Just over 140 years ago, the United States made one of the greatest land deals of all time, purchasing from Russia a massive piece of property near the Arctic Circle. Since then, the land known as Alaska has been the site of a gold rush and an oil boom, but those great events comprise only a small portion of the state's fascinating history. Historic Photos of Alaska captures the majesty, history, and regal beauty of America's largest and most northern state through nearly 200 archival black-and-white photographs of this awe-inspiring region. Author Dermot Cole takes the reader on a journey through Alaska's pristine natural beauty and documents moments from the 1898 gold rush to the only World War II invasion on North American soil, to the long-awaited statehood and the incredible destruction wrought by the massive 1964 earthquake. Don't miss this fascinating trip through Alaska's history!

Historic Emergence of 100 unpublished Edward S. Curtis photographs and personal journal from Alaska! Join Edward Curtis on his harrowing journey on the Bering Sea in the summer of 1927. His first-hand accounts, as written in his personal journal, bring to life his final field season to complete The North American Indian project. This Alaska voyage is truly an example of the tenacity it took for Curtis to complete his grand opus. Between the towering gale-driven seas breaking over the deck, the blizzard snow conditions, the falling barometers, and the hole in the boat, it is a miracle he and his crew lived to tell this story.Included with Curtis' historic journal are 100 previously unpublished photographs. Occasionally unseen Curtis prints surface, but never 100 at once. Be the first to experience these images and make this book a part of your personal library. "How I managed to keep that log during all the stress is beyond my present understanding, yet on reading it twenty years after it was written, it brought the day by day incidents, locations and storm conditions vividly to mind. Frankly, it's reading gave me the shivers, and I constantly marveled that at any time in my life I had the strength and endurance to do such a season's work." ~ Edward Curtis

A lively, take along account of Alaska's sweeping history made vivid with historical photos and entertaining essays. Topics covered include Native lifestyles before contact with the Europeans; Alexander Baranov and the Russian fur trade; John Muir's visit to Glacier Bay in 1879; the Klondike gold rush stampede; pioneer climbs on Mount McKinley; the exploits of early Alaska Bush pilots; big game hunting in the North Country; Alaska's fisheries, where salmon is king; and today's Native traditions. A history book that's fun to read, Alaska's History sets forth the Last Frontier's glorious past and challenging present.

Just over 140 years ago, the United States made one of the greatest land deals of all time, purchasing from Russia a massive piece of property near the Arctic Circle. Since then, the land known as Alaska has been the site of a gold rush and an oil boom, but those great events comprise only a small portion of the state’s fascinating history. Historic Photos of Alaska captures the majesty, history, and regal beauty of America’s largest and most northern state through nearly 200 archival black-and-white photographs of this awe-inspiring region. Author Dermot Cole takes the reader on a journey through Alaska’s pristine natural beauty and documents moments from the 1898 gold rush to the only World War II invasion on North American soil, to the long-awaited statehood and the incredible destruction wrought by the massive 1964 earthquake. Don’t miss this fascinating trip through Alaska’s history!

"Documents about the Alutiiq people of the Alaska Peninsula, written by outsiders, tell a familiar story of political subjugation, economic deprivation, and cultural loss. But recordings of oral traditions and personal histories by the Alutiiqs themselves tell a different tale. These narratives, woven together here with written records and scholarly commentary into an ethnohistory, show that Alutiiqs have been making their own history for millennia. Through stories and actions, Alutiiqs not only affect the course of their lives, but in so doing express a unique perception of the very nature of history. Illustrated with numerous photographs and maps, the author offers interviews and tales from storytellers from Alaska Peninsula villages. She gives historical and cultural context to each voice, allowing people to speak for themselves while helping readers comprehend the unspoken significance and implications each account contains. Alutiiq history is revealed here as an ongoing, complex, multivocal expression of a people's actions and reactions, decisions and compromises."--taken from back cover.