1 comments about Dream Fish and Road Trips: Fly Fishing Tales from Alaska, Montana, and Beyond.

1. I enjoyed this book. It made me want to go right out on the South Platte River southwest of Denver and start fishing. Mr. Thomas is a good writer who knows how to convey the excitement of fishing. I could identify with some of his stories. At points I found myself thinking: I've been there or done that. The only thing that put me off about this book was the very faint tinge of high-falutinism that comes through. What I mean is I get the feeling that I couldn't afford to go on most of the trips he takes. I wish someone would write a book about fishing the places close to home, the small waters, that most of us can get to. But, that was my only complaint. Otherwise, I liked the book. I learned some things about technique, even though this isn't a how-to book.

No comments about Woodall's Far West Campground Guide, 2003 (Woodall's Far West Campground Guide).

No comments about Alaska Fishing: The Complete Guide.

1 comments about Umbrella Guide to Skiing in Alaska: Downhill and Cross-Country.

1. Skiing has been a way of life in Alaska since the turn of the century. The book provides info on the cross-country runs through cities and towns, wilderness lodges surrounded by miles of ski trails, downhill ski areas outside Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Cordova, and helicopter and snowcat services offering access to untouched powder on glaciers and icefields. Good guide to downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and backcountry touring includes black and white maps and photos. Read it before you go and take it with you too.

5 comments about Heart Of The Sound.

1. Marybeth Holleman is a leading voice in North America for
   defending nature within Prince William Sound from the negligence and commercial interests of the oil industry, and the devastating Exxon Valdez oil spill fifteen years ago. The Heart of the Sound is an important, engaging, heart-expanding book that you won't be able to stop reading.



2. The Heart of the Sound will find a permanent home on my book shelf--for reference, for enjoyment, for inspiration. I was born and raised in Alaska and have lived here over fifty years. Still I learned about the difference between two genetically distinct groups of Orca whales, about the "soundscape" created in Denali National Park for managing uses, and much more. I worked on the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup for six weeks on the water and beaches far outside of Prince William Sound and through Holleman's clear, passionate voice and keen powers of observation I was able to sharpen my own image of what it was like at "ground zero" of the spill. The chapter titled "restoration", with its hard questions and profound insights into the human relationship to place, I will visit often. Holleman cares, and I trust her. This is a beautiful book.



3. One of the things I most admire about Marybeth Holleman is something she told me in person: "I moved to Alaska because of Prince William Sound." This statement is verified in her writing, which is replete with examples of her love and devotion to the place, even when the environment presents obstacles. Camped on Decision Point, she finds the terrain so water-logged it takes five railroad flares to start a fire and she and her husband are forced to don head nets to escape the swarms of no-see-ums. This is not the kind of experience most of us come away from feeling enraptured, but Holleman's reverence and awe never falter.

   Crucial questions are presented in the last third of the book. In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill Holleman casts a critical eye on restoration money designated for scientific study. "All this counting, tagging, radio-implanting, all these projects, research, buildings--I could not fathom how they would help restore the wild," she writes.

   Finally, the book takes on a larger scope, asking that we take a hard look at our adaptability to environmental degradation. Things that bother her should trouble us all: noise pollution, species' extinction, global warming, acid rain. How is it that we have come to accept these phenomena as "natural" by-products of economic growth? Thanks to Holleman and other nature writers these issues will continue to surface in discussions across the nation. And, if we are lucky, those in power will begin to listen.




4. This book is many things. It is a personal journey about following one's heart. It's a love story between a woman and a place. It's about beauty. It's about loss and change.

   Marybeth Holleman witnessed the unspoiled beauty of Prince William Sound, the immediate aftermath of the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, and subsequent years of healing. She details the devastation wrought by both the ruptured oil tanker and the swarm of experts and volunteers who came to help. Fifteen years later, the coasts and wildlife of Prince William Sound still show evidence of this oil.

   This is an intimate look at a specific wild place in the vastness of Alaska. A gentle voice tells her stories, reflects on her life and beloved environment, and reveals an inner landscape. The pages display photographs taken by the author. The words are her love songs for the wild creatures, the water, and many natural wonders of the sound. Such intimacy brings us into her world and broadens our capacity to see and to care what she is passionate about, perhaps humanizing us in unexpected but important ways.

   I hope to visit Alaska some day to see the glaciers and the wildlife, to experience the wonders, serenity, and potency of nature. When I go, I will have more respect for the fragility of such beauty. The Heart of the Sound gave me a more complete and complex story about a well-known disaster-not just how this event affected the author and the Alaskan community back then, but how it affects all of us, all of life still.




5. This is a great book about nature! Reading it, one can easily imagine Thoreau looking over Holleman's shoulder as she explore's the wilds of the sound.

No comments about John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir.

1 comments about The Great Southwest Nature Factbook: A Guide to the Region's Remarkable Animals, Plants, and Natural Features.

1. This was an interesting and well-written book. I'm sorry to see that it's out of print. It contains a lot of interesting information on the desert's plans, animals, and geology. It appeared to be very well researched. and the author seemed to have a great appreciation for this unique part of the country. If you are interested in the desert I would recommend that you try to find a copy of this book.

1 comments about Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call 2006: From U.S. & Canadian Home Ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii & More (Frommer's Complete).

1. I hate most of the Frommer Travel books. They take the fun out of travel and have very few photos.
   
   This book is different. Here they came up with something very useful and novel for the traveller. When you go on a cruise normally you do not have a clue. You just follow what your travel agent recommmends. But anyone that has taken an extended cruise or two knows there are big differences betweeen boat lines and routes etc.( I like Holland America myself). So here is a nice review of what boats and crusies are available, it describes the boats, and where they go and what you can expect including on board entertainment. All great stuff.
   
   Highly recommend 4 or 5 stars. Buy before you talk to the travel agent.

No comments about Alaska Wildlife Postcard Portfolio.

2 comments about Where Salmon Come to Die: An Autumn on Alaska's Raincoat.

1. We read reports of declining fish stocks, but seldom peerbehind the human drama in gathering these statistics. LeonKolankiewicz opens a window to the distant, mysterious, isolated and sometimes hostile world of data collectors on Alaska's raincoast in autumn. Migratory habits of spawning salmon never evolved to fit neatly within the convenience of Alaska's Department of Fish and Game workers. The salmons' final run to the place of their upstream birth, and death, coincide with brutally cold and damp conditions. Who might apply for jobs as data gatherers with the Department, and what might they think about when reaching this remote destination at the last American frontier? Here's your answer on 126 memory-filled pages. The book is a compilation of the author's letters to his parents in autumn 1982 while writing from his tent on the raincoast, in the company of bears and natural hazards. The majestic setting inspires a literary account with almost poetic quality. Leon's respect for the intended recipients of the letters imparts another worthy dimension to this book. He draws the reader into an intimate relationship with his parents. As parents, may we all be so thoughtful and compassionate to merit the lasting tribute paid by this author in his letters home. The real life adventure and purpose captured within these letters makes this book a worthy source of information for anyone thinking about writing home.



2. 'Where Salmon come to die' gives an accurate account of what life is like in a remote Southeast Alaska (Department of Fish and Game) fieldcamp. This book contains wonderful desciptions of the pristine beauty of the land and its inhabitants; a beauty which has been lost in many other developped places. The accounts are based on the authors diary and on correspondences with his family. I verify that the story is true and believe I can do so, since I was the other person who lived with the author in that fieldcamp on Chichagof Island back in the fall of 1982.