Alaska Books

This is a well-written book about life in pre-oil Alaska. It is a two-part book, the first part detailing the various business ventures of the author and his wife. While the absences of minutiae are appreciated, at times a bit more explanation would help to get the point across. Being the curmudgeon he is this is a deliberate way to get the reader to think. The book is a very accurate portrayal of life in the Territory of Alaska.
The second part deals with his philosophical outlook on life. His candid details about his thoughts and hopes regarding the world and humanity are thought provoking whether or not you agree. After reading this book there is no doubt, Hal Thornton is a profound thinker.
This is definitely a five star book.

A glance back in time into the homes of Alaska Pioneers! Wow, I was amazed at the lace curtains and other fancy extras you would not expect to see in Alaskan late 19th and early 20th century homes.THIS IS A MUST FOR ANY ONE INTERESTED IN ALASKA HISTORY! It is a great book for any one!

This is a really fine & useful cookbook. As the full title says, it features recipes from Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory. Calories are a good thing in the frozen North, so this is definitely not a diet cookbook. That said, there are plenty of recipes which do not put consumers at risk of instant heart attack.

There are a number of real gems in here, including a lot of special breakfast dishes among the recipes, as one might expect from a book representing a lot of B&Bs. Many of them can be put together the night before and just cooked in the morning (Heavenly French Custard, Freezer French Toast, a wide variety of Strata recipes) and most of them would be really great for a Sunday brunch.

My current nomination for the best recipe in the book is Halibut Surprise, p. 134. I've made this for a number of potlucks since I found it. The first time EVERY adult at the meal asked for the recipe. Since then it's just been the ones who haven't already gotten it from me. This is an incredibly easy recipe to make, you can use halibut, salmon, shrimp, or crab (fresh king crab is awesome), and people will think you are an amazing cook. You can put it together before guests arrive; it doesn't need to be hovered over while cooking -- all in all, great for entertaining. Probably worth buying the book just for that!

A lot of the recipes feature local specialities, but only of the sort which can be obtained in local supermarkets in the Lower 48 (I'm not saying it'll be just as good as using fresh halibut or Copper River reds, folks, but it will still be good). Unlike most Alaska cookbooks, this one has no recipes for moose or caribou. About the only ingredient that might be hard to find is fiddlehead ferns, but they can be mail ordered in cans if you can't get fresh.

Gunnar Pedersen has already authored two of the best books on Alaskan fishing, Alaska Fishing: The Ultimate Angler's Guide, Deluxe Third Edition with Rene Limeres and The Highway Angler: Fishing Alaska's Road System. Fifth Edition.. This book is the perfect marriage of both books, and a great companion to Fishing Alaska. Where Highway Angler was too comprehensive with just very basic information for each location, this book highlights only the best areas of the South Central road system in more detail. For those familiar with Fishing Alaska, this book borrows its basic design which puts it head and shoulders above all other books out there. If you are planning a do-it-yourself fishing trip to Alaska, this is now the book I would recommend you get.

Although it is nice to read and dream about fishing Unalakleet in Fishing Alaska, the reality is that you need a resource that tells you when to hit the fishing hole on Homer Spit. This book sticks to the reality of 95% of Alaskan Fishing; the high use, high fish density areas you can drive to. It really focuses on the places you will be fishing rather than trying to cover every wilderness fishing stream in the state.

The book is broken into several sections, an introduction, a species guide with techniques, a location guide, and some appendix items. If you are new to Alaska, everything you need to have a successful trip is here. It is filled with great color photos of the locations and lots of "catch" photos that will get you dreaming. If you live in Alaska, there is still a place for Highway Angler as a reference, it's a book you'll keep reading and flipping through.

The author has brought a wealth of information to the hunter and anyone interested in Alaska. Harold Schetzle is a great guide and has also written another book called "Alaska Wilderness Hunter" which is a wonderful book of stories of Alaska hunting taken from many, many years of hunting and guiding.

I purchased this calendar on my trip last year to Alaska. Every week I see different pictures that remind me of a truly wonderful trip. Plan on ordering another for next year! The pictures are truly beautiful and unique.

An idealistic, somewhat solitary young man leaves a Mom shaped childhood of snowsuit wearing and germ fearing in search of his inner warrior / grandfather.
Endeavoring to seek his fortune with little more than a sketchy clue, skimpy budget, and big ideas he heads across the continent to a rugged Paradise in the process of being lost.
Blessed with an excess of beginner's luck, the kindness of singular strangers, and sheer pig-headedness, he survives darn fool adventures in the face of big weather & commercial greed with his sense of humor intact. He even matures and makes good.
If you like honesty, ideals, and individuality, if you value the epic struggle to teach the selfish why it's not smart to trash our very nice planet, if you like to have fun when you read... who could ask for more?

The photographs in the book in particular are of very high quality indeed and absorb you into these stunning river wilderness areas. The book is a nice balance of informative text and photography. It covers 10 different rivers and of course cannot be expansive on all these areas in 150 pages.Each river is dealt with in a separate chapter with an appropriate individual map to compliment the map at the beginning of the book showing all 10 rivers. The book blends together well with a common wilderness theme and was pleasing to read. I note the author runs wilderness tours but this aspect is not pushed to the fore at all in the writing, and the text whilst relatively straight forward is informative and holds your interest.It is definitely not a guide book and not particularly written for canoests, which suited me just fine.It provides the statistics of each river in a compact manner(source, length, drop, completion etc) at the beginning of each chapter which adds to the books appeal.It is an excellent book for all readers(even non readers)to enjoy and appreciate the great wilderness areas.The book did not let me down and lived up to what it appeared to promise to the general reader.

The second edition of this book, 1994, describes and prices over 1800 pre statehood tokens from 190 towns. It is invaluable to any numismatists interested in this area and to coin dealers that may come across such material. There is historical information on each of the token-issuing merchants.

Alaska Whales And Whaling: Volume 5, Number 4 is a very special reprint of a periodical first published in 1978 and which offers an amazing look Alaska's whales and the tradition and industry of hunting these great beasts. Stunning full-color photography combines with an intensely detailed text covering shore-based whaling, as well as traditional and modern ocean whaling among Alaska's Native American population. Alaska Whales And Whaling is enthusiastically recommended as a dazzling, impressive, and information-packed 144-page presentation and history.