped thinking about his experiences and it's been a month now since I finished the book.

I'm an actress and read scripts, rarely books -- but after a producer friend recommended Inside Passage to me, I couldn't put it down! In fact, I read it three times. It was like watching a movie -- that's how vividly Michael Modzelewski writes. Alaska is a far different world than Los Angeles and I escaped completely to a pure and inspiring reality. Thank you, Michael! You are gifted and blessed. And who knows? Maybe we can turn this captivating story into a film, with the author and animals the main characters and could there be a more beautiful setting than the Inside Passage to Alaska -- as evoked so wonderfully in this poetic prose.

A wonderful voyage in mother nature's womb, evoking feelings of awe, and revere at the colossal universe, inhaling the powerful imagery of wilderness through Michael.

Michael Modzelewski writes like a wild animal. If the beasts could speak it wouldn't come out much different than how Michael describes them. The author knows no limits -- extending into and giving shape to all animate matter in super insightful poetic prose.

Julie was about an Eskimo girl who got lost in the Alaskan tundra. Julie, the girl learned to live by wolf ways. She followed the wolves and they accepted her. Amaroq was the pack leader and Silver was his mate. Nails was Amaroq's best friend and Jello was the lowly puppy-sitter. Kapu, Sister, Zat, Zing, and Zan were the puppies. Amaroq got shot by a helicopter flier and died. Kapu was also shot but was nursed back to health by Julie. Julie then found her father, Kapugen (Kapu was named after Julie's father.) near by. Kapugen had stopped following the Eskimo traditions and married a gussak (white) woman. Julie was not at all thrilled about this. Then she saw flying goggles hanging in the house. Julie then realized that Kapugen had shot Amaroq. Julie learned how Kapugen had changed. Then, she found out how Kapugen had started an industry in musk oxen. The caribou which is sort of like a moose or deer is one of the most eaten animals on the tundra. The wolves also eat caribou. The caribou was not going through Kangilik, where Julie was now living or where Kapu and his pack were. The wolves were very hungry and needed food to live off of. What will Julie do to save the wolves?

This one, in my opinion, is a bit better than the first one. Since this one has more social interaction, it makes time seem to fly by much quicker. It also contains the same friendly wolves, which also makes it exciting for anyone who read Julie of the Wolves.

This book is very amazing, it is just as good as it's original, 'Julie of the wolves'. I really loved reading this book, and I'm sure you'll love it too, if you love animals. Don't waste your time on another 'tundra imitation' book, get Julie of the wolves, Julie, and Julie's wolf pack now!

This book is about a young girl living in Alaska, in the village of Kangik trying to get used to her new home. She hears that her father will kill her wolf pack if they kill another oxen. She then goes back out on the Tundra to find her pack and lead them to Caribou. This book is wonderful and teaches us about Eskimos and their traditions. It is a fantastic novel telling how one girl is so in touch with all other living things. If you love learning about other cultures or love Julie of the Wolves and want to see what happens next, then you have to read this amazing book!

Julie was a fabulous book. It begins when Julie pointed her boots toward Kaugen. In this book Julie now lives in Kangik. She also learns the true meaning of love. I think you will love reading this book. If you like adventure books, then here is one you will enjoy again and again.

This is a story about one of the last great American frontiers: Alaska. The novel takes place in 1971 / 1972, with the Vietnam war as a distant backdrop. The book covers a series of clashes beyond the war, including the clash between nature and technology / big oil companies. There seem to be several haunting premonitions of the Exxon VALDEZ disaster, which occured over a decade later.

The center of the book, however, is love story. An young, abandoned Indian woman (Gretchen) is "adopted" by Eskimos. When she reaches her late teens, an ornithologist (Leif) picks out a nearby spot to set up his base camp. He is obsessed with a certain type of geese. The courtship is awkward and somewhat unorthodox. The story is somewhat unique in that we get a 1st person view from both persons.

I believe that Leif and Gretchen seem to represent a sort of "marriage" between the native Alaskans and the white man. Even though both mean well, there is still plenty of friction in their relationship. Just as was the case in the world back then (as is the case now), there was plenty of turmoil in the world, and the turmoil spilled over into personal relationships as well.

Lesley Thomas has a knack for being a very descriptive writer, and I really did feel like I was in northern Alaska while I was reading the novel. People who enjoy this book may also like Map of the Human Heart as it is another story that centers around Alaska.

Lesley Thomas has done what would seem to be the impossible -- taken us deep inside the Inupiat world, in the voice and mind of an extraordinary young woman with still more extraordinary powers. I know of no book like this. "Smilla's Sense of Snow" is a distant second. But two movies come to mind: "Fast Runner," and "Dersu Uzala." If you love either of these movies, you'll be stunned by the depth and scope of this novel and the unique and unmistakably true voice of its heroine. And if you've never seen them, read "Flight of the Goose" first!

That FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE is a first novel by Lesley Thomas is the first hurdle the reader must overcome, so rich in detail, research, and technical finesse are the over four hundred pages of this fascinating book. What does become obvious with even the first few pages is the fact that here is a writer who can address significant world environment issues while building love stories - between a remarkably real Inupiat girl and a Swedish scientist, between the world of the spirit and the realm of the universe, and between the mysteries of past traditions with those beings longing to preserve the enormous habitat that is transforming before our grieving eyes - stories that intermingle to create a total experience that simply refuses to end with the closing of the final cover.

Thomas opens her book with a Prologue and with words like the following the reader is assured the presence of an enriching encounter: 'Let me tell what happened, and don't ask at the end what the message is. Whatever is already in us at birth, we find again in stories. We see it in the face of the moon, in the face of our lover, in our own death, in the flight of the goose.' From this point she unravels the Norn's threadball of time relating the changes that are taking place in Alaska in 1971, mixing the daily arduous charges of living with distant echoes of world events that are reshaping the life of our main character (Gretchen/Kayuqtuq). Thomas builds a blindingly realistic love story between the native, orphaned, shamanistic Kayuqtuq with ornithologist, peace advocate Leif Trygvesen and in creating a fully rounded and metaphorically meaningful relationship Thomas resorts to sharing the story from the vantage of both of these unique souls. From this launching point we learn about Eskimo traits and foods and history and manner of survival in a culture that is being eroded by technologic 'civilization', a series of sidebar stories that Thomas always manages to remain centered and focused while expanding the scope of her immensely interesting and important story.

FLIGHT OF THE GOOSE is a novel so rich that deserves to be in the library of everyone who values fine storytelling while simultaneously respecting the threats and conditions of change that are only now being brought to our attention by the environmentalists. To manage to accomplish this service to mankind in as fine a book as this establishes Lesley Thomas as an important author. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 07

It is the Alaskan Arctic, it is 1971, and Kayuqtuq "Gretchen" Ugungoreseok is a troubled with young woman with a difficult past. She does not know what happened to her mother, her first foster family were pathetic, uncaring, money-grubbers who were very poor, and she has an ambivalent relationship with her second foster family. Now, in her twenties, and quite attractive, Kayuqtuq, or Gretchen as the Outsiders have named her, is trying to figure out who and what she is, including whether she is an apprentice shaman, a rarity for a woman, at that time and in that area. Then, life becomes much more complex, with the arrival of Leif Trygvesen, an Outsider who is a field biologist trying to study a certain species of goose, as well as measuring the impact of oil spills on the local ecology. The inevitable slowly happens, as Gretchen and Leif fall in love, while trying to grasp each other's culture.

This work of fiction, often told in journal format or by showing letters exchanged between Leif and Kayuqtuq, is loaded with information on the cultures and the era involved, and the degree of detail is impressive. I found the degree of detail to also be oppressive. The complexity of romance often makes a good story, and cross-cultural romances add another dimension. As many romances are, the Kayuqtuq-Leif romance is on-again-off-again. However, it changes direction so often that it becomes predictable and redundant. The same is true for the culture-shock issues, with repeated misunderstandings, miscommunications, and just plain misery.

Several years ago, I wrote a novel, still in search of a publisher. As I wrote, I became intoxicated with the process, and my "final" copy was close to 200,000 words long. Not long ago, I entered the novel in a contest, that had a maximum of 175,000 words for entries. I was able to cut enough out to meet the limit, and I believe that my leaner version was better. I think that the experience of writing-intoxication might have occurred in Flight of the Goose, and I think that a trimmer version would be a better book.

One thing that I look for in a novel is whether I can identify with one or more of the main characters, and possibly even like them. I did end up liking both Kayuqtuq and Leif, and felt that I knew and understood them enough to make them interesting. That is the main reason why I was able to stick it through to the end. That is not enough, though, to make this is good and recommendable book.

I have at least one other quibble for this book. At the back of the book, there is a glossary of terms in Inupiaq, the language of the Alaskan Arctic villagers in this story. At its core, this is a good idea, to use these terms, interspersed throughout the story, and have the glossary to help translate. It adds color, and an air of authenticity. However, even as the author, Lesley Thomas, got carried away with details, and with the ups and downs of cross-cultural romance, I think that she also over-did this native language idea. I think that the best way to illustrate this is to show good and bad examples of its usage.

I found it helpful to know that "Aka" not only meant "grandmother" but was also a term of respect for a woman who was an elder. That enriched the story. The same is true for the term "angutkoq" that roughly translates to "shaman" but definitely has many local cultural connotations to it. Some of terms were not readily translated into English, and were so culturally embedded that the use of the rough English translation would miss the mark and diminish the concept. A prime example would be "atka", to refer to the part of the soul that lies within one's name. However, having a wolf be referred to as an "ameguq" or using "ninaq" for "sullen, sulky" did not add anything as far as I am concerned.

So, is this a good book? If you like cross-cultural romances, and you are comfortable with a slow pace and a high level of detail, this book might be right up your alley. I believe that this book was a labor of love for Lesley Thomas, and that she put a huge amount of time, effort, information, and, yes, a bit of her soul, into this book. But, for the average reader, some of that will go unappreciated. It was not the book for me. I would have enjoyed it more if more of the focus had been on Kayuqtuq's quest to become a shaman, and less on the romance. I am generally a patient reader, and I have read, and enjoyed several huge books that were very slow-paced. This one really tested me, though.

The sexual encounters between Leif and Kayuqtuq are described pretty graphically at times. This is definitely a book for adults.

Lesley Thomas detailed this book so intricately that it seems real. I was most especially fascinated by the character of Kayuqtuq "Gretchen" Ugungoraseok, who is an orphan Native American adopted by the Inupiat, which means real people.

Kayuqtuq is a young woman living in a subsistence culture with roots that extend thousands of years into the past. Her observations of people, including naluagmiu (white man) Leif Trygvesen, are from the perspective of her culture. I was completely fascinated.

Though Kayuqtuq is already a young woman in this story, which is set in 1971, emotionally she is dealing with trauma from her childhood; perhaps she is also dealing with the continuous trauma of harsh life in the Arctic. The result is that Kayuqtuq's story is frequently more like a coming of age story than the story of a person who has already reached adulthood.

Part of Kayuqtuq's coping strategy is to become an angutkoq, or shaman. Regardless of whether Kayuqtuq has shaman powers or is incredibly intelligent, her insights and visions of events are remarkably accurate and frequently prescient. Unfortunately, her visions and insight fail to give her enough clarity to prevent tragedies.

This novel is primarily the story of Kayuqtuq "Gretchen" Ugungoraseok and Leif Trygvesen. The story is partially about the clash of cultures, but also about how Kayuqtuq and Leif react differently to the situations around them because of their cultures. Kayuqtuq and Leif's perspectives allow us to see how Inupiat culture views various situations in comparison to European culture.

Shading and complicating the cultural differences between Kayuqtuq and Leif is that each is multicultural in their own way. The Inupiat adopted Kayuqtuq, but she is Native American. European and Viking culture strongly influenced Leif's mother and father, but Leif is from the United States. Adding even more complexity is that each is an outsider in their culture. Kayuqtuq is trying to learn to become an angutkoq, which Inupiat elders forbid, and Leif is an environmentalist and against the war in Viet Nam, neither of which made him popular with "The Establishment" in 1971. It was probably inevitable that the two outsiders found kindred spirits in each other and came to love each other. Perhaps the tragedies that followed were just as inevitable.

Lesley Thomas's writing reminds me of the detail that Charles Dickens put into his novels. I like Dickens' writing very much and I am unable to recall any modern author to whom I have been exposed that writes with such intricacy and precision. However, Lesley's writing is so clear and organized that even with the complexity of the story I never got lost or had to re-read a section. This book is such a literary achievement that it has received awards from The National Federation of Press Women, The Alaska Press Women, and The Washington Press Association.

This book is neither a light read, nor is it a book that you will forget any time soon. I will admit that my eyes were moist as I finished Lesley Thomas's story of Kayuqtuq and Leif. Lesley's writing pulled me so deeply into the characters that they seemed real to me. Just as in real life, what happened to them can not be undone, no matter how we might wish otherwise. Even now, several days after finishing this novel, I wish I could undo what happened, but then Lesley's message would have been diluted, and I, and future readers, would have been less affected.

