Alaska Books

A short, easy to read and most enjoyable book. Not an encyclopedia of survival knowledge, but a most entertaining account of a year in Alaska's Brooks Range. Hit the end and found myself wanting to read more, both times. Hard to go wrong with this one. Enjoy.

I loved this book! It is sensitively and realistically written to encompass the beauty and unpleasantness of one winter in Alaska. Very easy reading, it will take you through a full range of emotions with ease. A definite reread for me!

Having read this book 4 times since 1990, I still find joy every time I pick it up. Whether reading it straight through or reading random entries Mr. Ramsey teaches us to appreciate the little things that make life worthwhile. Living in Northern Maine I can relate to a number of his references about animal neighbors and how warm 10 degrees can feel after minus 20.

This book has touched me so, that I have begun to keep my own journal of nature and the seasons.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is full of funny, touching, fearful and even mundane moments. Some will have you laughing out loud and some will bring a tear to your eye.

If you love the natural world around us and long to get away from it all, this book is a delightful escape.

Enormous Chugach State Park abuts the City of Anchorage, Alaska, the largest city in Alaska and the hub of tourist travel into the state. Easily accessed from Anchorage, Chugach State Park provides a variety of year-round recreational activities. This guide provides a run-down on a variety of hiking trails, suitable for the barely fit to the extremely fit.

The book, as advertised, provides descriptions of 50 different hikes in the Chugach. Some hikes are variations of route in the same area. The descriptions include distance, estimated time, elevation gain, and estimated hiking difficulty, along with directions to the appropriate trailhead, a sketch map of the route, and often photographs. Also included are some wise safety tips for hiking in Alaska, where weather can be extremely variable in just a couple of hours, and where man is not at the top of the food chain.

Highlights include Crow Pass, over which the old Iditarod Sled Dog Trail once passed, and Flattop Mountain, perhaps the most heavily climbed mountain in Alaska. Chugach State Park also includes areas accessable only by a couple of days hike, where the determined hiker will find nearly pristine wilderness.

This book is highly recommended for the hiker planning to visit Anchorage and looking for good trails, and for the long-time resident looking for some variety.

As a former long-time Anchorage resident, I can say that this is a well-written, informative guide for people of all skills. Whether you are local or visiting, there are maps, directions, and a condensed, detailed write-up, without excess fat.

The climbs range from the recreational family journeys to the hardcore hikes. The authors obviously have spent much time on each of these trails.

There is even a nice touch of history in the guide.. you can tell there was good research done off the trails too.

The black & white photos are there but can't do the land justice. Get out and go.

South Central Alaska holds most of the population and recieves many of the visitors to Alaska. It also includes those parts of the Alaskan wilderness most accessible to the average hiker. This guidebook is designed to provide both residents and visitors with a selection of hiking possibilities spread across the Anchorage Bowl, the Kenai Peninsula, the Matanuska Valley on the way to Denali, and the Copper River Basin on the way to the port of Valdez. The hikes range in challenge from those suitable for the merely fit to those intended for the extremely fit.

The book is broken down first by general geographic area and then further into a description of each hike. Information provided includes distances, estimated travel time, elevation change and a difficulty rating. Descriptions include how to get to the appropriate trailhead and sketch maps for the actual route. The book has a good selection of photographs that provide a sense of scale for the terrain. An introductory chapter discusses the hazards of hiking in Alaska, including the weather and the wildlife.

This guidebook is highly recommended to the resident and to the visitor for an informed choice on where to hike in South Central Alaska.

This is a MUST HAVE book for any visitor or Alaska resident who wants to get out and about and enjoy the outdoors in this part of Alaska. Those of us who have lived in Alaska for many years still use this book every summer for our day trip or weekend adventure planning, as well as for longer trips. I give this book as a gift to both summer visitors and people who have just moved here. It is accurate, clearly written, has good maps, easy directions to the trail heads and has the necessary safety information for folks not used to things like mosquitos, bears, and stream crossings. I get the latest edition every time it comes out to check out the most up to date trail information.

If you want to see wild Alaska, don't skip over Southcentral just because you see cars and tall buildings in Anchorage. The hikes detailed in this book start on or near the road system. But you're far more likely to see moose, bear, dall sheep, and other wildlife on these trails than in the remote bush. Some of the trails are crowded (by Alaska standards--perhaps six hikers per mile) in the sunny season, but others see very little traffic. And, even on the most crowded trails such as McHugh and Bird Ridge, you escape most other hikers after about a thousand feet. By the time you work your way into the high valleys, you're usually the only one up there. The views are astounding, and the weather far, far nicer than SE or SW Alaska. Worth a look, even if you're only in Anchorage for a few days.

