5 comments about Fishing Alaska's Kenai Peninsula: A Complete Angler's Guide.

1. I read the book while on vacation in Mexico and found myself thirsting for the clean waters of Alaska. The author is obviously a devout fisherman. Woven throughout the book are comments, observations and short essays that address the intangable elements of fishing that can result in a love of the sport. Atcheson has not forgotten what the essence of fishing is all about and he can be downright poetic at times. This is not to imply that important planning details and valuable local knowledge is glossed over. On the contrary, Atcheson hits all the bases and offers many fishing techniques, super maps, and detailed information on many quiet out of the way trout and salmon hang-outs and the large rivers. This book is educational and packed with advice and seasonal information that is applicable and unique to fishing in Alaska. A really good book that delivers years of local knowledge and a better understanding of life below the surface.



2. I picked up a copy of this book when I was on vacation in Alaska fishing the Kenai. First off, the author is an execellent outdoors writer and really makes you wish you were there. As far as fishing info, the book gives a great overview of the most productive techniques (which are used by practically every guide in the area) used to catch each type of salmon and trout in the area. It gives good information about all the local rivers, streams, and lakes,and most importantly timing information on salmon runs and most productive trout periods. The first section on Lake Fishing is a bit more geared toward local anglers with access to a canoe, but I would definately recommend this book for anyone planning a fishing trip to the Kenai Peninsula.



3. If there ever was a perfect recipe for an area fishing guide, this is it. Beautiful photos, great maps, fantastic stories that bring the areas alive and just plain great advice. Atcheson, has created the mold that I wish others would follow for the other states and regions I fish. He covers the whole gamut of the Kenai Peninsula, not exhaustively, but by picking a handful of representative locations, fishing styles and target species. Then he gives away his fishing secrets like an old and trusted fishing buddy. In fact in his intro he says the book's first objective is to tell you where to fish. He claims to do this to improve his fishing Kharma, and I hope it is working.
   
   He doesn't spell out exactly what hole to drop which lure into, but he does give some great suggestions based on fishing, scenery, and wilderness experience. And in an area where 90 percent of the fishermen are going to 10 percent of the fishing areas, he gives some great alternatives to being shoulder to shoulder on the Russian or lining the Kenai. He does cover those areas well, but he suggests other options like hiking up to the Russian Lakes and fishing their outlets for trout.
   
   Whether you are a tourist planning a trip to the Kenai or a resident of South Central Alaska, you should get this book. It has a lot of great area experiences that get overlooked in the shadow of the Kenai, the Russian and the saltwater charter fishing options. Try one of his hike in float tube lakes some time.



4. Intend to spend a week fishing the Kenai this Summer. This book gives me the information I wanted to wander on my own and feel that I will still catch fish. Well organized both in terms of fish to expect, but also well broken down by areas. The author provides sufficient information on those fishing Alaska for the first time to feel relatively comfortable that they will be prepared with the proper equipment and knowledge to have a successful trip.



5. I think this book would be helpful in planning a trip to Alaska to fish. After reading about the crowds fishing from the roadsides I believe I will hire a guide and a boat for my trip. Without reading about it I would probably have been disapointed in having to do "Combat Fishing" at the road crossings.
   
   Charles

4 comments about Alaska.

1. Art Wolfe's beautiful photos and Nick Jans' reader-friendly text blend in a beautiful coffee-table paperback edition of Alaska (1-57061-216-1, $29.95), featuring gorgeous full-page color photos of environments and animals and reflecting the contributors' familiarity with Alaska's many faces. Choose this as a keepsake memoir of the state's natural beauty.



2. WOW! Breathtaking photos of Alaska. He captures Alaska as it should be.



3. Whether this book of color photographs accurately shows what Alaska really looks like, I don't know, because I haven't been there yet. But having finished it, I'm planning my trip!

   But I can say this is a great book of photographs of nature. Anyone who loves to look at photographs will love this book. Wolfe demonstrates that he is one of the greatest living outdoor photographers. His sense of light and composition is unexcelled. Almost every picture has a strong sense of line, either vertical, horizontal or diagonal. And the range of light is exceptional, often including in the same picture the darkest blacks and the brightest whites.

   The handling of sky is as sublime as that of any of the 19th century American landscape painters. I'm certain that there must be plain blue skies in Alaska but every one of Wolfe's skies has clouds that are fleecy, or glowering, or mysterious. And the light that falls on the landscapes illuminates them with a strange beauty whether casting deep, hard-edged shadows that make a rugged peak look even more majestic; or soft shadows that fall across a brush-covered hillside and create a subtle modulation of green; or the red rays of the magic hours of dawn and dusk.

   Occasionally his pictures take on a strange abstraction that requires a careful examination to discover what one is looking at, like the pictures of white ice floes on the surface of an inky-black river or the network of crevasses on a glacier with a few spots of emerald blue in the white field, where the snow has melted into a pond reflecting the sky.

