The Reader's Companion to Alaska

by Alan Ryan

Book Overview

The Alaskan frontier is revealed at its most inspiring and unforgiving, through the eyes of its awestruck visitors. An enraptured John Muir first glimpses Glacier Bay; Jon Krakauer marvels at the sight of a grizzly's footprints in the snow; Erma Bombeck comments on the "cruise from hell," and more. Map.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156003686
• ISBN13: 9780156003681
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Truly an excellent companion

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.

Great visit preparation for an amazing place

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.

Really whets your appetite

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.

The Reader's Companion to Alaska

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.