The remarkable memoir of a man who abandoned the safe world of academia for the Alaskan wilderness and adventure. "Down In Bristol Bay" catapults the reader into this last frontier and onto a sea of storms and dangers and into madcap bars and drinking parties. It chronicles misadventures and follies, occasionally of burlesque proportions, on land as well as at sea. 8-page photo insert.

Dr. Robert Allen Durr - literary scholar, award-winning author, former confidant to legendary writer H. L. Mencken, and one-time rising star in the East Coast academic world - decided one day to give it all up and move to a remote region of Alaska in search of paradise. Convinced that truth, beauty, and goodness could still be found in the wild, Durr bought a boat and journeyed to Bristol Bay in hopes of becoming a commercial salmon fisherman and earning a living. Catapulting the reader into this last frontier and onto a sea of storms and dangers, madcap bars and drinking parties, amid the camaraderie of some rugged Alaskans, mostly native fishermen known as D Inn Crowd, Down in Bristol Bay chronicles a hard life, but not without songs and ballads, misadventures and follies, occasionally of burlesque proportions, on land as well as at sea. Combining elements of Krakaur's Into the Wild, Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard, Junger's The Perfect Storm, McPhee's Coming Into the Country, and even Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Down in Bristol Bay is a powerful and raucous memoir of a man who abandoned the safe world of academia for the Alaskan wilderness to find his own kind of primal sanity.

Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska is one of the great commercial fisheries on earth. More than half of the world's sockeye salmon return to "The Bay" every year. Sailing for Salmon is a nostalgic look back, through photographs and recollections, on the "sailboat days," a time when these salmon were harvested from sailboats - a time still within living memory. These sailboats, called Bristol Bay double-enders, were well-crafted and beautiful, but obsolete for most of their history. The use of motorized fishing vessels was finally allowed in 1951. The Bristol Bay commercial fishery has changed much since then, but the sailboat remains the iconic image of a fishery born on the wind.

Against the backdrop of the great Bristol Bay salmon fishery, thirteen-year-old Zoey Morley struggles with her parents divorce, her moms bush-pilot boyfriend, and the pangs of growing up during her summer in the real Alaska. Author Annie Boochever tells a compelling tale of a divided family living a remote lifestyle where getting along as a team is a matter of survival. Zoey learns to trust the artist inside her and finds she and her new friend Thomas have something in common. Readers will live the lessons learned and taught by this young girl who finds that hard work, compassion, and the ability to see things in her own special way lead her toward happiness in a place that at first seems just too far away.

All over the world, salmon populations are in trouble, as overfishing and habitat loss have combined to put the once-great Atlantic and Pacific Northwest runs at serious risk. Alaska, however, stands out as a rare success story: its salmon populations remain strong and healthy, the result of years of careful management and conservation programs that are rooted in a shared understanding of the importance of the fish to the life, culture, and history of the state. Made of Salmon brings together more than fifty diverse Alaska voices to celebrate the salmon and its place in Alaska life. A mix of words and images, the book interweaves longer works by some of Alaska’s finest writers with shorter, more anecdotal accounts and stunning photographs of Alaskans fishing for, catching, preserving, and eating salmon throughout the state. A love letter to a fish that has been central to Alaska life for centuries, Made of Salmon is a reminder of the stakes of this great, ongoing conservation battle.

“No Natives or Dogs Allowed,” blared the storefront sign at Elizabeth Peratrovich, then a young Alaska Native Tlingit. The sting of those words would stay with her all her life. Years later, after becoming a seasoned fighter for equality, she would deliver her own powerful message: one that helped change Alaska and the nation forever. In 1945, Peratrovich stood before the Alaska Territorial Legislative Session and gave a powerful speech about her childhood and her experiences being treated as a second-class citizen. Her heartfelt testimony led to the passing of the landmark Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act, America’s first civil rights legislation. Today, Alaska celebrates Elizabeth Peratrovich Day every February 16, and she will be honored on the gold one-dollar coin in 2020. Annie Boochever worked with Elizabeth’s eldest son, Roy Peratrovich Jr., to bring Elizabeth’s story to life in the first book written for young teens on this remarkable Alaska Native woman.