Synopses & Reviews
Personal Stories about Life in Alaska. From the mountains and waterways of the Southeast to the flat tundra of western Alaska, from cities and villages, from established writers and new voices, comes a wonderful collection of personal stories-both whimsical and contemplative-in which the writers open their heatrs and homes to reveal the real Alaska. Teh topiics are as diverse as the North - growing up neat a glacier...learning to love a free-spirited absentee father..the Hulaanee Code of the Koyukon Indians...anger over proposals to move the state capitol...how painful it is to leave...an escape aboard the state ferries..."herding" tourists...and "muscle memories" from the Chilkoot Trail. Much insight into life on America's last frontier is shared by contributors Diana Campbell, Larry Campbell, Michael Carey, Maeve McCoy, Susan Alexander Derrera, Dan DeRoux, Gregg Erickson, Cathy Carpenter Janvrin, Will Mayo, Terzah Tippin Poe, Kim Rich, Kate Ripley, Janice Ryan, Sherry Simpson, Bridget Smith, Dana Stabenow, Harley Sundown, Howard Weaver, and the editor, Mike Doogan.
Synopsis
Many influential visitors have written about Alaska, among them John Muir, John McPhee, and James Michener. In OUR ALASKA, award-winning writer and editor Mike Doogan forges an eclectic collection of stories both charmingly simple and thoughtfully profound, from a variety of Alaskan writers. These are real stories: among them tales of the solitude of Lake Minchumina; growing up aboard a fishing trawler; being a "tourist herder" near Nome; the rich, powerful meaning of the Koyukon Indian "Hutlani" code; a black man's fateful decision to pass up a lucrative job in Washington, D.C., in favor of what Alaska offered his family; a woman's emotional memories of flying to Juneau to see her father after her parents' divorce; the notion that riding the state ferries in Southeast may be the "calmest form of public transportation in the U.S."; an activist's view of how Alaska came to grips with its oil development; and the importance of berry-picking to a city dweller.
Synopsis
A rich collection of personal stories from nineteen Alaskans offering an understanding of what Alaska and its proud people are all about.
Synopsis
Many writers have traveled north in the more than forty years since Alaska became a state. Although some took time to understand the land and its people, many stayed a short time during which they became "instant experts." No wonder that some inaccurate, unflattering, and frankly, annoying things have been written about Alaska. In response, Our Alaska offers a glimpse at the real Alaska. Editor Mike Doogan has forged a rich collection of personal stories from nineteen Alaskans representing all walks of life and every corner of the state. They offer understanding of what Alaska and its proud people are all about.
About the Author
A third generation Alaskan, Mike Doogan served 15 years as an opinion columnist at the Anchorage Daily News, where he made many of his fellow Alaskans hopping mad three times a week.