Synopses & Reviews
This is a collection of sixty outrageous, funny, scathing, touching, or compassionate, and often politically incorrect observations of Mike Doogan, Alaska's most outspoken journalist. Doogan calls 'em as he sees 'em. His bullshit detector is set on high. He uses words as one would use a flame thrower, often scorching the hides of the powerful and pretentious. He sniffs out injustice and bureaucratic blundering like a bird dog. And his unvarnished view of life in Alaska is not always pretty. Yet, Doogan is a journeyman storyteller who finds extraordinary deeds and sometimes goodness in the lives of ordinary people. Doogan's subjects are so diverse that his editor, Michael Carey, puzzled at length over how to organize the collection. Finally, Carey threw up his hands, and ordered the columns alphabetically by first word (excluding "a" and "the"), thus preserving the unpredictability and element of surprise in DOOGAN.
Synopsis
This is a "best of" collection of outrageous, funny, and often scathing observations of Mike Doogan, native son and and until 2004 Alaska's most outspoken journalist. His work would have pleased the late Col. Robert R. McCormick, the fiery Chicago Tribune publisher who instructed his reporters to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."
About the Author
Mike Doogan was born and raised in Alaska, the son of pioneer Alaskans Jim and Jerry Doogan. He graduated from West Anchorage High School in 1966, received a BA in English from the University of San Francisco in 1970 and an MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Arts from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1999. Doogan is the author of numerous magazine articles and two books of nonsense about Alaksa, HOW TO SPEAK ALASKAN and FASHION MEANS YOUR FUR HAT IS DEAD. He is the editor and a contributor to a book of essays by longtime Alaskans, OUR ALASKA.