What's a vacation without a good book to read? When vacationing in Alaska, it might be a good idea to do some reading before arriving in the Great Land.
Before arriving in Alaska
A little research before arriving in Alaska is a good idea. Some of the reading material Dixon suggests:
• "The Milepost" (edited by Kris Valencia Graef): "It's the best thing you can have if you're doing anything in Alaska."
• "Lonely Planet Alaska" (Jim Dufresne): "It's got great background information on Alaska. It has a lot of hints for travelers."
• "City Smart Guidebook Anchorage" (Donna Freedman): "It has good Anchorage information by someone who lives here."
• "The Last New Land" (edited by Wayne Mergler): "Fiction, nonfiction, really it has a taste of all things Alaska. It has Robert Service to Native legends."
Books to read in Alaska
• "Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival" (Velma Wallis): "It's a really good Athabaskan legend."
• "Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness" (Robert Specht): "It's a good book about a teacher out in the Bush."
• "Working on the Edge" (Spike Walker): "It's hard to put this one down. It's been around for a little while, but it is an excellent book about king crab fishing."
• "One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey" (Sam Keith, Richard Proenneke): "It's a look at homesteading. A lot of people visiting Alaska would like to know about homesteading. This is a good book for that."
• "Into the Wild" (Jon Krakauer): "It's a good book about adventure in Alaska."
• "Johnny's Girl: A Daughter's Memoir of Growing Up in Alaska's Underworld" (Kim Rich): "This isn't your average book. It shows the real underworld of Anchorage."
• "Wilderness: A Journey of Quiet Adventure in Alaska" (Rockwell Kent): "He spent a winter on Fox Island down by Seward, and this tells that story. It's a beautifully done book."
• "The Highway Angler" (Gunnar Pedersen): "This really is THE book for anyone fishing in Alaska."
Books to take home
• "Denali: A Literary Anthology" (edited by Bill Sherwonit): "The book gives views on wildlife and ecology. It's not just a 'How I climbed Denali' book."
• "Alaska" (Art Wolfe, Nick Jans): "There are lots of these 'picture books.' This is personally my favorite. It just blows me away."
• "When Grandma Visited Alaska" (Bernd and Susan Richter): "This is very popular. Grandparents love to take these back home with them."
• "The Thousand Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians" (Brian Garfield, Terrence Cole): "This is a look at Alaska's history from a different perspective. It's good war history."