The awards this fictional novel has won are well-deserved. This book is one of the best modern novels I have read. It is truly a great novel. If you enjoy stories about the conflict in cultures, if you have ever liked Dickens, if you want to read about the effect modern culture has had on the Inupiat and the environment of the far north, or if you just want to read an incredibly well written book, get this one.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

This review is based on a copy of the book provided to me by the author.

I read this book when I was about 12 or 13, it was soo good that I actually read it 3 times. I highly recomend this book to anyone who likes adventure.

This book is about a dog named Kävik who gets in a air plane crash and survives but the crude doesn't and a boy named Andy finds this wolf-like dog abandon from the plane crash and saves him but Kävik is very badly injured with broken rids and his back left leg. The doctor of the town called Copper City fixes Kävik.

This book takes place in Alaska. Kävik gets taken away from is loving family. My favorite part of this book was when Kävik finds his way back to his way back up north through impossible Glaciers and rugged trine and had to travel 2000 miles to find his loving family in Copper City. In the book the Theme I personal think its never give up hope cause Kävik never gave up hope on finding his family even with a dislocated hip didn't stop Kävik . I liked all the hard ships Kävik had to go through like fighting another wolf to win his mate (who dies in the book) and traveling 2000 miles I would change nothing.

Hi Kavik

I am doing a report on Kavik The Wolf dog. Written by Walt Morey . It takes place in Alaska and Washington State ; the main characters are Kavik, Andy, and George Hunter

Bye Kavik

Kavik the Wolf dog is about a dog that just won a big sled dog race a rich man named George Hunter (who lives in Seattle) he wanted him because he won. A man named Smiley John came to pick up Kavik and put him on the plane. Kavik got put in a big cage. The plane ended up crashing. The men died. But Kavik was still alive, until Andy found him.

Do you like this book?

I like this book because it is full of action like shooting and dog fights. This book is very good. It is sad sometimes. There are parts were you feel like you are right with Kavik like when Kavik was very sick in the first part of the story. This book has a lot of heart jumping parts in it, like when Andy was going to shoot Kavik and Kavik was still alive. Also when Kavik got a girlfriend I think that Walt Morey did a very good job in the middle of the story I liked the middle of the story.

Recommend or not

I like this book because I like dogs and stories that keep your eyes glued to the pages. I would recommend this book to all my friends and give it a five star

This book is the most exciting book I have ever read. It had four things that I loved, the author uses colorful words, I was on the edge of my seat, I wanted to read more books of this author, and last but not least I always have a clear picture in view. I love this book and I hope you will too!

Kavik won the north american and George C. Hunter wated to buy him. So George bought him and put him on a plane. The plane crashed during a storm. The crash killed the pillot and threw Kavik from the plane. An almost dead dog lie there in an iron cage when Andy Evans found him. Andy took him home and nursed him back to health. Kavik was physicaly fit but not afraid of a lot off things.Grorge came back to Alaska for his dog. Andy didn't want to give him up. George took Kavik on a boat across the bay. Kavik was so sad.I enjoyed this book so much but the ending could be better. You dicide.

My wife and I like to listen to a tape while we read the book. We are rereading this book that way. It is a classic and a good introduction to Alaska, where we have lived and worked and touristed.

Want to read about the realities of the 49th state????
Want to really learn something about this region???
Want to get good visuals????????
If NOT don't read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is a wonderful relic, the last plausible vision of a living American frontier. In the mid seventies, McPhee went to Alaska to do a few pieces for the New Yorker. He met a lot of trappers, prospectors, and "river people" who'd built moss-chinked cabins and whose individualism, gruff hospitality, and happiness he admired. McPhee made a plea for democratic access to Alaskan land. He argued that land far from roads should remain fair game for homesteaders in perpetuity.

It is odd to read an ode to Alaska's wild immensity at a time when islands are being evacuated in the Aleutians, polar bears are drowning, and the permafrost is melting. The question these days is not whether Americans can still choose to live in more or less untainted outback. The question is whether that outback will soon be transformed beyond recognition, not by oil drilling, but by climate change.

What Coming into the Country offers the twenty-first century is escapism and nostalgia. McPhee's account of the political squabbles over the location of Alaska's capital has lost its relevance, but the rest of the book still comes to life. We meet a mix of clannish Christians, proud native people, and prickly bootleggers in the small, dry town of Eagle. McPhee's tale of a man's survival in sub-zero weather after a plane crash constitutes a minor classic of its own.

