From Library Journal
Taken from the pages of Alaska Magazine and its predecessor, The Alaska Sportsman, these stories represent 67 years of work by Alaskan writers. The tales are as diverse as the writers themselves, ranging from a memoir piece by a nurse who managed a hospital in Barrow in 1921 to a present-day account of a bear-watching trip to Mount Katmai by mystery writer Dana Stabenow. One chapter recounts the exploits of the 97th Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, an all-black unit that helped build the Alaska Highway in 1942-43. Another tells the frightening tale of a man trapped beneath a capsized fishing boat in the Gulf of Alaska. Selected for their clear depiction of Alaska, past and present, the 59 stories are accompanied by reproductions of Alaska Magazine covers dating from 1935 to 2002. A noteworthy addition to any travel collection owing to the unique nature and diversity of the material. Mary V. Welk, ChicagoCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
These 58 stories first saw publication in Alaska Magazine (or its predecessor, The Alaska Sportsman) between January 1935 (the first issue) and March 2002. These mostly first-person accounts tell of wolf packs in the wild; hunting for gold, walrus, salmon, moose, and bears; life among the Inuit; trapping foxes with the help of Eskimos; and the killing of grizzly bears by Koyukon Indians. Others discuss long summer nights where it never really gets dark, dance-hall girls, hiking trails, rock and snow avalanches, surviving an attack by mosquitoes, and an ascent of Denali by dogsled. Environmentalists may be upset by some tales in which the writers boast of killing animals, but the stories, overall, are pleasant reading. The book includes 16 pages of magazine cover illustrations. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"The tales are as diverse as the writers themselves. A noteworthy addition to any travel collection owing to the unique nature and diversity of the material."--The Library Journal



Book Description
The best writing from 65 years of Alaska Magazine.


From the Back Cover
Since 1935, Alaska magazine has charted the development of our biggest, most mysterious state. With compelling stories on such events as earthquakes, tidal waves, grizzly and polar bear attacks, the Russian influence, the Gold Rush, the Japanese invasion of the Aleutians during World War II, hunting and fishing, the lives of sourdoughs, and village life, The Last Frontier truly captures the essence of our largest state.
Other chapters include the tale of the Eskimo commercial pilot, flying villagers across the Arctic; the story about the young woman who conducted the 1940 census in the Interior by dog team; or the story about the family who placed their automobile on a raft, hooked paddles to the axles, and steered their home-built paddle-wheeler down the Yukon River to the first road - whereupon they removed the car from the barge, and drove home to Nebraska. Other stories in this book you won't want to miss include: Don Sheldon's floatplane rescue of eight men from white water; the mystery of Klutuk, the beast of the tundra; how Julie Collins's sled dog saved her life; the trials and tribulations of a nurse running a hospital on the arctic coast in 1921; an Athabascan writer's account of her interviews with her grandmother, a medicine woman; newsworthy events across the state, and much, much more.
Jill Shepherd spent twenty-seven years in Alaska's Interior, raising sled dog puppies, baby moose, and three children while co-owning a dog team, operating a wilderness fishing camp, writing for The Tundra Times, and working in public relations for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. She graduated from Anchorage High School and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, after spending earlier years in Central America and California. After moving to Anchorage, Shepherd worked for The Anchorage Times before starting her twenty-year career with Alaska magazine, where she is now senior editor. An Alaskan for more than fifty years, Shepherd travels extensively, photographing and writing about the people and places she visits, and claims Kodiak Island as her favorite vacation spot.


About the Author
JILL SHEPHERD has worked for The Tundra Times, The Anchorage Times, and has spent the last twenty years at Alaska magazine.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Alaska magazine attracts more than its share of out-of-state readers because of its articles about men, women, and children in real-life survival situations. The Last Frontier collects the best writing and the most incredible true stories from 65 years of this respected magazine. The range of the stories is impressive, covering events as disparate as earthquakes, tidal waves, grizzly and polar bear attacks, influenza epidemics, hunting and fishing adventures, and, believe it or not, Japan's World War II invasion of the Aleutians.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Since 1935, Alaska magazine has charted the development of our biggest, most mysterious state. With compelling stories on such events as earthquakes, tidal waves, grizzly and polar bear attacks, the Russian influence, the Gold Rush, the Japanese invasion of the Aleutians during World War II, hunting and fishing, the lives of sourdoughs, village life, and much more, The Last Frontier truly captures the essence of our largest state. Other chapters include the tale of the Eskimo commercial pilot, flying villagers across the Arctic. Or the one about the young woman who conducted the 1940 census in the Interior by dog team. Or the story about the family who placed their automobile on a raft, hooked paddles to the axles, and steered their home-built paddle-wheeler down the Yukon River to the first road-whereupon they removed the car from the barge, and drove home to Nebraska. Other stories you won't want to miss in this book include: Don Sheldon's floatplane rescue of eight men from white water; the mystery of Klutuk, the beast of the tundra; how Julie Collins's sled dog saved her life; the trials and tribulations of a nurse running a hospital on the arctic coast in 1921; an Athabascan writer interviews her grandmother, a medicine woman; newsworthy events across the state and much, much more. (6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 352 pages)

SYNOPSIS

Senior editor Shepherd, a 50-year resident of the state, selects 58 articles from Alaska magazine and its predecessor The Alaska Sportsman. Published between the first issue in 1935 and March 2002, they are first-person accounts involving wolves, ice, madness, avalanches, bears, and other dangers. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal