2 comments about Travellers' Wildlife Guides Alaska (Travellers' Wildlife Guides).

1. I found the book to be very informative and well organized. The photos were a tremendous aid to the text, which is easy to read and fun. This will be a wonderful addition to my reference library and I will be going back to it again and again.



2. The guide goes well beyond simple identification information and truly provides a condensed naturalist study of each animal or group of animals. I particularly enjoyed reading the "Lores and Notes" sections as they provided additional information into the animals' significance and connection with the local and native human populations. I also found the notes on region and habitat particularly useful... it really helped me differentiate between similar looking species and understand what I might encounter in different circumstances.
   
   I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was one of the few guides that contained information about the local insects... and there are an amazing amount of insects in Alaska, especially considering the harsh climate! I'm not normally a bug-hunter, but it was nice to be able to identify the HUGE butterflies and dragonflies we encountered on our hikes.
   
   Buyer beware! There is a strong naturalist, eco-conscious tone to this reference. If you aren't the sort who is particularly concerned about the interconnection of species and preservation/conservation of our wild brethren and their natural habitat... this book may not be for you regardless of the wonderful information it contains.

3 comments about Arctic Daughter: A Wilderness Journey.

1. I was at a friends house when I first picked up Arctic Daughter by Jean Aspen. I sat down and started to read the first few pages, two hours later it was time to go home and I was still reading this book. My friends were kind enough to let me borrow the book and I finished it the next day. I returned the book to my friends and went directly to the book store and ordered it. I was told it was out of print and I was very upset. I then spent about two weeks searching to find a copy of Arctic Daughter and I was lucky enough to find a new copy. I gave it to my wife and she also read it in one day. This book takes the reader to a place that many people will never see. The courage and spirit of true adventure in Jean Aspen prevails in this book and it is a shame it is out of print. I would encourage any person who has the dream of "chucking" it all away in order to live a life more simple to pick up a copy of this book. It is the real deal and puts the adventurers' life in a new perspective. A must read!



2. This is an incredible adventure story written in in a very descriptive manner. It's unbelievable what we can endure if we put our minds to it. This is a MUST READ!



3. I highly recommend this book for those who love true adventure stories. This is a rare and unique one. While I would not rate this book a 5-star simply on the basis of the writing, as sometimes I find descriptive language to linger too long, I must give it an overall 5 stars due to its amazing content and intriguing story of a woman who dared to follow her dreams into one of the last wildernesses remaining on Earth. Jean Aspen went where few dare to go, and she did it as a college-aged young woman. The reader is amazed at the matter-of-factness of her descriptions of pushing off of the bank into the mighty Yukon River, alone with a boyfriend and a puppy in an unweildy overladen canoe. Have they packed all the necessities to live a year alone in the Alaskan bush? Will they really be able to find a site and build a cabin before winter? Will they survive despite Aspen's own admission that there odds at making it through the winter are perhaps 50/50? And obviously, though you know they make it somehow, you constantly want to know HOW? What was it like to live through a dark deathly-cold winter on the edge of the Arctic Circle, under the Brooks Range in a cabin built by two with no outside help? What does Alaska's bush really look like? What does it FEEL like to be out there alone? What are they going to eat? How will they stay warm? Don't read ahead! This is truly an adventure few have ever lived to tell about. Descriptions of the sights, sounds and emotions are beautiful.

3 comments about Libby: The Sketches, Letters and Journal of Libby Beaman, Recorded in the Pribilof Islands, 1879-1880.

1. Libby gives her account of her life before and during her time on the Pribilof Islands. Her letters and journals provide a look at what life was like for the middle class woman of her era with an honesty I have never come across in any other widely-available account of the post-Civil War years. I read the book while I was Alaska, and it was startling to see both similarities and differences between the lives people live in the far north now and in Libby's experience. Libby has the intensity of a well-written novel, and a depth of truth only a woman writing for her eyes alone could present. If you're interested in women of her era, life in the north, or simply an interesting story by an excellent writer, Libby is worth the purchase.