The book reminds us how powerful the frontier fantasy remains in American psyches. Can it be harnessed as a metaphor? Can the dream of self-reliance on a private patch of woods help motivate us, indirectly, to cut carbon emissions? It has motivated us to go camping and conserve some wild lands even while ruining others. Still, I suspect that as the environmental movement shifts in response to global warming, we may have to jettison the frontier fantasy. It depends too much on a view of nature as more powerful than man. Whether or not we agree with Bill McKibben that we have arrived at the end of nature, we know that everything is responding to elevated temperatures. There is no untouched patch of land left in Alaska. The romance of a homestead sours when the flora and fauna are marching north past the log cabin, driven by coal and oil fires from all over the planet.

I traveled to Alaska in 2006 but lived there in the early 70's. Why I delayed so long in reading "Coming into the Country" I don't know, but John McPhee has taken me back to that earlier day. Both his character and place descriptions are wonderful and make me long for the cabins, the ice break-up, the dogs, the bush planes, and the 55 gallon drums. The Anchorage of today is much changed, but the bush is still there -- Thank God.

We bought this book in Nome, Alaska on a visit there in 2001 (my brother owns a flying service there). I took my time reading it the first time. Coming into the Country is not a book to be read quickly, but, rather, one to be savored, taking time for the details to seep into the crevices of one's memory until they become part of one's knowledge base. Every page holds a vast amount of information that if read too quickly blurs to nothingness and is lost.

McPhee's descriptions of the land, its rivers and mountains, its challenges, its beauty, and its people are thorough and draw the reader into the pages of his book. It takes a certain kind of person to survive in the Alaskan bush. I, for one, am drawn to its splendor, its starkness, its fearsomeness, but am sure I don't have the right stuff to live there long term. The river people and others, who thrive in communities like Eagle and Central (even Fairbanks and Juneau), have remarkable stamina and a strong determination to live the lives they choose in their respective settings, all of which are breathtaking in their beauty. McPhee also writes of the tension between the races (Indian and white)and the human dynamic among community members (the good and the no-so-good)that always accompanies the sharing of space and resources.

Over the past five years, I've picked up CITC now and then to re-read parts of it. Most recently, I re-read the whole of Part III Coming into the Country. This is my favorite section because it focuses on the bush and its people, most particularly on Eagle, Alaska located on the Yukon River and just across the International Boundary from Canada's Yukon Territory. (Incidentally, the term "coming into the country" refers to the arrival of a person into the Alaskan bush with the intent of staying. I may move from Michigan to Ohio or New York or California, but, if I go to Alaska, they call it coming into the country. "Brad Snow and Lily Allen came into the country in 1973." "Joe Vogler came into the country in 1944." "John Borg came into the country in 1966" (and he's still there. Check out the Eagle site. Borg has worn many hats in Eagle and still sits on the board of the Eagle Historical Society and Museum. Borg's wife, Betty, is the board's treasurer).

The original copyright on this book is 1976, thirty years ago. The growth in technology since that time has allowed almost every municipality to have their own website. Eagle is no exception. [...]

Carolyn Rowe Hill

I loved this book! If you want a cool {get it? She lives in Alaska} author to come to your scool,get Shelley Gill! I loved Kiana's Iditarod because it told me a lot of things.

I like this book because it is funny and makes me learn about dogs and cool places and how to do it in a dog race.I did not know you had 13 dogs. How can you feed them. I wish I had won the dog race but that would not happen.

I like this book. This book reminds me of snow. This is a cool book. I like you. This is very very interesting

I liked this book because it has excitement.I also liked this book because of the colorful pictures.I liked the part when they were in the iditarod near the finish line.

This book was a good book but I think it didn't really tell that much about the Iditarod. It was about a musher and the dogs. She's doing the Iditarod and she goes around mountains and peaks. I would recommend this book because it has good illustrations and is about a lead dog.

The Final Frontiersman is the true account of the wilderness life of Heimo Korth and his family. Heimo grew up in Wisconsin but followed a dream to live in the bush in Alaska. Heimo is a "successful" subsistence trapper and hunter in the ANWR where you can freeze at -55 in the winter and the clouds of mosquitoes torment you in the short summer. The sun disappears for over a month in the winter and there is no night in summer. Heimo and his family spend most of the year in the bush where their nearest neighbor is more than a hundred miles away--human neighbor that is; bears, wolves, wolverines, caribou, and many other kinds of animals abound. Heimo is successful in the sense that he and his family survive, all except one. Theirs is a tough life, and Heimo is a tough but likable character.

