Chasing the Horizon:  Alaska in Territorial Days
925113
This book is fantastic.  The author takes the reader along on a great adventure.  I felt like I was with him every step of the way and at the same time my feeling for adventure in my future was rekindled.
This book and story is for anybody that has enjoyed, either vicariously or in the first person, adventures of mountain climbing, long tour bicycle riding, going to new places, or just excitement in life.
The story also gives a picture of daily life and of those that exist and those that do, with neither being right or wrong. There is something in this book for everybody.
4706065
I enjoyed these all in one books.  It was refreshing to read about Alaska, as well.  The authors did a good job of giving you a good feel for what it would be like to live in the Land of the Midnight Sun.  Very informative, as well, with lots of historical information woven in.  I now have a better idea of what my grandparents endured when they lived in Fairbanks, Alaska years ago.  A good read.
4714209
This is an account of a young teacher longing for adventure who goes to Alaska and  finds  it all:  adventure,  love and heartache. Tisha (Teacher) was not afraid to accept the challenges of living and teaching in the harsh environment of Alaska in the 1920s. She was totally unprepared to face the harsh weather, the lack of even the barest of necessities, or especially the Alaskan social norms of that day. Her determination and stubborn decisions keep the reader anxious to see how she resolves each challenge.  How she deals with the school board when Indians and mixed race Eskimos come to school hungering to learn makes the readers hold their breath and keep reading to see show she will resolve these issues. Her 19-year-old naivete can bring the reader to tears.  Falling in love with a half-breed and wanting to adopt abandoned half-breed children also pose potential heartaches. Anyone who loves adventure, challenges, or teaching should read this book.
3729979
The expedition to find and explore Crocker Land in the Arctic is not nearly as famous as many other expeditions that have had books written about them, but that doesn't make any it any less compelling.  The story starts with Robert E. Peary's expedition to reach the north pole.  On his way, he spots a new land mass that he dubs "Crocker Land".  This book follows the efforts of two members of Peary's Arctic expedition as they become tight friends and try to put their own expedition together to investigate Crocker Land.

The book follows them as they struggle to put together the expedition through the trip to the Arctic to find Crocker Land.  It is an eventful journey and filled with colorful characters, which author David Wilkey brings vividly to life.  The resolution of the search for Crocker Land is fairly climactic, but this book is all about the journey and how the members of the expedition are changed by it.  It held my interest for the 400 pages of this book.
815713
Fascinating book. I especially liked the weaving of the various stories: correspondence between husband and wife; modern-day relative and history museum; Native-born Alaskans and army expedition. I highly recommend this book.
3083363
This had some interesting sections about what it's like to live in a small town in Alaska. There were parts I enjoyed and parts I had to slog through. Remember, the author, Heather Lende, a stay-at-home mother, gives you insight into her small town of Haines, through the obituaries she writes--which usually means you learn about people and the impact on the town after their deaths. Since I am familiar with Alaska, readers should be warned that not all of Alaska is as remote where funerals are community affairs. And Haines does not have the front row seat on some beautiful landscapes filled with wild life that exist in other parts of the United States. This is a good read for a long ride by plane or car.
2110537
This book is about Ellis Airlines, the first commercial airliner in Southeast Alaska.  Bob Ellis was a pioneer, and eventually his company was bought out by Howard Hughes, who, in turn, renamed the company Alaska Airlines.

This book chronicles the life and times of Ellis Airlines, written tastefully and generously illustrated with photos from a long lost nostalgic era, pre and post WWII.  [...]

Faith captures the frontier spirit and devil may care we're all going to get rich attitude that dominated the early twentieth century.  Alaska was the golden land of opportunity, and Bob Ellis was there to grab his.  And grab it he did.

As I mentioned earlier, this book is filled with pictures from the early 30's through the late sixties when the company finally closed a door on Alaskan history.

If you ever see this book in a library, read it!  It will give you insight into the nature of the Alaskan spirit that's still alive today.  Plus, it's an excellent read, well-written.
2341427
Once again Ms. Lovegreen takes us to Alaska to visit the breathtaking landscape and the raw nature of this forming frontier.

