Alaska Books

This book is a wonderful compilation of very interesting things about Alaska and the people who love it. It is a one of a kind book filled with exceptionally interesting short stories and scenes. It is a special keep sake for all who live in, or have lived in this beautiful state, or who will, or have visited. These short scenes, titled One Last Cast, are treasured happenings and nostalgic , exciting , wonderful keep sakes.

I could not put this book down until i finished reading it and now it is on my desk as a special every day reading joy, to MAKE MY DAY.

The reason I would enjoy having this book again is my grandfather was Lawrence Mezzenna who died on that polar bear hunt that year and also I would enjoy sharing this book with my son some day. THANK YOU ANTHONY M.SEEGANNA

I picked up this engaging little book in Skagway, Alaska, this summer and read it in one sitting. I write and teach history, and I was very impressed with how much the author (Cynthia Brackett Driscoll) could do with one little photo-journal. Mollie Brackett's album was a wonderful discovery, of course. But what makes it really work as history is the excellent job Driscoll does in filling in the background. Driscoll puts the photos and their creator in context with material from contemporary newspaper articles, advertisements, and local history. She describes the kind of camera Brackett probably used and the sorts of clothes she might have taken with her. Local clippings and family legends are woven in, rounding out the edges of Brackett's life. Ultimately, the reader feels as though she knows this young woman, and through her, the community of Skagway and the riotous times in which Molie Brackett lived. Anyone interested in the American phase of Alaska's frontier, or women's history in general, will enjoy this book.

Good way to help the environment and enjoy your life at the same time. Also see this book titled, "World Ventures, Wayne Nugent, Mike Azcue, Dan Stammen, Robert Oblon, Wes Melcher, Marc Accetta".

This is the story of the Thomas family, who moved to Alaska in 1960, shortly after it became a state. For quite some time, they had been dissatisfied with their lives in New Jersey. They felt pent up by suburbia and they were looking for a place where they felt they could make a real difference in their community. Lowell was a small plane pilot, and wanted to live and fly in an area with wide open skies, not the tight air space of the Northeast. So they packed their bags, their kids, and their dog and drove off to settle in Alaska. This book describes the new life they built for themselves there, with all the natural beauty, the history, and the wonderful people that they found.

Thomas tells us about the challenges of gardening in Anchorage, reassuring us that it is indeed possible to grow vegetables there, but you have to plan carefully. She describes the climate and the changing hours of sunlight. She writes about the quality of the schools, and burgeoning young oil industry. She relates adventures that they had as a family camping in the wilderness or visiting places like Kotzubue the north. She tells us what it was like to be in Fairbanks in August of 1967 during the great flood and how the community came together to house and feed people pushed out of their homes by the floodwaters. The final chapter is a harrowing first-hand account of the 1963 earthquake in Anchorage, in which she and the children barely escaped with their lives and their house was swallowed up by the earth. The text is well-written, and provides a good balance of historical information, description of the scenery and culture, and interesting anecdotes. Also included are several pages of high-quality black-and-white photos of the family and their favorite places in Alaska.

Harold Pinter uses silence like a visual artist uses negative space. He uses it as the framework around which to place his stunning, sparse dialogue. The three short plays in this collection are some of his best. The first one, `Family Voices', tells the story of a dysfunctional family indirectly through letters they send to each other. The second play, `One for the Road' is a tense, suspenseful piece set in an oppressive police state. The last work in the collection, `A Kind of Alaska' features a woman waking from a coma after three decades and dealing with the fact that she is no longer a teenager.

The above descriptions don't do justice to the complexity in each play. Pinter is able to express multiple levels with very few words and simple sets. Not only have I read each of these plays, I have seen them performed and I have acted in them. The experience is nearly as intense no matter how you encounter them. This collection, in particular, does a good job of presenting the works. The words are clear and easy to read and the dialogue is well-spaced. I can recommend this collection to any fan of unusual, gripping theater.

Published in 2003 by the Anchorage Daily News. All photos were supplied by Alaskans & Alaskan Institutions. Most of these photos were taken by everyday people as park of their everyday lives. With these photos, these Alaskans recorded their jobs - from early miners to modern construction workers, as well as birthdays, holidays, trips, family & neighborhood gatherings and annual events - the Anchorage Fur Rondy, the Fairbanks Winter Carnival, the Fourth of July. Also includes photos of the 1964 Earthquake.

This is the story of Alaska's last great mountainman, a man who was born two centuries too late.

Luster was born in the early 1900s on a Shoshone reservation in Wyoming. From an early age, he was more interested in hunting and trapping by himself out in the wilderness than in conventional things like school and getting a job. Something of a smart aleck, he was constantly in trouble with the authorities. A stint in prison convinced him that he never wanted to go back. There were several marriages along the way; they ended when she realized that Johnny would spend several months per year hunting and trapping in the wilderness. He gained a reputation as the person to hire for those looking for a guide into the hills of Wyoming.

After World War II, roads and airplanes opened up Wyoming to sportsmen and settlers. Isolated places became too full of people for Johnny, so he drove some pack horses north to the last great frontier, a place called Alaska. Getting a guide license was not an instant process, so Johnny had to start at the beginning in learning his way around Alaska. After becoming licensed, Johnny again became the person to see in the guide business. When the authorities need information on wildlife numbers or possible poaching, they talk to Johnny. He is still active today, hunting and trapping in the brutal Alaskan winter.

This is a really interesting story. It provides a look at a different breed of person, more interested in nature than in cities and technology. This book is told as much as possible in Luster's own words and is well worth reading.

This 112-pages-book is full with wonderful historic pictures (more than 100!), which obviously was the main reason for Wilson to publish this book. The pictures are telling the story of the gold rush to the Klondike with focus on the involvement of steamboats in this short period of history. It covers the steamboat route from Victoria, Portland, Seattle to St. Michaels at the mouth of the Yukon River and from there upriver to Dawson City. It covers the foot trail via White Pass or Chilkoot Pass and later the Whitepass and Yukon Route Railroad, but mainly of course the steamboat traffic on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson. That includes boats racing, winter river traffic and steamboat desasters on the Yukon.

When you're looking for a fast, enjoyable read abou this era with many great pictures, you'll love this book.

Volume 27 number 3 of Alaska Geographic, Painting Alaska presents both historic and modern-day paintings of Alaska, its wildlife, and the people who call this northern most American "Last Frontier" state their home. Beautiful color reproductions of great artworks enhance the thoughtful text and commentary on the works themselves and the marvelous artists who created them. A most enjoyable addition to Artbook collections, Painting Alaska is particularly recommended for anyone with a special interest in Alaska history and culture.