Alaska Tales of Adventure from the Last Frontier

by Walker, Spike

• ISBN13: 9780312275624
• ISBN10: 0312275625
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-18
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

For thousands of years Alaska has called to us. The hardy souls who first answered that call endured bitter temperatures, maddening isolation, and often harrowing adventures for the privilege of living there, and many lost their lives in the process. From the earliest human explorers to Russian fur trappers, from Klondike gold seekers to today's miners and oilmen, from Alaska's native people to the millions of tourists who visit the state every year, people have come to Alaska to marvel at its beauty, rejoice in its riches, and measure themselves against its challenges. The wonder of Alaska, as well as its terrifying dangers, come to life in this anthology, featuring true adventures described by some of the best writers in the world, each hand picked by bestselling writer and Alaska aficionado Spike Walker. Alaska: Tales of Adventure from the Last Frontier will open your eyes and stir your soul as it celebrates the untamed beauty of Alaska. Inside you will find unmatched tales of adventure by the following authors: Spike Walker Jack London Larry Kaniut Roger A. Caras Lew Freedman Dana Stabenow Gary Paulsen Jean Aspen Ann Mariah Cook John Muir Washington Irving And many more...

Author Biography

Spike Walker has spent more than twenty seasons working as a deckhand aboard commercial fishing boats in Alaska. He has voyaged across storm-tossed seas from the ports of Kodiak in the Gulf of Alaska to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands and north, across the Bering Sea, to the edge of the polar ice cap in search of king crab, halibut, and codfish. His first book, Working on the Edge, was hailed by James Michener as "the definitive account of this peilous trade." With his books Nights of Ice and Coming Back Alive, Spike Walker's growing reputation as one of America's greatest authors of true Alaskan adventure tales has been firmly established.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Denise Little
Introduction	x
Spike Walker
Living on the Edge
Too Little, Too Late Excerpt from Nights of Ice	3	(17)
Spike Walker
Lost and Adrift Excerpt from Danger Stalks the Land	20	(8)
Larry Kaniut
Excerpt from Dangerous Steps	28	(17)
Lew Freedman
The Iditarod
Excerpt from Winterdance	45	(9)
Gary Paulsen
Excerpt from Iditarod Classics: Interviews with Libby Riddles, Rick Swenson, and Susan Butcher	54	(12)
Lew Freedman
Excerpt from Running North	66	(9)
Ann Mariah Cook
The Great Explorers
Excerpt from Bering's Voyages	75	(12)
Georg Steller
Excerpt from Astoria, or, Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains	87	(4)
Washington Irving
Yukon and Mackenzie Exploration Excerpt from The Dominion Illustrated, 1890	91	(4)
The Discovery of Glacier Bay	95	(17)
John Muir
Gold Rush
1898	112	(10)
Richard Mathews
Gold Hunters of the North	122	(12)
Jack London
Article from The Dyea Trail, January 19, 1898	134	(3)
George R. Adams
Klondike Outfit List	137	(3)
Dan Snure
Getting There: How to Go Article from the April 1, 1898, issue of The Klondike News	140	(6)
The Dog Nuisance Article from the Dawson Daily News, May 23, 1900	146	(1)
To Build a Fire	147	(18)
Jack London
Natural Wonders
Excerpt from Monarch of Deadman Bay	165	(13)
Roger A. Caras
Alexander Archipelago and the Home I Found in Alaska	178	(15)
John Muir
Black Gold
Excerpt from Who Killed Alaska	193	(12)
Dave Brown
Paula Crane
Far Trek	205	(3)
Bruce Woods
An Arco Epitaph	208	(9)
T. A. Badger
Modern Adventurers
Males For Sale: Cheap, Hairy	217	(4)
Dana Stabenow
Excerpt from Arctic Son	221	(35)
Jean Aspen
Excerpt from Goodbye, Boise . . . Hello, Alaska	256	(17)
Cora Holmes
Alaskan Voices
Excerpt from Edgar Kallands	273	(6)
Kaltag
Excerpt from Simeon Mountain	279	(5)
Nulato
Excerpt from Goodwin Semaken	284	(7)
Kaltag
Galena Excerpt from Josephine Roberts, Tanana	291	(6)
Don't Laugh . . . It's Not Funny!
Housekeeping in the Klondike	297	(6)
Jack London
Still a Few Bugs in the System	303
Bruce Woods