2. ...evidently this is a very highly edited and perhaps even augmented version of her journal. In the editorial review from "500 Great Books by Women"--which does not appear on the Amazon page for this edition but is included on the page for for another, unavailable edition of the book (ISBN#0395493250)--it refers to the fact that some of the gaps have been filled in by the author's granddaughter, Betty John, who is the one who actually had the book published.

   In the forward of the edition I read (which has a different ISBN from both this edition and the one mentioned above), Betty John notes that when she got the sketches and journal some of the pages were missing. She then says, "In Libby's book, therefore, I've had to fill in some gaps by conjuring up memories of the stories she told me and by doing research into her times. Her story, nonetheless, is the true tale of a very real woman... ."

   In the epilogue, she adds "What was left of [Libby's] journal and sketches ... came to me after her death. Those pages have been the basis for the book."

   In the book itself, there are maybe one or two small bracketed notes--not longer than a few words--where the editor fills in details.

   So I am a little puzzled about how much of the book really is Libby's journal. The comments in the foreward and epilogue imply that more than just a few details are added, yet there isn't much notation in the text to show what has been added and what is original. I would rather the publishers had made it clear what parts of the text were added, edited, or paraphrased, and what were the real journal.

   The way it reads, like a novel (almost like a romance novel at times) and the sometimes modern-sounding prose makes me suspect it may have been heavily edited and/or rewritten. Also the fact that she was commiting some very personal things--things she probably did not want her husband to read--to paper made me wonder a bit. (She talks about her husband's boss's attraction to her and hers to him. These are the parts that read like a romance novel--complete with the gruff, aloof-seeming hero who often seems to be mocking her, but actually is attracted to her--total romance-novel stereotype!)

   That said, I found the book very enjoyable. Libby Beaman's family was very friendly with Abraham Lincoln and in the beginning she gives an interesting look at Lincoln's election and the circumstances under which he came into office--how he had to sneak into Washington because his life had been threatened by Southern sympathizers. Stuff I may have learned in school, but forgot. She was apparently an interesting woman, impatient with the restrictions that were put on her gender and class. (At the end of the book she recants a bit, though.) There are descriptions of the Alaskan wildlife and of the people and history, and just reading about how Libby and her husband coped with the culture shock and vastly different living conditions in Alaska was fascinating.

   I just would have liked to be able to tell what was her authentic voice and what was added or changed in the editing.




3. A very interesting accounting of an adventurous woman in the late 1800's. I would have given this 5 stars EXCEPT that the print is so small one almost needs a magnifying glass to read it.
   (I wanted to send it to my Aunt but knew she would not be able to read the print.)

No comments about Tanana Basin (Alaska Geographic).

No comments about Nushagak River (Alaska Geographic).

3 comments about The Alaska Almanac: Facts About Alaska: With the Wacky Wisdom of Mr. Whitekeys (24th Edition).

1. I loved this book -- before opening it, I knew very little about Alaska. Now, I know more than I could ever need, unless I got caught in the Iditarod and needed something to eat (Spam doesn't freeze).

   I liked the book's format, broken down alphabetically by subject -- Agriculture, Baidarka, Cabin Fever, etc -- and I especially loved Mr. Whitekeys, originator of the infamous "Whale Fat Follies", and his bits of whimsy. For example, did you know....Alaskans rank no. 1 in the consumption of ice cream and no. 2 in the per capita consumption of SPAM?

   Books like these contain a lot of infomration packaged in a very clever format...good concept, great fun!

   Enjoy!




2. As a resident of Barrow, Alaska, the farthest north city in Alaska and the United States, I am used to inaccurate and sometimes even mean-spirited descriptions of this big, beautiful and diverse state.
   So this Almanac is valuable for anyone who might want to visit our state someday, or even just learn more about what truly is the "Last Frontier."
   Barrow does get quite cold ---It is about 30 below in late February as I write this review, but the Almanac also notes how dry it is here. Barrow holds the record for least precipitation in a year ---1.61 inches in 1935.
   It also devotes considerable coverage to the Native peoples of the state, and their history and culture. For example, if you fly to the beautiful village of Anaktuvuk Pass (population about 300) in the Brooks Range, you can visit the Simon Paneak Memorial Museum, which includes a description of Paleo-Indian people who occupied the Mesa Site in the Brooks Range more than 11,000 years ago.
   And as other reviews note, Mr. Whitekeys contributes SPAM and humor to break up the facts with all kinds of interesting tidbits ----including research on the northern tundra which reports up to 9,000 mosquito bites per minute. I've been out on the tundra in summer, and well maybe it just seems like thousands of mosquitos buzzing around. I try to focus on the beauty of the tiny flowers and the magnificent birds and wildlife all around.