First, I should say that "for hikes in the vicinity of Anchorage" is a little misleading. Southcentral Alaska includes thousands of square miles worth of gorgeous trails and hikeable terrain, and this book is probably the best one to help you get out there. It includes maps for all hikes, as well as vital statistics like distance, estimated hiking time (take with a grain of salt!), total elevation gain, and seasons that it's open. Indexes in the back help you look for a hike by season, area, length, or children-suitability.

After 17 years in Alaska, ten with the same dog-eared copy of 55 Ways, I haven't been disappointed yet.

Annabel has to be one of the finest writers I have ever read. He tells his tories like you want to read them full of action and suspense with humor and thrill thrown in for good measure. The first part of the book is how he got started in Alaska etc. The second is a story of a man and a wolf who terrorize each others lives. A MUST READ

The man was the best storyteller in the land. Hetold the story in detail and color like no other writer I've ever read. I'm sure I will read this book many more times, before I'm done. Alaska has never been more awesome in any other tales of hunters and trappers. If you had a category with ten stars, I would pick ten.

Provides all the information needed for brief or extended solo trips in Glacier Bay National Park. Includes excellent summaries of a dozen multi-day trips including trip highlights, photos, distances, ratings of difficulty, likely hazards, hints for locating campsites and maps suitable for scoping your trip. Also includes additional resources you may need in the appendix along with phone numbers. The book gave me the courage and information I needed for my first long, solo trip in a wilderness area. An excellent addition to my library.

Interestingly written and very informative. His maps are rather crude but used with a NOAA map (17318, 17318a, 17318b) they are excellent guides to camping sites, points of interest, and dangerous currents. 6 of us did a self-guided 115 mile trip over 11 days based on this book. Excellent description of routes almost mile by mile. A must buy if you are going to do any lengthy trip and are trying to minimize surprises.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books, Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc. - an award-winning independent publisher, President of PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book is an honored recipient of this distinguished award.

It's no secret that my son and I love these books--and this one is no exception! The story of salmon migration in Alaska is exciting enough on its own, but then they throw in hungry grizzly bears, diving eagles and menacing moose to really up the excitement factor. As usual, the thrilling tale is told through wonderful kid-friendly text and breathtaking animal photos blended into vibrant watercolor backgrounds. There's nothing else like it on the market--and I did I mention that animal expert Jack Hanna makes a surprise cameo to help Riley in his time of need? Trust me, the little adventurer in your family will love this stuff!

I used this book as a part of an Alaskan unit for second graders. They loved it! The poetry drew them in, they laughed and learned from the "Cheechako tips." Brilliant photographs and clear text make this a wonderful read. The book lends itself to a multitude of reading and writing lessons. It is great an introductory or summarizing text.

If you want to teach your child about Alaska,this is a fun way to do it!

This book contains a great list of places to stay and eat with prices. Some of my favorite sections of book include the following: Listing of Best Unspoiled Small Towns, which include Kodiak, Petersburg, and Cordova; Listing of Strange Comunity Events which include Cordova's Ice Worm Festival, Fairbanks' Midnight Sun Baseball Game nad Nomes Polar Bear Swim/Bathtub Race. If you are going to Alaska's number 1 destination, Denali National Park, make sure you pick up a copy of Discovering Denali.

I was planning a cruise to Alaska. I chose "Fodor's 2001 Alaska" as a guidebook and was so impressed, I purchased two more of them for my cruise travelmates. This book went with me wherever I traveled in the "land of the midnight sun". Not only did Fodor's guidebook describe the cruise ships to the inth, but all of the activities, etc. Every bit of the text was accurate to my experiences. This was my first cruise, and my first trip to Alaska. I found this book to be indispensible! The data on Alaska, the facts, the figures, the special places to see, things to do, walks, hikes, eats, animals, and people...all here in crisp detail for you to enjoy. Upon my return to the "lower 48", I even narrated my Alaska photo albums with information I retrieved from this book. History, indiginous peoples, it's all here. Do get this book if you are thinking of going to Alaska, or returning to Alaska. All text is up to date, with maps, etc. Excellent resource! From the Inside Passage to Denali National Park I traveled, and I learned much more about this great land we call Alaska because of Fodor's book. I am now planning on going back to this beautiful place in great part due to reading this guidebook.

I purchased this book while on vacation in Alaska. This is a exceptionally good book because it addresses colors, numbers, and animals which might not normally be a in a children's book. There can be a lot of learning here.

Learn your colors and numbers from 1 to 12 in this delightful children's board-style book. Bright, whimsical illustrations of bears, moose, ravens, caribou and other animals by one of Alaska's most popular artists keep youngsters interested in learning.