I enjoyed reading this book. The author, Heimo's cousin, has a direct, clear writing style and a good sense of pacing. The story reminded me in some ways of The Big House by George Colt: "Here is the story of my (extended) family and all my weird relatives" and like The Big House this book could have used extensive editing. We get too much detail about Heimo and his brood, who in fact are not really all that weird or exceptional after all.

The author presents this work as a meditation on the meaning of wilderness and a vital but disappearing American way of life, but he never manages to infuse these issues of wilderness and the struggle to survive with a sense of metaphysical profundity. Heimo's work and life all come off as somewhat mundane, if exceptionally lonely and uncomfortable; even deprived and brutal (Heimo kills large numbers of furbearing animals for a living). In the end, the author failed to communicate why Heimo would choose such a life, or what about it is attractive. I got the sense that neither the author, nor Heimo's family, nor Heimo himself understand Heimo. He remains a discomforting enigma.

Like The Big House, The Final Frontiersman is most interesting as an exploration of family and what it means to be involved in this most natural and troubling human institution.

There are not very many people I would like to meet, but Heimo and his family are at the top of my list. Fantastic story of some extraordinary folks.

Really painted a good picture of what life was like living in the cold Alaskan wilderness.

It is hard for me to realize that Heimo and his family live even today in the manner in which they live.The hardships they overcome daily as part of their everyday living shows the will that some people have and develop.I recommend this book highly and it has also made me realize that I am not so tough as I thought I was.

This story grips you like an Arctic winter. It is hard to put down as Heimo Korth lives a storybook life subsisting 28 years in back country of Alaska as a trapper and frontiersman. James Campbell takes you through Heimo and his family's incredible story. If you have any sense of life outdoors or appreciation for living off the land, this award winning book is for you.

Heimo and his family did it their way and Campbell's book celebrates their courage, difficulties and successes.

I liked Alaska's Three Bears beacause it taught me a lot about Alaska's Three Bears. Thanks for coming to Ashley River.

This is another book we read to our students at our summer reading program. They loved it. They thought the drawings were terrific, and especially liked the borders on each page. They enjoyed learning more about bears, and they thought it was a neat twist on the original story of the three bears. I highly recommend this book to any teacher who wants to do a unit on bears - it's a book that successfully merges entertainment and educaational components.

I liked the way she tells how the bears survive and how tall they are.I liked your visit to Ashley River.

We picked this book up in the Anchorage airport gift shop in 2001 on our way to visit our Alaskan relatives in Nome. It is a delightful and very informative book about bears for both adults and children, although the focus is on children.

This is not the traditional Three Bears story. Alaska's Three Bears is about the three kinds of bears one might find in that great state and North America: the grizzly, the polar bear and the black bear. The opening sentence begins, "Once upon a time...", but in an box below the story line on every page is valuable information about bears in general and each of the three species of bear in particular.

The first information paragraph states: "There are three species of bear in North America. Grizzlies used to roam from Ohio to California, now the big brown bears have been driven north onto the last pieces of remote land. Black bear can still be found in forests throughout the U.S. but only in Alaska and Canada can you find all three bears; the grizzly, polar bear and black bear, living in the wilderness we call bear country." Did you know all that?

The book tells how each bear chose the place where he wanted to live. The polar bear liked the cold, snow and ice so he stayed in the far north. The grizzly liked the frolicking river with its salmon, the roots he could dig and animals he could chase. The little black bear finally chose the forest with its bug-filled stumps and places to hide. In the end, no matter how far each roamed, they could always find their way back home.

At the back of the book is a Teacher Resource Guide with suggestions on how to use the book. There's a page of dos and don'ts for traveling about in bear country, and also a lovely page of colorful covers of other titles available from Paws IV published by Seattle's Sasquatch Press.
Published in 1992, this book remains a popular one for youngsters of all ages. Though far from being a youngster, I find myself taking it off the bookshelf from time to time to reread the valuable information it contains and to enjoy the magnificent illustrations by Shelley Gill.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

I like this book because it is full of interesting facts about bears.I also like your visit and how they tell you how tall they are. My favorite prat is when the the brown baer went home to his forest.Even thoe he was the smallest.I even found out some new info like Blak bears just eat the heads of the fish because they have to eat a surtin amount of fat.