Alaska Books

All halibut anglers, from begginers to experts will learn exactly what's needed to consistently catch the Pacific Ocean's biggest flatfish, the Pacific Halibut.

Chris Batin, aka -- Mr. Alaska, along with co-author, Terry Rudnick, have combined years of halibut fishing experience that will forever be known as, "the halibut fishermen's bible."

Virtually everything is covered in this tell-all how-to, where-to, and when-to book. Even the proper fishing stance that allows anglers to play tug-'o-war all day long while battling big 'buts.

I still review the book before each halibut fishing trip.

This really is a must read book if want to catch more halibut and make your time and effort count!

John L. Beath, NW editor of Western Outdoors Magazine and host of the Northwest Sportsman radio show heard Saturday mornings at 5 to 7 am PST on am 570 in Seattle and 1080 in Portland Oregon.

The book is good for a few laughs of local Alaskan lingo and customs.
Also, you learn a lot, too. Fun for Alaskan enthusiasts.

This is a valuable book (resource) for budding entrepreneurs. It seems to try to cover all the bases for starting a small business, but it can't do them all well in the space available between its covers. The book is only 288 pages long. If you are in the planning stages of starting a small business, then I highly recommend you get a copy of this book. Read it, study it, and outline it. There are helpful checklists to help you grasp the subjects. You will come up with a plethora of keywords and terms that you will want to google to find Web pages giving more detailed (and maybe more current) information.

I am a SCORE counselor (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) who typically does face-to-face counseling sessions three nights a month. It would really be neat if my clients would read this book BEFORE they came to their session with me because they would pretty much be "educated customers" ready to ask educated questions. Our sessions would be so much more beneficial.

My favorite chapters were:

1. Initial business concerns
2. Your business' structure
3. Business start-up details
5. Sources of business assistance (SCORE is mentioned here)
7. Your smart business plan (and a good sample plan is included)
8. Obtaining the financing you need

The book is weak when it comes to how the Internet can be used in corresponding, hiring, and marketing. But this is just one example of how googling keywords and concepts found in the book will make the book more complete. Don't treat the book as authoritative on the law. It isn't. Nor was it ever intended to be. It is light on tax information as it relates to small business.

I was particularly impressed with the material presented in Chapter 2: Choice of Legal Entity. That subject is sorely ignored in most small business books, and it is critically important. It is a subject I regularly must spend a great deal of time discussing at my SCORE sessions. This book does a pretty good job on the topic.

Chapters 4 and 9 through 12 are easy to find fault with. The topic of each could fill a book. But having these topics covered definitely will help a budding entrepreneur know some of the issues they raise.

I would have liked the book more if Chapter 6 (marketing) had been less superficial. When I read it I got the impression that the author was more a public relations expert than a marketing expert. I generally categorize public relations as a subset of marketing. Marketing includes advertising, public relations, and a whole host of other promotion techniques. I did not get this message when I read the book. I also would have liked the book better if the Internet, email, and Web sites had been discussed more. But there are many books on those subjects. Therefore, I can't complain too much about the limited discussion of computers.

When you read this book it may feel a little like it was produced on an assembly line. Maybe it was? There are 51 versions of this book sold; one for each state and the District of Columbia. Content is king, and this book has it. 5 stars!

From the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930's through the Battle of Iwo Jima to the settling of Alaska, this book is filled with the sights and sounds of an entire generation. Mr. Rhodes was born into poverty, earned a Purple Heart for wounds on Iwo Jima, and lived the Alaskan dream. Pathos and hilarity, mixed with tragedy and triumph make this book a must reading for fans of "Saving Private Ryan", "The Greatest Generation", et. al.

This is the greatest hunting book I¨ve read so far regarding Alaska hunting. It's totally packed with great stories and will keep Your dreams alive during long winter nights!

PJ / Sweden

I purchased this book because I often pick up books on Yup'ik culture. I have lived in many different villages and I'm always looking for new ways to help me understand Yup'ik people better. This book blew me away. I thought I was going to skim another anthropology of obscure Yup'ik habits or plow through poorly translated stories... instead I was deeply moved as I saw meaning and motivation come alive on the pages. I kept thinking that I wished I could thank the author in person. What a truly refreshing labor of love. This is not the work of a grad student out to get published... here is someone who is highly informed yet grounded in the desire to transfer knowledge with humility and zest. I'd offer this book to anyone headed to the bush or interested in Yup'ik culture.

This book is an excellent depiction of hunting bears in Alaska at the turn of the 20th century. Wonderfully narrated.

This book is a great look into fair chase hunting, focusing on the polar bear hunting of days past. These pilots operated under severe conditions and survived many close calls. True sourdoughs, they demonstrated many of the qualities that built this great land. I admit this is a biased review since it was written by my grandmother about my grandfather. This is her 3rd book, all written after age 85. I just had to brag on them a bit but I do recommend this book for anyone who enjoys flying small planes, hunting, or pioneers.

This terrific little book tells a mix of traditional folktales and the author's own experiences as an Inupiat Eskimo of Northwest Alaska. Paul Green lived from the end time of the traditional Eskimo culture ca. 1900 into the 1970s and seems to have been cheerfully comfortable and confident in both. A plus: the book is written in Village English, the curious and charming dialect spoken by older Alaska Natives all over the state, even today. Another plus: sketches by George Ahgupuk, a famous Eskimo pen-and-ink artist.

Boys will love this book about a young man racing in the Iditarod Junior Race. I liked it too. The book details the winning boy in the race from practicing for the race, leaving his home the day of the race and the experience of racing. It is very facinating and well written.