3. Alaska is as unique as it is beautiful, and this book captures it's essence beautifully! The only other way to comprehend this is to take a trip up there and experience it for yourself. And while you're there, stop in and say hello to Mr. Whitekeys at the Fly-By-Night Club in Anchorage!!

5 comments about City Smart: Anchorage.

1. Readable, fun, on the mark with inside, local info. Enjoyed the restraunts, pubs and suggested tours. After reading the book I, a city boy, knew exactly what to do when I met a moose in town. Clear maps and details. Thoughtful and funny personal insights by author



2. I just found out that "City Smart Anchorage" has won a bronze medal in the 16th annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition, a national contest sponsored by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. Among the judges' comments: "An especially common-sense book that is well organized, concisely written and with much useful information...Contains a lot of "dos and don'ts" and local terms and trivia that will help a visitor quickly feel at home."



3. I read this book before my trip to Anchorage and was not disappointed with the advice. My friends and I found the info to be concise and accurate. The Arctic Roadrunner, a recommended restaurant, was every bit as good as the book says.

   I would recommend this to anyone considering visiting or moving to the lovely city of Anchorage.




4. We used this book for a trip we took in January of 2003 and found that a few of the items are starting to get out of date. i.e. one of the museums listed in the book no longer exists and resturant names have changed. The book is copyrighted in 2000 so it's time for a new edition.

   I liked the format and the info it gave, just beware and double check the listings.




5. This book is a great overview of Anchorage. It has good tips especially on entertainment and restaurants. I have been to Anchorage a lot, and this is my favorite overall book for practical advice...it is always in my bag when I go to Alaska. Others have said that it is getting out of date, which might be true in certain instances, but I personally haven't found any problems with currency.

   For the money and practicality I love this book. It's small, generally accurate and inexpensive.

1 comments about Wings Over Denali: A Photographic History of Denali Aviation.

1. Bruce McAllister had done a wonderful job with this new book in his great series of pictorial books. All of his "WINGS " series are a must own for all of us interested in the North and the history of aviation. If your a sudent pilot or an old pro, this and all the books in the series are a must for your bookcase.
   
   I also recommend another great read on northern aviation, FLYING NORTH SOUTH EAST AND WEST, by Captain Terry Reece
   Flying North South East and West: Arctic to the Sahara

1 comments about Breaking Point: Challenge on Alaska's Mt. Hunter.

1. Three young men head up Alaska's Mt. Hunter with insufficient food and equipment. The terrain is difficult and the weather horrible. Naturally, an epic results... This is a hard book to find and generally expensive when one does find it, but it's well worth looking for.

1 comments about My Heart on the Yukon River: Portraits from Alaska and the Yukon.

1. My Heart on the Yukon River is more than a collection of black and white portraits of people who live in remote places: It's the story of a woman who knew what she wanted out of life and had the courage to go after it.... In nearly every photograph, people are leaughing or smiling. No one seems to be taking themselves too seriously. Yet, Dykstra affords each person a sense of dignity. In one photograph of a woman, Suzanne Picot from Whitehorse, she poses in front of her car- painted to look like a car. Picot, who reveals in her interview that she's in love with a man who grew up on a dairy farm, is dressed like a dairy cow. She wears a black and white spotted jump suit, complete with rubber udders, horns and a cowbell necklace. Oddly, she doesn't look ridiculous. She just looks happy. For 2,000 miles, Dykstra remains optimistic and never stoops to exploit poverty, lonliness or human tragedy.... Dykstra's images are visually interesting and her text is a pleaure to read.... My Heart on the Yukon River is a a carefree romp- a lighthearted journal of a road trip Lorrie Blair for Hour Magazine