Alaska Books

The collaborative effort of Vivian Senungetuk and Paul Tiulana, A Place For Winter: Paul Tiulana's Story is a personal and illuminating testimony of Alaskan Native American life before "the American way" and its tremendous homogenizing effect came along. Paul Tiulana (the recongized traditional leader of the King Island Eskimo people in Anchorage and Nome) speaks candidly of how he was taught as a child to behave, to look after himself amid mountains and ice, to hunt, to respect ancient traditions of the Eskimos, and how being drafted into World War II changed his life -- his leg was broken and eventually amputated during his service. Highly recommended for academic and community library Native American Studies collections, A Place For Winter presents Paul Tiulana's testimony, enhanced with an eye-opening showcase of black-and-white photographs, each with brief descriptive captions, that combined together wonderfully present "windows" into an enduring, yesteryear, Native American culture and the dramatically altering impact of 20th Century American culture.

Polar Extremes: The World Of Lincoln Ellsworth is the historic and engagingly written saga of Lincoln Ellsworth's impressive and hazardous struggle to make aviation history by flying over the earth's Poles. From his 1926 attempt to fly across the North Pole in a dirigible, to flying his custom-made plane over Antarctica in 1935 and discovering a mountain range now called the Ellsworths, Polar Extremes is a compelling biography of a daring and adventures life driven by death-defying passions. Polar Extremes is highly recommended as a rousing and true biographical account and a welcome contribution to the growing library of Aviation History.

Stupidity, arrogance, foolishness - courage, brilliance, vision. The path to scientific discovery is never straight and not always rational. Such was the path to our current understanding of modern nutrition. In Polar Journeys: The Role of Food and Nutrition in Early Exploration, Professor Feeney, a real-life polar explorer and food biochemist, does a wonderful job describing the trial and error (and sometimes irrational) approach to establishing what we now know as "recommended daily allowance" (RDA) or the basic nutritional requirements for human health. Feeney traces the course of nutrition research from early explorers who ventured onto the oceans in small ships for months and years looking for new lands and learning the hard way, the basics of human nutrition. Did you know that ship rats are a good source of vitamin C? Did you know that 165 years after British Navy doctor James Lind found that citrus fruit cured scurvy, polar explorer, Robert Scott, still believed that scurvy was caused by ptomaine poisoning? Did you know that before there was an Atkins Diet, there was the "Eskimo Diet" which consisted of 2900 calories per day - 73% fat, 26% protein and 1% carbohydrate (one of the benefits of the Eskimo Diet was nearly odorless stool). Long before there were Institution Review Boards to oversee human experimentation, explorers were using the Earth's poles as laboratories to test the very limits (and beyond) of human endurance. Hundreds of men gave their lives, often needlessly, to discover that humans need a balanced diet of protein, fat and carbohydrate, laced with just the right mix of vitamins and minerals. If you like food, adventure and a good yarn well spun, you will enjoy this book.

The Political Economy of Oil in Alaska: Multinationals vs. the State is a scholarly assessment written by learned professors. The result is a thoroughly researched yet highly accessible treatise, offering a balanced, nonpartisan survey of the modern economic and political realities surrounding Alaska's natural resources, particularly oil. Chapters review the concept of oil dependency and whether or not such a term can be applied to Alaska; recount a brief history of oil in Alaska; discuss current petroleum revenues and tax policy; recommend guidelines for managing the wealth, preventing corruption, and respecting the environment; and much more. "Availability of information and free access to it does not mean that potential conflicts with the law will be revealed automatically. This requires a vigilant public and press, and monitoring of information by agencies both public and private. Recent ethics scandals in Alaska are less a problem of transparency than lack of public and private scrutiny of government operations." In today's era of rising oil prices, The Political Economy of Oil in Alaska could not be more socially relevant. Highly recommended.

I loved reading this book with my daughter. The story was great and the illustrations were so lush. It engages all the senses. A book to treasure...

David is a member of one of the surviving tribes all along the Northwest American Pacific coastline. Annette Island in Alaska is where David's great-grandfather lived & died, where David's father spent his childhood & learnt much of his wisdom. Here on this little island is where David's father will hold a potlatch for the people to honor the life & heritage of David's great-grandfather. An evocative coming-of-age photographic record of traditions newly revived & a boy at home in his culture. Deeply satisfying, full of interesting sights & new things to learn. END

I thought this book would be a bit boring. But what agnes and cecily did really is beyound belief! Going into the remote areas of Alaska, living under primitive conditions and giving the whole adventure a positive flavour! I loved it.

Qayaqs & Canoes: Native Ways of Knowing by writer/editor Jan Steinbright is a superb presentation of simple, traditionally made water craft among Alaska's Native American population, and the people who build and use them today. Illustrated with gorgeous color photographs taken by Clark James Mishler, and filled with countless personal interviews, Qayaqs & Canoes is a truly beautiful book and very highly recommended reading for anyone interested in learning about the means by which Alaska's Native Americans have traveled the sea from time immemorial.

Reading the memoirs of Rabbi Yisroel Haber is a most exciting and rewarding experience. Formerly serving as a chaplain in the United States Air Force, Rabbi Haber now devotedly serves as a shaliach (emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) in the Golan Heights. From his childhood in Crown Heights to the profound influence of his Uncle Meir Moshe to his three years in Alaska as a chaplain to his early developing relationship and later shlichus of the Rebbe, Rabbi Haber captivates his readers, not without a great deal of humor and grace.

Fundamental Torah principles such as mesiras nefesh (self sacrifice for Judaism), bitachon (trust in G-d), emunas chachamim (trust in Torah leaders), kiruv rechokim (Jewish outreach), hashgacha pratis (Divine providence), ahavas Yisroel and ahavas briyos (love for the Jewish people and humanity) all vividly come alive through the holy work of Rabbi Haber and his wife.

A work of beauty, A Rabbi's Northern Adventure also contains numerous photographs, a letter to the author from President Gerald R. Ford, and at least a dozen letters to the author from the Rebbe. Enjoy this book!

This is the true story of Balto.....Togo a husky we found out was the REAL hero Balto just went 20 miles where Togo went 92 grueling miles!!! This is a GREAT book