Would the real Alaska please stand up? This was the challenge put to ten of Alaska's finest authors: to share unique and intimate perspectives--some previously published, some new to this volume--that reach beyond the usual stereotypes to an Alaska that can't be packaged or staged. These stories, musings, and rants come from authors whose roots run deep in the Far North. There's Dana Stabenow, author of more than thirty novels, who was raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf of Alaska--she knew there had to be a warmer, drier job out there somewhere. And there's David Marusek, who writes full time in his low-maintenance cabin near Fairbanks, Alaska, producing fiction that's "ferociously smart, [and] simultaneously horrific and funny," according to Publishers Weekly. The Alaska Sampler features memoir by Leigh Newman, whose Great Alaskan Dad taught her to fish, hunt, curl up and play dead in the case of curious black bears, and to throw up artfully in the hood of parka while flying in a single prop plane. Another memoir comes from Jan Harper Haines, whose stories of floods and ghosts were passed down by her Koyukon Athabascan mother. From forty-five years in Alaska, including twelve as editor of the Anchorage Daily News, Howard Weaver takes a fresh look at how the state is changing (and not for the better). Another longtime Alaskan, Kaylene Johnson, recounts a death-defying journey by adventurer Dick Griffith. On the lighter side, science writer Ned Rozell gives voice to one of Alaska's ubiquitous ravens, who has a score or two to settle with us humans. In fiction, longtime Alaskan Deb Vanasse writes of a woman obsessed with a glacier, while Don Rearden transports us to the tundra with a story that sheds light on everyday struggles in rural Alaska. In novel excerpts by Tanyo Ravicz, a young family faces violent weather, wild bears, illness, isolation, and the intrusion of poachers on Kodiak Island. Long after you finish, the stories, characters, and images of these authors will linger. Be forewarned: you'll want to read more.

What readers are saying about the Alaska Sampler: “One of the best trips I ever took was to Alaska. This book is a chance to visit again, with a variety of fascinating viewpoints, and without even packing a suitcase! Led to it by one favorite author, walking away with several new favorites.” “Laughter and tears brought to you by my most beloved state. Thanks to the multitalented for sharing. A real treat.” “Loved this sampler. Left me wanting to read more.” “Seeing Alaska from several different viewpoints, and each written in a different style, this is a delightful read.” The Alaska Sampler returns with a fresh collection of Alaska-inspired fiction, memoir, and biography from a big place with big tales to tell. Among the dozen featured authors, you’ll discover old friends and new favorites, including Heather Lende (If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name), C.B. Bernard (Chasing Alaska), Deb Vanasse (Cold Spell), Rich Chiappone (Opening Days), Gerri Brightwell (Cold Country), and David Marusek (Counting Heads).

Describes the experiences of a newcomer to the Yukon when he attempts to hike through the snow to reach a mining claim.

From Alaska from Scratch blogger Maya Wilson comes a beautifully scenic cookbook celebrating Alaska and its ocean-to-table, homemade food culture. When Maya Wilson and her three kids transplanted to Alaska in 2011, she didn’t know what to expect. But what she ended up finding was home—and she turned her love for the gorgeous landscapes and fresh cuisine into the now hugely popular blog Alaska from Scratch. Maya’s first book is filled with 75 delicious, family-friendly recipes that are based on the seasonality of Alaska. There’s an abundance of wild berries, so summer recipes are full of them, and to get through the cold winters, she includes hearty soups and pot pies. Her recipes—sheet pan balsamic chicken, coffee chocolate chip banana bread, and Kenai cheeseburgers—are created for busy families like hers. And of course, she incorporates plenty of the seafood Alaska is famous for: halibut poached in Thai curry, a salmon superfood salad, and local recipes like reindeer sausage and moose shepherd’s pie.

Counting Heads is David Marusek's extraordinary launch as an SF novelist: The year is 2134, and the Information Age has given rise to the Boutique Economy in which mass production and mass consumption are rendered obsolete. Life extension therapies have increased the human lifespan by centuries. Loyal mentars (artificial intelligences) and robots do most of society's work. The Boutique Economy has made redundant ninety-nine percent of the world's fifteen billion human inhabitants. The world would be a much better place if they all simply went away. Eleanor K. Starke, one of the world's leading citizens is assassinated, and her daughter, Ellen, is mortally wounded. Only Ellen, the heir to her mother's financial empire, is capable of saving Earth from complete domination plotted by the cynical, selfish, immortal rich, that is if she survives. Her cryonically frozen head is in the hands of her family's enemies. A ragtag ensemble of unlikely heroes join forces to rescue Ellen's head, all for their own purposes. Counting Heads arrives as a science fiction novel like a bolt of electricity, galvanizing readers with an entirely new vision of the future. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the History of Science is a single volume companion that discusses the history of science as it is done today, providing a survey of the debates and issues that dominate current scholarly discussion, with contributions from leading international scholars. Provides a single-volume overview of current scholarship in the history of science edited by one of the leading figures in the field Features forty essays by leading international scholars providing an overview of the key debates and developments in the history of science Reflects the shift towards deeper historical contextualization within the field Helps communicate and integrate perspectives from the history of science with other areas of historical inquiry Includes discussion of non-Western themes which are integrated throughout the chapters Divided into four sections based on key analytic categories that reflect new approaches in the field

"To recognize the 25th anniversary of the Circum-Arctic Structural Events program, an effort organized by the Bundesanstalt fèur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, this volume presents results from 18 major field expeditions involving 100+ geoscientists from a spectrum of disciplines. The volume focuses on the Proterozoic to Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the circum-Arctic region with correlations to adjacent orogens"--