The Alaskan

Writer and conservationist James Oliver Curwood was a remarkably powerful force in the campaign to bring environmental issues into the public discourse in the early twentieth century. In The Alaskan, Curwood uses the intertwined tales of two protagonists to explore the difficulties that early pioneers in Alaska faced in their everyday lives.

For fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist's human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure. During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals. In March of 2012, she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic, traveling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace -- migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou, and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. A unique blend of science, adventure, and personal narrative, The Sun is a Compass explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of the creatures who make their homes in the wildest places left in North America. Inspiring and beautifully written, this love letter to nature is a lyrical testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Winner of the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition: Adventure Travel

This comprehensive list of shipwrecks occurring in Alaskan waters from 1741 to the pre-World War II era, is arranged by Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region lease-sale planning area (for oil and gas exploration), and includes data on vessel name and type, date, location and cause of wreck, and a historic context of the phenomenon.

It all began in the late sixties, I started core sampling at Finger Mountain for the Alaskan pipeline. Driving in such extreme conditions, -110 below with the wind chill factor, sometimes there was ice fog so thick you couldn't see past the end of the hood of your truck. It became clear many years later, when I would tell stories, that people did not understand or even believe some of the things we did in that vast, frozen, extreme wonderland, so I just stopped talking about it at all. The years went by, life went on, then the TV show came on and soon people were talking about driving the Ice Road. They started asking me if these things were true, and wanted to hear stories about it. I started thinking about it more and more, I wanted to get these stories down so my grandchildren would know what their grandfather did. I didn't realize I was such a big part of history. Soon after, my sister Arlean approached me about putting together a book and letting the whole world know what myself and so many others went through. I said okay, lets head down this road and see where it may take us. Even now though, at seventy two, I am still working odd-jobs, it is hard getting used to working only forty hours a week. A person could work two or three jobs at this rate, and as long as I can move I will continue to work.