I found this book quite by accident in an old stack of magazines and newspaper clippings about Alaska. Thumbing through it, I became intrigued by the style of writing, the choice of subject and the author's method of interspersing personal memoir with historical and literary fact. For those who have read the writings of and by the Arctic explorers and the Alaskan sourdoughs, this is a book for you. Very introspective and yet not too personal. Really tends to get you thinking about those who have been lost and never found. I'm glad I found this book and would encourage you to discover it also.

I loved this book. I would recommend it to anyone who cares about life and about literature.

Notes on Disappearances: A Map

As someone who once lived in Alaska and liked good books, I could never understand why our state didn't produce more of them. Apart from Robert Service and a few essayists (Joe McGinnis, John McPhee), few talented writers have made Alaska their subject, and even fewer have handled it successfully. It is a melancholy commentary on Alaska that the most faithful representation of the state in the Lower 48 was the television show Northern Exposure.

Although the state has many dedicated writers, few have written material that was regarded as exceptional. Although many luminaries have visited, few were impressed with the home team. I found this particularly frustrating because other small, cold, places - Iceland or Denmark, for example - had developed rich and distinct literary traditions.

Doubly frustrating because the chance was there. You can't do regular literature in Alaska. Something about the place resists anything conventional. The problems an author might write about in say, Spokane, seem out of place or mis-scaled when set in Alaska. (This intractability extends far beyond literature - experienced mountain climbers from elsewhere are routinely killed in Alaska, talented pilots from the Lower 48 crash there, perfectly good ships sink off its shores.)

But this problem is also an opportunity, for the artist willing to go for broke. To succeed, she would have to invent new tools and take a radically different approach from the authors of the Lower 48. To misuse an analogy from Updike, the successful Alaskan author can't hope to hug the shore - she must build her own boat, and head straight out to the sea, with all the risks and rewards that entails.

Sheila Nickerson, a Juneau resident who was the state's poet laureate from 1977 to 1981, has taken up the challenge. The book is a history and a memoir. The history she reports is full of dangerous projects and unexplained disappearances. She dedicates long passages to great vanishings in the far north, from the! Franklin Expedition of the 19th century to congressmen Nick Begich and Hale Boggs in the early 1970s. But mostly Nickerson reports smaller vanishings: An old man gets off a ferry in Juneau and is never heard from again. A young man walks up a heavily-travelled trail and vanishes. A colleague disappears on a flight:

"Kent Roth, a fishery biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, has gone down with two brothers and two friends on a flight from Yakutat to Anchorage. It is an immense area, one that has swallowed people from the earliest times of its recorded history."

Throughout the book Nickerson intersperses her own story with this disappearance and the ensuing search. She also reports on the stacatto interruption of accidental death that is the hallmark of day-to-day life in Alaska:

"Flipping through search-and-rescue news releases at the Coast Guard headquarters at the federal building in Juneau, I quickly find a terrible sameness to the stories. The reports usualy continue from three to five days. If the case is large, or unusual, reports continue for a week or even two weeks. Then, for the most part, there is blankness."

Observing that the Alaskan Shamen were wiped out by protestant missionaries, she rushes to fill the void with any spiritual tool that can find purchase - the tarot, feng shui, dreamwork, bird messengers, ghost stories from her childhood. She is impatient with the stern, inscrutable Protestant God (perhaps her distant and angry father, who ultimately disinherited her, has something to do with this). Ironically, this is one place where that stern patriarch seems plausible. Such a God is a mere curiosity in a literary, affluent place like New York, Paris, or Peking. But He fits well where nature kills suddenly, unexpectedly, and arbitrarily. Nickerson never goes there - if that's the deal, she doesn't want it.

