Alaska, with its Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut heritage, its century of Russian colonization, its peoples’ formidable struggles to wrest a living (or a fortune) from the North’s isolated and harsh environment, and its relatively recent achievement of statehood, has long captured the popular imagination. In An Alaska Anthology, twenty-five contemporary scholars explore the region’s pivotal events, significant themes, and major players, Native, Russian, Canadian, and American. The essays chosen for this anthology represent the very best writing on Alaska, giving great depth to our understanding and appreciation of its history from the days of Russian-American Company domination to the more recent threat of nuclear testing by the Atomic Energy Commission and the influence of oil money on inexperienced politicians. Readers may be familiar with an earlier anthology, Interpreting Alaska’s History, from which the present volume evolved to accommodate an explosion of research in the past decade. While a number of the original pieces were found to be irreplaceable, more than half of the essays are new. The result is a fresh perspective on the subject and an invaluable resource for students, teachers, and scholars.

This collection of Alaskan adventures begins with a newspaper article written by John Muir during his first visit to Alaska in 1879, when the sole U.S. government representative in all the territory's 586,412 square miles was a lone customs official in Sitka. It closes with accounts of the gold rush and the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. Jean Meaux has gathered a superb collection of articles and stories that captivated American readers when they were first published and that will continue to entertain us today. The authors range from Charles Hallock (the founder of Forest and Stream, a precursor of Field and Stream) to New York society woman Mary Hitchcock, who traveled with china, silver, and a 2,800 square foot tent. After explorer Henry Allen wore out his boots, he marched barefoot as he continued mapping the Tanana River, and Episcopal Archdeacon Hudson Stuck mushed by dog sled in Arctic winters across a territory encompassing 250,000 miles of the northern interior. Although the United States acquired Alaska in 1867, it took more than a decade for American writers and explorers to focus attention on a territory so removed from their ordinary lives. These writers-adventurers, tourists, and gold seekers-would help define the nation's perception of Alaska and would contribute to an image of the state that persists today. This collection unearths early writings that offer a broad view of American encounters with Alaska accompanied by Meaux's lively and concise introductions. The present-day adventurer will find much to inspire exploration, while students of the American West can gain new access to this valuable trove of pre-Gold Rush Alaska archives. For more information go to: http://www.inpursuitofalaska.com

This volume presents a fresh look at Alaskan culture by bringing together an assortment of poems, stories, essays, plays, and journal excerpts from the writings of Native Alaskans. The authors deal with the transitions, losses, struggles, and successes of life in a changing homeland. Many of the writers vividly remember the changes, good and bad, that statehood brought. Some of the 23 writers are well-known, while others are celebrating their first publication. Most authors provide short autobiographies presenting their cultural and literary influences as an introduction to their statement. ISBN 0-912678-80-1: $12.95.

A new paper edition of the state's history, which focuses on Russian America and American Alaska.

Travel anthology on Alaska.

Mergler has scoured Alaska's literary tradition for the best writing the state has to offer. "The Last New Land" gathers a rich and comprehensive sampling of fiction, nonfiction and poetry about the Northland.

Denali, "The High One," (Alaska's Mount McKinley) has beguiled storytellers since time immemorial. In this wide- ranging anthology spanning 101 years of published writings - representing both the northern classics and little-known gems - editor Bill Sherwont gives us a taste of rich literary legacy.