   Wolfe is a master of color field photography. Consider the brownish, grayish web of fine lines with several smears of white across it that resolves into a portrait of musk oxen with white horns and muzzles. Or the white arctic foxes in the snow with a bare hint of orange on their undersides. Or the receding green hillsides distinguished only by differing textures with a tiny browsing caribou in the foreground.

   The text by Nick Jans is sometimes overly poetic and almost unnecessary given the photographs although explaining just what it is that makes tundra tundra has some interest. However when I turn the page to see just the top halves of the heads of two fierce little owls peeking at me with yellow eyes hidden amongst a row of wildflowers in the Arctic Wild Life Refuge, words disappear from my mind.

   Most people agree that Alaska is one of the last great wildernesses and that we are unlikely to see anything more exciting in our lives. Art Wolfe has captured the excitement of Alaska. He has also captured the excitement of great photography.




4. Beautiful photography of the grandest state. If you've read any of Nick Jans work, you know the text is excellent as well.

5 comments about Alaska's Wolf Man: The 1915-55 Wilderness Adventures of Frank Glaser.

1. I read these type books on a regular basis & this one is head & shoulders above the rest. Captivating, interesting, & very informative. Well written & a true treasure. This should be included in the required reading for wolf relocation advocates & "Naturalists". Glasser has no axe to grind, simply tells of his adventures & experiences. I assure you, it is time & money well spent !



2. Excellent read ! I read mostly African based books, but put onto this from a friend now living in Juneau; thanks Scott! This is the "Capstick" adventures for Alaska !



3. Frank Glaser's story is a real, first hand look at Alaska in the early days. If you love Alaska and the wilderness, this is the book for you. Frank goes into the back-country and his adventures never cease as he traps, hunts, builds, explores and generally just checks things out. It amazes me that he is always so at ease, even in the most difficult of situations. He is the kind of guy you would just love to tag along with (if you could keep up with him!) His stories and accounts bring Alaska to life at a time when few tourists ventured into the back country. Jim Rearden has done a great job in compiling Frank's stories and amazing life. This book has given me a much greater appreciation of a great state...Wonderful Alaska! I doubt if anyone has ever experienced it like Frank Glaser.



4. A phenomenal book for all outdoors people and Alaska fans. The text flows very naturally. There is a lot of information on Alaskan nature and history.



5. I have lived in Alaska for 10 years and can't believe I just heard about this book. I bought it yesterday and have not been able to put it down since I opened it.
   
   Not only is it an excellent read but I am learning a lot of tips about wilderness survival. It is about the best adventure book I have ever read.

5 comments about Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley.

1. This book is incredible. You cannot put it down. A great gripping TRUE story!



2. this was an awesome book. it was so suspensful i couldnt put it down it was like my fingers and eyes were glued to the book.i had a great time reading it.the people in this book went through alot of bad luck.im not going to describe it though for those of you review readers who havent read the book.this book was the complete oppisite of a waste of time and i highly recommend reading it because there is so many bad things happening like death, frostbite, and wind speeds i didnt even know were possible that its amazing anyone could have survived a adventure such as that.this was a good book i highly recommened it for anyone looking for a good time , or anyone who hasnt read a good book lately, or ,OH THE HELL WITH IT! I recommened this book to anyone, anywhere, anytime!



3. I loved how suspenseful it is when they are trapped in the snow cave for a week. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone about the age of 12. It is kind of challenging.



4. this is a fantastic read, if you have ever climbed any mountain this would probably interest you



5. I'm not sure, but I may have been one of the pilots on the C-130 that helped to coordinate the rescue of the team off of Mt. McKinley. Rescue 489 sounds like one of the 17th Troop Carrier Squadron's aircraft. And, I recall dropping (parachuting) a couple of radios on the emergency frequency to a climbing team that we helped rescue. The aircraft commander and I are discussing this particular rescue as "I speak."
   
   As I recall, the person from the expedition that was talking to me was very very reluctant to leave the climb, finally asking what it would cost. When the team was assured that there would be "no cost," things did change... :-)
   
   On the rescue that I'm describing, perhaps the one covered in this book, the Army Huey helicopter had difficulty landing at such a high elevation, and carrying out such a load. I watched as the helicopter lifted off, and it had to dive down toward the base of the mountain to get into more dense air, and to gain associated lift. On the way back to the airport, we slowed the C-130 down, and lowered the flaps, so the Huey helicopters could fly on each wing tip...

1 comments about Alaska Wildlife: An Introduction to Familiar Plants and Animals (Pocket Naturalist - Waterford Press).

1. These are the best thing to make you study the surrounding of which you visit. I have all of the Alaska pocket naturalist subject now. I love them.

2 comments about The Last Frontier: Incredible Tales of Survival, Exploration, and Adventure from Alaska Magazine.