Charlotte, who loves her Alaskan home, isn't sure where her future will take her, but wants to become a writer and to accomplish that she must either find a job in Fairbanks or go to college in the East. While the family is preparing for Charlottes sisters wedding, they have an unexpected visitor, Henry, who passes through their small town.

He has heard about the land at the foot of Denali and he wants to visit. He is enthralled by what he sees and has aspirations to become part of the political movement to save the land and its wildlife by with the creation of McKinley National Park.

When Henry leaves, Charlotte cant stop thinking about him. Shes all he thinks about on the trip into the wilds. Theyre from different worlds and different backgrounds but they both want to save the Alaskan wilderness and both secretly hope they can do it together.

I have very much enjoyed this series from Lynn Lovegreen. Her well-written prose wraps the reader into a grand view of Alaska. The tundra, the wildflowers, bears, caribou, and even the mosquitos make for an interesting adventure. The historical aspect of the novel brings a heart rendering glimpse at how the people might have felt when they thought they might lose what was most precious to them.
1394207
I was compelled to read this after a trip to Alaska as it was referred to many times. Worth the read.
4594361
Enjoyed the reading about a story that reveals information about back country Alaska - people, places, and things. Also, it was a good story.
236424
This is an excellent book documenting Alaska's involvement in Alaska-Siberian exchange of Airplanes which helped the Russians and Allied Forces gain the advantage over the German Armies and leading to Allied victories.  What makes this book special is that it is a first hand account of the cooperation between the American and Russian governments and tells about an almost forgotten period of our history.  What makes it even more interesting to me is that the story is told through an "Artist's Eyes".
469103
I've been to Alaska and I found Stephen Frey's book a well done account of some of conditions you find there. Very well done!
4583844
A fairy tale within a fairy tale. A great book about early settlements in the Alaskan territory. A childless couple migrates to Alaska to work their homestead. It's a sensitive story about man and wife relationship, the longing of the heart with breathtaking descriptions of nature, hard toil and the longing for a child.
1095178
A page-turner history of interest to anyone going to Alaska, to the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, who has a sled dog team, or enjoys stories of humans overcoming circumstances beyond their control.
3845934
This book has particular appeal to those who have visited Alaska and were impressed by the awesome beauty of the wilderness.  Bob Durr's book is very readable - it holds your interest through an descriptive storytelling style.  Occasionally the philosophizing gets a little tiresome, but then we are back to the story line and things move along briskly.  I think Durr's characterizations of the people are particularly effective and help you to visualize each scene as it unfolds.  He also incorporates passages written by his sons, Steve and Jon.  In summary, I enjoyed the book and plan to read Durr's other book about Alaska!
278768
This book not only identifies what you will see as you travel from either Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska, a great many wonderful stories about historical experiences others who traveled this route have had.  The photographs are also great.  This book is not only for people who are planning an Alaska cruise, but anyone who is interested in Alaska.
40587
The Russian tsars and later, the Soviets, poured great amounts of money and vast resources into exploration of their Arctic landsin good part to discern some means for opening a sea route from the European Russian lands to those in the far east. Despite the importance of this effort in the history of Russia, there is little scholarship of it in English-language publications outside a couple Arctic-focused academic journals (and these are in turn very hard to find), so this book is a welcome contribution to the literature. I believe it was first published in 1952 and this is a reprint, so I have to commend Cambridge on reprinting something that they had to realize would serve a rather small readership. The Russian-language scholarship is more comprehensive, yet it is very difficult to find even in academic libraries in the United States. This volume should serve 90% of students of Soviet or Russian history who are interested in the topic.

As for the book itself, it's a bit too short, too thin, and lacking in detail in places, but Armstrong's writing is overall very good if dry and will provide a robust introduction to Russian/Soviet efforts at exploration of the Arctic up to around the middle of the 20th century. Again, it's a reprint so some more current information or more current findings on historical information is not in this book, but in general it covers with great scope and decent depth. There is a lot on later Cold War-era Soviet developmentespecially air bases and the likethat is tied into the Northern Sea Route and that is not covered here but this is still a good place (and one of the only places, indeed) to start on the topic of the Russian Arctic and maritime exploration.