A Land Gone Lonesome
Dan O'Neill
An Inland Voyage Along the Yukon River
Words sometimes fail to completely describe how riveting, poignant, and haunting a book can truly be. Usually spoken of in the same breath with McPhee's "Coming Into Country," "A Land Gone Lonesome" is an Alaska classic.
From the back:
"In his square-sterned canoe, Alaskan author Dan O'Neill set off from Dawson, Yukon Territory, onetime site of the Klondike gold rush, to trace the majestic Yukon River. His journey downriver to Circle City, Alaska, is an expedition into the history of the river and its land, and a record of the inimitable and little known inhabitants of the region. O'Neill blends together natural history and human history into a brilliant piece of literary travel writing. With distinct perspective of an inside, 'A Land Gone Lonesome' gives us an intelligent, rhapsodic--and ultimately, probably the last--portrait of the Yukon and its authentic inhabitants."
Walking My Dog, Jane
Ned Rozell
I love this book, I love this book, I love this book! Ned Rozell is a science writer for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and a contributing editor for Alaska magazine. But, that's not why I love this book! Ned and Jane set out, in the summer of 1999, to walk the length of the Alaska Pipeline--from Valdez to Prudhoe Bay--all 800 miles of it. From the people he meets along the way, to river and creek crossings, to bears and mosquitos and beyond, Rozell keeps you turning page after page, and it's hard to put the book down. It's a perfect -20°F-and-I'm-stuck-in-the-house book, an on-an-airplane book, or a just-about-anywhere book. If you've ever wanted a grand outdoor adventure, if you've ever loved a dog, this is a book for you!
The Firecracker Boys
Dan O'Neill
H-Bombs, Inpiat Eskimos, and the Roots of the Environmental Movement.
It's a story not familiar to many people, but if it had occured in the Lower 48, it would have been monumental. Edward Teller, father of the H-Bomb, intended to carve out a harbor into the Alaskan coast with a thermonuclear explosion. Sound far-fetched? Remember, it was the 1950's, and the effects of radiation were not as well understood as they are today.
From "Science Magazine:" "An exciting account of a dismal but significant chapter in the recent history of science and society.... A frightening illustration of the danger to democracy of secret, unaccountable science."
The Trail of '42
Stan Cohen
A Pictorial History of the Alaska Highway A must-read for anyone who has or who is thinking about traveling the ALCAN. While Route 66 is the "Mother Road" of the Lower 48, the ALCAN is that stretch of pavement that connects Alaska with Outside. Beginning in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and stretching to Fairbanks, Alaska, the ALCAN is a marvel of modern engineering--even though that modern engineering was happening back in 1942! The is also the companion book to the "Trail of '42" DVD also available from Jittery Moose.
