Available May 2012

This book is currently being revised and will be availble May 2012. I'd be delighted to notify you when it's released.

Additional Resources

Readers' Reviews

Alaska Unit Study Guide

Reader's Guide (Free)

More About Doc Gaede

Reviews

"This is a mesmerizing, compelling book that kept me entertained and anticipating throughout...it is a picture into the Alaska of early statehood...a fantastic armchair adventure..." — Read the entire review by Fairbanks' News Miner.

"The different flying adventures are so unique and spellbinding that it's hard to put this book down..." — Steve Boll and other 5-star reviews on Amazon

"Naomi, I enjoyed your book to the utmost. I've read several Alaskan flying/adventure books over the years and have enjoyed none of them as much as this one." — Mark Westover

"Again, thank you for all you have done to keep the history of the area alive; we use your book as a recruiting tool for physicians, board members, and donors. Such amazing stories!" — Peter Brennan, Director of Central Peninsula Health Foundation

"Take it from one who has experienced the silence of an engine out-of-fuel at 2500 feet, Doc really had courage! Flying a tube and fabric two seat J-3 Cub without radios in the ever-changing weather of Alaska brings the hairs up on the back of any pilot's neck." — Steve Kriss, Colonel, USAF (Ret)

"I just finished reading your book and enjoyed it very much. I am 72 years old and have NEVER before finished a book! My wife may have to frame yours in a shadow box!" — Bill Laybourn, Surprise, AZ

"In the first book, 'Prescription for Adventure: Bush Pilot Doctor' she shares stories of her father's adventures as a bush pilot doctor." — Read the entire review in The Reedley Exponent

Alaska Bush Pilot Doctor

Alaska Bush Pilot Doctor Front Cover

(Free Chapter)

Bush Pilot Doctor Book Back Cover

(Larger Image)

About the Book

You've probably heard of him, Dr. Elmer Gaede. Alaska Bush Pilot Doctor is his story.

In 1955, fresh out of Kansas Medical School, he drove up the Alcan Highway to the Alaska Native Services Hospital in Anchorage. He left behind tractors in wheat fields and learned to fly a J-3 on Lake Hood — then he volunteered for mercy flights into remote villages.

Moose, grizzly bear, and polar bear hunting came next, along with bush flying house calls and forced landings in blizzards along the arctic coast.

Later, he homesteaded on the Kenai Peninsula, cleared a half-mile airstrip, crashed his Cessna 180 into the Gaede-Eighty chicken house, took on a monkey for a patient, and flew patients to the Seward Hospital in treacherous conditions.

Inside the Book
  • Chp 1 — Opening the Door to the Last Frontier
  • Chp 2 — Tundra Taxi
  • Chp 3 — Flying or Bust! (Read Free Chapter)
  • Chp 4 — The Thanksgiving Day Moose
  • Chp 5 — Lime Village Evacuation
  • Chp 6 — Out to Get a Bear Rug
  • Chp 7 — Assignment: Tanana
  • Chp 8 — A Strange Village Welcome
  • Chp 9 — House Calls Alaskan Style
  • Chp 10 — A Simple Caribou Hunt (Read Free Chapter)
  • Chp 11 — King of the Arctic
  • Chp 12 — Break-up Takeoff
  • Chp 13 — Hunting: Not For Men Only
  • Chp 14 — Close Encounters of Many Kinds
  • Chp 15 — Hospital Ward the Size of Kansas
  • Chp 16 — Tooth-pullin' Time
  • Chp 17 — Double-feature Drama (Read Free Chapter)
  • Chp 18 — The Last Alaskan Nomads
  • Chp 19 — 2000 Feet Above the Yukon River
  • Chp 20 — The Top of Alaska
  • Chp 21 — Outside
  • Chp 22 — Back Home
  • Chp 23 — The Day the Earth Broke Apart
  • Chp 24 — Baby Won't Wait
  • Chp 25 — Return to Point Hope
  • Chp 26 — Flight by Faith
  • Chp 27 — No Ordinary Day (Read News Article)
  • Chp 28 — The Valley of 10,000 Smokes Revisited
Alaska Unit Student Guide
Study Guide: Bush Pilot Doctor

An Alaska Unit Study Guide, which meets the standards for a semester of credit in Alaska history is available along with the first edition of this book. Learn more...