1. "The Last Frontier" is an interesting collection of feature stories that originally appeared in "Alaska" magazine from 1935 until the present. They were chosen by the current editors of the magazine. The subject matter is quite varied, featuring outdoor adventure tales, life among the native people, wildlife exposes and much more. The stories are as varied as the people who inhabit the last great American wilderness.

   The caveat I would note for anyone interested in reading the book is that most of the stories are quite short, and because they were published for a then-contemporary audience, someone not familiar with local history or geography might sometimes get lost in the narrative. Also, "Alaska" started out as a sportsman's magazine, so a lot of the early stories are about hunting and trapping, which some people might not enjoy.

   Those cautions aside, "The Last Frontier" is a decent read for those who likes outdoor adventure stories.




2. I bought this book for stories about fishing, hunting, trapping, wilderness travel and "white knuckle" adventure. What I found was a book that covered a wide variety of topics, all relevant to Alaska but in some cases a little "tame" or mundane for the typical adventure reader.

   So, as is always the case, whether or not you'd like this book depends on your particular interests. I give it a high rating because it has something for everybody. In fact, the book contains almost 60 stories and if you find only 10 that you really enjoy the book is worth buying. I also rated it high because while every story is not a "gripping" adventure thriller, many of them are, and others are informative, entertaining or interesting in other ways.

   Among the more "riveting" stories are two about men surrounded or pursued by wolves; one about researchers on a frozen lake during an earthquake; one about a fisherman caught under a capsized fishing boat and one about a daring float plane rescue of men stranded in a deep canyon river. There is the obligatory "avalanche" story and another about a raging walrus, and several "big fish" stories.
   
   One or two stories deal with the psychological effects of prolonged isolated, wilderness living. Another, and one of my personal favorites, is a unique and revealing story about crime and punishment in the bush. It is entitled "Of Traps and Treasures--Klutuk."

   Another story, "My Sunset Moose" deals with the realization that time changes everything, and that for better or worse, change must be accepted. Another, "A Trapper Leaves the Country" deals with the same subject, in the same somber way, but in a different context.

   But my single favorite story is "A Few Mosquito Bites." I believe that any man or woman or any child old enough to understand simple language would enjoy this story about a man, his hybrid wolf-dogs and life in the wilderness. In fact, it would be worth buying this book just to get this story.

   But please don't think that every story is about men going hunting or fishing, or getting killed or maimed in the woods! Many are written by women about the extraordinarily tough and determined women who were attracted to life in the the world's last great wilderness and last free country!

   Lots of stories, lots of fun, easy reading. Recommended.

1 comments about Nature of Southeast Alaska: A Guide to Plants Anim.

1. In this highly readable book, Rita O'Clair and her co-authors explore the geology, habitats, and animals of Southeast Alaska and how they interact with each other. I haven't found any other source that puts the basic story of the region together in this way. For those getting started learning about the area, this book provides a framework to organize future observations and learning. Those who already know some natural history of the area may be surprised by the connections this book helps make and the gaps it fills in.

5 comments about Alaska For Dummies (Dummies Travel).

1. I loved this book. I had ordered three different books on Alaska Vacations, this one was the best hands down. It gave me all my options, sample vacations, told me the best and worst of Alaska. I really feel I can now book my vacation and feel very comfortable. Going to Alaska is a very expensive vacation, I have waited a lifetime for a trip like this so I wanted to make sure of all my options. This book gave you the pros and cons of cruising, driving, renting an RV, railroads. Once I got through I knew exactly what was the best option for myself.



2. A great book for a planned trip with limited time. If you are off for adventure or off the beaten path make sure you get the Milepost and if you are visiting the Denali area, get Discovering Denali.



3. I run a tour business for Alaska travelers and purchased this book as a reference book. I was horrified at the inaccurate information and lack of details. For expample the author talks about Southeast Alaska and only mentions 3 towns! leaving out some of the most interesting and best places. No mention of Ketchikan, Haines, Wrangell, Petersburg, Gustavus. It is hard to believe the author has ever been to this part of Alaska. And as for his information for cruise ship passengers and day trips - his information and pricing is way out of date and for the most part very inaccurate. If you are planning to visit Alaska by cruise ship - this is NOT the information you will need for going through the Inside Passage.



4. This book is great. It gives lots of PRACTICAL information, without giving too much information about every single hotel and restaurant in town. It has tips and advice on how to enjoy your trip and not be taken advantage of. It has "heads up" sections that warn you of tourist traps, and gives ways to save money while visiting an expensive state. It highlights the "must-see's", and is a great aid in planning the trip of a lifetime.



5. I enjoyed reading about Alaska. i have several "Dummies" books and find them humorously informative!

4 comments about The Reader's Companion to Alaska.

