Regular marked price: $15.95Discount Price: $10.85
Cost Savings: $5.10 (32%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780375761423
ISBN number: 037576142X
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 896
Printing Date: November 12, 2002
Publishing house: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: November 12, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 20839
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
In this sweeping epic of the northernmost American frontier, James A. Michener guides us across Alaska’s fierce terrain, from the long-forgotten past to the bustling technological present, as his characters struggle for survival. The exciting high points of Alaska’s story, from its brutal prehistory, through the nineteenth century and the American acquisition, to its modern status as America’s thriving forty-ninth state, are brought vividly to life in this remarkable novel: the gold rush; the tremendous growth and exploitation of the salmon industry; the discovery of oil and its social and economic consequences; the difficult construction of the Alcan Highway, which made possible the defense of the territory in World War II. A spellbinding portrait of a human community struggling to establish its place in the world, Alaska traces a bold and majestic history of the enduring spirit of a land and its people.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
Michner writes about places most of us are curious about yet don't know much about. Alaska is our most remote state and this novel gives you a sense what it was like to brave the harsh conditions and establish settlements. I find Michner's characters a varied bunch in that they range from superficial to more in-depth interesting personalities. In general though they seem exist to portray the land in which they reside.
It isn't a masterpiece and somtimes the story drags. However it is a good way to delve into Alaskan life.
Rated by buyers 
-
Another great epic from Michener. You may quibble over whether a wooly Mammoth would have really had those thoughts, but overall it's a highly interesting and informative book.
Rated by buyers -
Perhaps non-Alaskans are more taken with Michener's portrait of the state than those of us who live here, since we experience its grandeur and special essence every day. Nonetheless, for a cheechako, the author does an admirable job of conveying facts and feelings about the 49th state. While there is always the danger with historical novels that readers will not know where facts end and fancy begins, the historical backdrop is well-researched and essentially accurate.
Like other Michener works of this variety, the book weaves the stories of several families over a number of generations, and in doing so illustrates how today's Alaskans often have unusual family trees and complex cultural traditions. Throughout the book he develops some of the same themes that run through the state today, including the struggle to break free from the almost colonial status we once enjoyed at the hands of marginal government officials and outside corporate interests, the pride of being apart and different, and challenge/blessing of a uniquely diverse population.
The reader may think that the characters are "larger than life", but not necessarily so. Alaska has more than its share of vivid, grand, and heroic citizens whose stories could fill many long cold nights. While no substitute for a first-hand Alaska experience, Michener's Alaska-sized novel is a wonderful way to experience the state at a distance, and undoubtedly has whetted many people's appetites to come and see for themselves.
Rated by buyers -
First, let me announce my bias: I was born and raised in Alaska.
When I saw this novel on the bookshelves when it very first came out, I promised myself I'd read it even tho I had never read anything by Michener. Well, some 20 years later, I finally read it. And -- boy! -- do I wish I hadn't waited so long. It's a long book (close to 1,000 pages) and I was so engrossed that I almost lost sight of the real world for the duration.
Of course, being from Alaska helps. I could orient myself geographically with little trouble. I had the broad outlines of the history already. And the historical names were almost all familiar to me if not the details of their lives.
But what Michener did which I most appreciate about his novel is painlessly impart the details of history by interweaving it so tightly with his colorful fiction that it was hard for me during the reading to separate the two. Yet I'm sure I know what is historical and what isn't. It's a contradiction, I know. And a compliment to this man's storytelling skill.
I let out a satisfied "whew!" when I closed the book a final time and returned to reality. Then I suffered withdrawal symptoms for days, maybe weeks. I found myself gazing wistfully at some of his other large works in the bookstores. Did you know there's no Michenerholics Anonymous? I've just begun reading THE SOURCE. I couldn't help myself.
Rated by buyers -
it's a wonderful book that I have read before and have always wanted to own!!!
Find other books like this one:
