Want to learn more about Alaska? See Naomi's recommended books:
by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury
When a deadly diphtheria epidemic swept through Nome, Alaska, in the winter of 1925, the local doctor knew that without a fresh batch of antitoxin, his patients would die. The only mode to obtain this lifesaving drug was by dogsled. The heroic dash of dog teams across the Alaska wilderness inspired the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Published by Alaska Northwest Books
Want to know the number of people per square mile in Alaska? The coldest recorded temperature? Where to hike? If you're a cheechako? Visitors and Alaskans alike enjoy the impressive facts, figures, and activities of Alaska, presented through the wisdom, wit and wackiness of Mr. Whitekeys. The Almanac has been published annually since 1976.
Morris Commuications Corporation
When the rugged Alaska Highway opened to the public in 1948, there were few services and facilities. In 1949, the first Milepost was published to provide vital facts and practical information for the traveler. Today, the Milepost provides mile-by-mile descriptions of the highway, geography, accommodations, gas, and businesses.
By Nancy Jordon, Epicenter Press
Dr. Albrecht arrived in Alaska during the Great Depression. The sole physician to a remote colony of farm families in Palmer, he not only delivered babies, treated diseases, and performed surgery, but he became Alaska's first full-time commissioner of health. He all but eradicated tuberculosis, taught nutrition and sanitation in remote villages, and won the right for Natives to be treated at Alaska hospitals.
By Andy Anderson as told to Jim Rearden
During the 1950s, when Doc Gaede was stationed in Tanana, Andy Anderson, was a bush pilot at Beetles Field, Alaska. Andy worked for Wien Airlines, carried mail, delivered miners to their claims, and dropped off hunters. He was dedicated to caring for all people along the Koyukuk, Atlatna, and other rivers; oftentimes he risked his life to get the medical treatment they needed -- which meant flying them to the Public Health hospital in Tanana. Not only will you experience the close-calls of Andy's bush flying, but you'll appreciate his sense of humility and kindness as he gave generously of himself during an era when bush flying was a critical lifeline.
Compiled by Joy Griffin and the Homer Public Library (907.235.3180)
The one thing that shook them apart, brings them back together to tell their true stories 32 years later.
By Stan Cohen, Pictorial History Publications, CO
Alaska holds title to the most seismic of all U.S. states— and has 11 percent of the world's earthquakes. This pictorial history records the devastation of the "Good Friday" in Alaska, as well as providing geological explanations and specific geographical effects.
By Lisa Augustine, Hardscratch Press
The second half of this feisty and humorous book takes place in Kenai, Alaska, beginning in 1948. Many of the early homesteaders, businesses, and activities the author describes were familiar to Doc Gaede when he arrived in the nearby town of Soldotna 1961. Subsequently, this information provides the reader with a broader backdrop of the cultural, history, and environment of chapters 19-24 in Prescription for Adventure: Bush Pilot Doctor. More Info....
By Abbie Morgan Madenwald, University of Oklahoma Press
In spite of accessibility only by dogsled or boat, Abbie Morgan chose to teach school in Kulukak (near Bristol Bay). Many of the Eskimo children had never seen a white woman She met the mental and physical challenges of this harsh and beautiful environment with courage, humor, and love for the people.
By Jane Jacobs, Vintage Books/Random House
When Hannah Breece came to Alaska in 1904, it was a remote, lawless, wilderness of gold prospectors, murderous bootleggers, tribal chiefs, and Russian priests. She spent fourteen years educating Athabascans, Aleuts, Inuits, and Russians with the stubborn generosity of a born teacher and the determination of an independent spirit.
By Frances Backhouse, Whitecap
Written from diaries, letters, memoirs, newspaper accounts, and archival photographs, this lively works explores the critical roles women played during the gold rush as entrepreneurs, miners, teachers, doctors, nurses, and journalists.