1. This is a marvelous collection of essays written about life and travel in Alaska during the past 100 years. It has lots of well-known contributors: John McPhee, Ann Morrow Lindburgh, John Muir, Charles Kuralt, et al. But almost every piece, even from the most obscure writer, had me mesmerized. Perhaps the most haunting tale was a reprint of the diary entries from a man known only as "V. Swanson," who perished in a cabin in the wilderness in 1917.

   I was fascinated by the stories of daredevils doing unbelievably brave and crazy things: climbing through ice caves buried within glaciers where the climbers literally had to inhale in order to squeeze through, knowing a shift in the ice could kill them all at any moment...climbing the face of Denali in winter, losing toes to frostbite...coming face to face with a grizzly who smashed in the window of a tiny cabin. Being decidedly NOT a daredevil myself, I would get most of the way through each of these stories scratching my head as to the motivation of these people. Generally, by the end of each story, I understood what made them tick. Reading these essays has made me feel life in Suburbia is just a little too boring, too timid, too soft.




2. The first couple of stories are the least fun. After that, it's a great compilation. The five-page diary of V. Swanson is worth the price of the book - and as affecting as any Robert Service poem. The compilation is good enough that I have tried to find some of the excerpted books, and will look for more of them. (John Haines's book was pretty good. A co-worker enjoyed it, too.) The acknowledgments at the end are useful.



3. This is a wonderful compilation of writings by some our most prominent authors of their first (and lasting) impressions of the last American wilderness, Alaska. It prepares children and their families for the overwhelming gift we have recieved through the preservation of this beautiful land and for the warmth and welcome they will receive from Alaskaan natives.



4. I bought this book to read while on a two-week trip to Alaska. Of course, what with all the sunlight and all the things to do, I did very little reading. But it's no reflection on this book, which provides a wonderful assortment of perspectives on a truly unique place. One aspect I particularly liked was that the selections spanned over a century and thus gave a good historical perspective. (Though stylistically, the earliest ones can be the toughest reads.) It also did a good job of covering the vast geography of Alaska.
   
   The only downside is that Alaska continues to change rapidly, experiencing rapid economic and population growth, not to mention the effects of global climate change, so I would love to see what some very recent writers have to say.

5 comments about Discovering Denali: A Complete Reference Guide to Denali National Park and Mount McKinley, Alaska.

1. In my many treks to Denali, I have never Had to search for places and things that I had not explored- until I purchased this guide. The author brings to life the Park, as well as a reason to take the 'trail less traveled', as if there was a passion and connection with with the land that he so describes.



2. Discovering Denali includes information on how to get to the park, what to see on the way, where to stay (including campsites, bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels), side trips and excursions, and tips for fishing, hiking, flightseeing and even climbing Mt. McKinley (also know as Denali, "the High One"). There are also bits of interesting history and folklore, extensive maps, and some personal insights by the author. It is the first and only source of information that provides detailed descriptions about the 43 individual sections of the park, including backpacking and camping information that heretofore has only been available upon arrival.



3. Discovering Denali by Dow Scroggins is a "Complete Reference Guide to Denali National Park and Mount McKinley, Alaska," and the subtitle says it all. This book is a must for anyone going to Denali National Park area or to attempt climbing Mount McKinley (Denali). Scroggins details the beauties, necessities, delights, and dangers of this Wilderness adventure. He is specific in telling what equipment to bring and what to expect on many different trails. He covers all seasons individually. You'll also find an excellent guide to animals and plants found in this special area of the United States. He has included an interesting history of Denali National Park, driving and transportation information, as well as lodging and restaurants, activities, maps, and calendar of events. This is the best guide we have seen of what you need to know before you go to this vast and beautiful wilderness, whether you are a one day sight-seer, a camper, a back-pack hiker, or an expert mountain climber.



4. Once you get there, you learn that Alaska is EXPENSIVE, especially mistakes in planning well ahead. As is Denali National Park. And more you know, the better. For those planning a trip to Denali NP a word-of-mouth is probably the best way to go. The book by Dow Scoggins offers a good starting point and a reference for the w.o.m. search. Myself, I bought four guidebooks about Alaska and Denali, three more-or-less useless, rather collections of ads by different operators from the region, and the Scoggins' one. After being there, I can tell you that the book is worth the money.



5. This book is very thorough in covering everything around Denali National Park, and I mean everything. There is a trade off in that it isn't very deep in any one area, but if you are afraid that you are going to miss out on a hidden gem in the area, get this book. I used it on my last two trips to the find restaurants I never knew of and a better campground to stay in when I couldn't get into the park.
   
   A couple of considerations, there are few illustrations in this book and it really does read like a Fodor's guide, so it is not a thrilling cover to cover read. Also, the information is starting to get a little dated. The information is still valid, although prices and schedules are probably getting out of date. Hopefully a new edition will come out in the next couple of years.