Only late in the book does she hint that she sees the awful possibility that there is no order, spiritual or otherwise, to it all:

"! ;There is a framed original chart from the Cook expedition to Alaska in 1778 - Cook's last before he turned south to Hawaii and death at the hand of native Hawaiians. The chart, in pencil, was executed either by Cook or by Master William Bligh... It is a working chart of Unalaska Island, out in the Aleutians, made during the summer as Cook and his men headed north to Icy Cape, at the edge of the Frozen Sea. There, just off the coast of the island, in a faint but elegant hand, this notation:

'All this 30' west of the truth' "

But even when her spiritual guides fail her (perhaps I should write 'especially'), the book marches powerfully on, because it is not driven by a spiritual force, but by Nickerson's relentless intellectual engagement. She becomes discouraged, but she never gives up. When one line of attack breaks down, she shifts to another.

It would be unfair to try to say this book has succeeded or failed. As with most Alaskan enterprises, success is a relative thing. A successful Alaskan expedition is one in which no one gets killed. Nickerson is generous with partial credit to explorers who got home with at least some of their shipmates. She has succeeded well on those terms - she's built her boat, gone to sea, and come back.

She succeeds in other ways as well. The whole book is pitched at a high level, far higher than Alaskans expect of local writers. Nickerson's full of talent - she writes in a clear direct voice, and, her protests notwithstanding, she has a pretty good idea of what she's trying to accomplish. This is the kind of a book that might be viewed someday as a cornerstone of Alaskan literature, one of the moments when Alaskans started writing things the rest of the world wanted to read.

Only Nickerson knows if the literary achievement was accompanied by a spiritual one. Alaska is particularly unkind to those who come seeking spiritual development. The sea and wilderness seem to have a special fondness for killing sojourners and utopians. It is a place where what does no! t destroy you tries to cripple you so it can get you next time. As McGinnis discovered, there are a lot of damaged people in those bars and cabins. In this game, holding your own is a big victory.

I think Nickerson held her own.

Sheila Nickerson, Disappearances: A Map, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1996.

...after reading countless books on ADHD...this book was the first thing that made any sense at all, and finally gave me the information I needed to get my stepson diagnosed properly at age 12.... This book would be the quickest and best way, other than through years of living with someone with FAS, to try to understand the complexities of this condition. MOST people cannot understand it until they either have lived with it for years, worked with it for years, or at the very least read this book. Highly recommended. Dont raise, teach, or work with a FAS child and thier family without this kind of knowledge.

On a personal level this book has been a godsend!.Our child was recently diagnosed with FAE and this book has been our bible. You can refer to any section of this book at any time for helpful information. From reading this book, I now see my child as a child with special needs and not as a monster child! . My child didn't ask to be born this way,it is not my child's fault! . I see hope where once there was despair. I would love this book to be part of all teachers curriculum! .

Fantastic Antone Succeeds is a wonderfully informative book full of true-to-life stories from parents of FAS kids and helpful advice from educators who have worked with them. I came away with a greater all-around knowledge of the condition and a reasuring feeling that I wasn't the only one out there 'in the trenches'. If you are the parent of an FAS/E child or an educator, this is an invaluable handbook to take with you on your journey. e-mail brownla@midstatesd.net

This cookbook would be fun reading even if you didn't cook! I especially loved the Alaska tidbits in the sidebars.

The VERY BEST Alaskan Cookbook. You need it

I live a block away from the restaurant, but find myself turning to the book to cook one of their specialities at home, especially Halibut Caddy Ganty, Pasta Greta Garbo, or some of their hearty soups.

This book finally inspired me to start baking my own bread again, too. Their basic whole wheat bread recipe is great for a single person since it's for one loaf.

This is a wonderful book for seafood lovers, especially if you want to impress your friends with some inspired fish recipes. It's obvious that the cooks who wrote this book love cooking, and want readers to enjoy it too!

What a great book! I plan on moving to AK next year and plan on doing quite a bit of hunting. The book tells you everything you could ever want to know on hunting moose and caribou. After reading the book I felt as if I was ready to be droped off in the Alaskan tundra and start hunting. The book is a must have if you plan on hunting in AK. The book takes you through every step on how to do it your self and keep it afordable.

I highly recommend this book for anyone that has never gone to alaska to hunt moose or caribou...It covers hunting techniques, judging trophies, as well as what to outfit your camp with. I am going to alaska for the first time to hunt this year, I plan on using part of my 75# to bring the book with me!

I am about to embark on my first fly-in, self guided hunt to alaska. This book is an excellent guide for any moose/caribou hunter no matter what your previous experience maybe. The book covers everything you will need to know, you will have every question answered. It is like the author is holding your hand as you are preparing for your trip; its great. The author also gives excellent narratioin of personal grizzley bear encounters and how he dealt with the situation.

It is amazing how this book gives you a personal feel for the animals and their environment. The wildlife is perfectly comfortable and nature performs for Kennan Ward. He has the connection and a gift for capturing nature in its most potent moments. This book is a work of love and pristine beauty! If this land is allowed to be exploited for oil, this could be the last record of this incredible wilderness.

Kennan Ward's book contains stunning photographs of the land, plants, and animals of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Mr. Ward writes from his personal experiences as a photographer and naturalist. Kennan published this book to help keep this pristine wilderness area a place of incredible beauty and wildlife diversity. His book makes a strong visual argument for the case of preserving this wildlife area from oil drilling. He does this by showing photographs of the significant environmental impact of oil companies in Alaska. I hope this book will not be a reminder of what the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was like, but instead, what it will continue to be for future generations of people and wildlife that come to this "last wilderness." I would highly recommend this book to any person who would like to learn more about the wildlife and environmental issues pertaining to the Refuge.

Beautiful photo essay on the Alaska Wilderness with a hopeful bequest to future generations of animals and all who love America's wild places.

This book created a storm in my heart and mind. It also stirred emotions I had never felt before and this is because it is a very personal story. I am Crystal. I am Weedz' daughter, and one who has also lost and survived.
It took me years to make peace with the Lord and fully understand the path that He has chosen for me.
I became a born-again Christian five years ago and I do believe it is my father's spirit who led me to that choice. Someone once told me, "Choice determines destiny." Thank you, Liller, for instilling that meaningful insight. And thank you for giving me necessary and sacred peace both with the Lord and with my father. (Be sure to keep an eye out for my auto biography!)
Please be sure to pray for the thousands of young ones who lost their mommies and daddies in the September 11 attacks. They will need it.

I know all this is real because I was there! In this book you can see the truth about how God can be there with you in the most trying times, and how he can help you every minute of your suffering. From the very beginning of this story God's presence is known, felt, there! I recommend it to everybody in the world.

This is a heart-rending testimonial of a truly saved Christian. The author's honesty in disclosing her innermost thoughts and passions make you feel like she is sitting across from you in an intimate discussion about feelings most people would be embarrassed to share. Her faith and trust in the Lord is amazing! A heart-lifting experience to read this book! The circumstances of her grief unfold throughout. It is a very honest and loving testimonial by a very courageous person! The physical difficulties of her remote location make the story all the more remarkable! I am ordering 5 more copies to share with friends. Jim

I recently discovered the Nathan Active series by Stan Jones. Mr. Jones' portrayal of Eskimo life and the Inupiat culture is an added bonus to the fine mystery he has created. Shaman Pass is the second book of this series. I read it first and immediately picked up the first one, White Sky, Black Ice.
Jones populates his town of Chukchi with memorable characters, and peppers the dialogue with words from the native language. His description of the Alaskan environment is crisp and succinct and enhances the story; it never gets in the way of the plot.
I recommend both books, not just for mystery readers, but all readers in general.

This being the second book of his, I had highly anticipated "Shaman Pass". I am happy to say I was highly entertained and even more impressed at Mr. Jones' second installment of Nathan Active mysteries.
He writes with great fervor.
"Uncle Frosty", a mummy has been stolen from the local museum. Victor Solomon turns up dead and has Uncle Frosty's amulet and harpoon on him. Hm....this is enough to bring in Trooper Active and have him do some serious investigating and flying across beautiful Alaska.
It's fabulous writing and another great lesson of Alaska. It's a great mystery from a great writer.

Adhering to the Indian Graves Act, the Smithsonian naluaqmiut (means more than one white man) send home the mummy "Uncle Frosty" to Alaska. Once in the northern state, villagers respecting centuries of tradition steal the body. However, not long afterward at a sheefish camp on the ice of Chukchi Bay, Inupiat tribal elder Victor Soloman is found bludgeoned to death by Frosty's harpoon.

Born in the village of Chukchi though raised in Anchorage, State Trooper Nathan Active investigates the murder. He quickly finds a herd of suspects with motives and opportunities. Nathan receives help (some unwanted) from his girlfriend and his native mother while struggling to learn and understand the matriarchal side of his heritage. Meanwhile his inquiries place Nathan in the dangerous middle of a deadly tug of war between the angatquq shamen and the followers of a murdered social reformer considered by many to be a prophet.

The police procedural aspects are strong and exciting, but serve as a method to enable the audience to receive a deep understanding of a people in which modern technology encroaches faster than snowmobiles drive the vast frozen tundra. Stan Jones provides a vivid picaresque scenario of surviving and residing in what would seem like a frozen wasteland, but is stark, beautiful, and more (at least as described by this author. Obviously fans of Alaskan mysteries will enjoy SHAMAN PASS, but so will anyone who appreciates an impressive who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

"The Thousand Mile War" is an old and cherished friend, and tells the story of the Aleutian Island Campaign against the Japanese in 1942-43. I settled in comfortably with the first edition in 1969 on my way to another war, and became thoroughly captivated by it. I'm delighted to see it reprinted in softcover.

There are so many strong points to the book, and too many exciting tales to capture easily in a short review. It seems to me, though, that one of Brian Garfield's greatest strengths is his ability to unravel and relate accurately the joint and combined nature of allied operations in the Aleutians. The air, sea and ground operations, which the book richly details, sometimes occured in isolation, but more often were part of a concerted effort to oust the Japanese from the islands of Attu and Kiska. Although the fighting was borne primarily by U.S. forces, there were significant contributions by Canadian allies.

Then there is the weather. The Aleutians, a chain of rugged islands stretching from Dutch Harbor to Attu in the west, cover about 1,000 miles, and are subject to some of the worst, most inhospitable weather conditions on the planet. As much of Garfield's story is about fighting the elements as it is about fighting the enemy. Having grown up in Alaska, I can easily identify with the harshness of wind and storm, of cold and snow and freezing ocean spray.

To sum up, in Garfield's words: "The campaign in the grey and windy Aleutians was the United States' first offensive campaign of World War II -- the first to begin, the first to be won. Its major events had included the first extensive aerial bombing campaign in American history; the first mass military airlift ever executed; the longest and last classic daylight surface battle in naval history; the first land-based American bomber attacks on the Japanese homeland; and, in the Battle of Attu, the U.S. Infantry's first amphibious island assault landings and the second most costly infantry battle of the Pacific war (in ratio to the size of the forces engaged)."

Garfield is as quantitative as he is qualitative, something that helps give perspective to his gut-level reporting of events. His footnotes are well organized by chapter and are in themselves worth reading.

The only criticism I've ever heard was from a fellow who served in the Aleutians as an engineer sergeant. He was on Engineer Hill on Attu when Col. Yasuyo Yamasaki led his surviving soldiers in a banzai charge against the American position. Yamasaki attacked up the fog-covered Chichagof Valley with 600 men, all that was left of his force of 2,600. The surprise attack almost succeeded, but "Within minutes the Engineers and service troops had sprung to arms. Cooks, litter bearers, roadbuilders, and staff officers took shoulder-to-shoulder positions at the crest. General Arnold borrowed an M-1 rifle and crawled to a high point from which he could see the Japanese charging up the hill toward him. With calm, precise hand signals he directed the hand-grenade throws of his hidden troops as if he were calling artillery targets. The grenades blew gaps in the Japanese line but the charge did not falter." The attacking Japanese were within rock throwing distance when they were finally thrown back by a "withering point-blank concentration of bullets and grenades from the hasty, improvised American line."

In this battle the former engineer sergeant does not recall General Arnold's actions the same way that Garfield relates them. Whichever is the case, it would not be the first time an American GI disparaged in retrospect the behavior of a senior officer.

"The Thousand Mile War" is excellent history and a terrific read. I've enjoyed it more than once and have used it as a source for lecture notes and other research. You won't be disappointed.

Though little remembered in the public consciousness today, the Aleutian islands campaign was an epic struggle that featured some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II. Garfield's account shows how the American efforts there were hampered because military strategests were slow to recognize the strategic importance of Alaska. The Japanese invasion was belatedly countered by an intense American effort to save Alaska from becoming a Japanese base for operations against the mainland. The ensuing struggle was fought in perhaps the worst weather conditions of any campaign in the entire war. Garfield is an excellent writer and this book has the page turning quality of a suspense novel. This is yet another moving tribute to the "Greatest Generation" in action.

I read this book several years ago when I began discovering some of the interesting and little known facts about Alaska's involvement in the WW II Pacific theater. It was written in a style that captured my attention fully.

So few people realize to this day that some Aleutian Islands were actually occupied by the Japanese. The author clearly described the events, both large and small, which lead up to the final battles.

He left me realizing that the Americans recaptured the island in spite of their ignorance and inter-service rivalries. The book leaves you amazed at the blundering ways of both the American and Japanese militaries.

Everything I've since seen in the book rings out to be true and factual. From the bombing of Dutch Harbor to the final charge by the remaining Japanese on Attu, this book keeps you fascinated.

The book portrays many brave men on both sides that were ill-prepared for the harsh climate of the Aleutians but still pulled off some magnificent feats. The critical part that the heavy fog and weather played was described very well.

I strongly recommend this book as a primer on the war in the Aleutians.

The book has great general info. on the numerous trails in our nation's biggest state. The information on trails that I hiked in the Palmer and Seward areas were right on the money, and I hope to use the guide on future trips up north.

I spent 3 mos. in Alaska and I had this book as well as Jim DuFresne's Backpacking Alaska (Lonely Planet). I used this book more for short day hikes and overnight backpacking trips whereas DuFresne's has more multi-day backpacking trips. The one thing that I really loved about this book was the elevation diagrams, DuFresne's book had none. But again, I used this book to fill in my gaps of time for short day hikes out of many of Alaska's more accessible towns. Good book for the "Hiker". DuFresne's book is good for the "Backpacker".

Dean -- Love the book -- especially the pictures of Gavin and me -- but you know that. To anyone else who reads this: Dean knows whereof he speaks: He's a good hiker and builds a good, environmentally sensitive campfire. Hope you don't mind my using this avenue to try to get your e-mail address.

I have been reading books on Wyatt Earp for some time now, fiction and non-fiction. Richard Parry's Winter Wolf was a very good "What if" type of book. I was kept involved with the characters from the start of the book till the end. The real figures from Wyatt Earp's past helped to bring a feeling of reality to the story. Made me kind of sorry to know it was fiction.

It certianlly got me to wondering what might have happened if Wyatt had a son. I look foward to his next book and I am sure the readers of Winter Wolf will also. This is a book well worth the time.

This is the story of Wyatt Earp and his son, maybe, that he knows nothing about. Nathan Blaylock is the supposed son who is looking for Wyatt to kill him. Blaylock has been left a letter by his mother, before she died, stating that $20,000.00 dollars is his if he provides proof he killed Wyatt Earp. This book is how Nathan, Jim Riley and friends try to find Wyatt. The chase leads them through San Francisco, up to Alaska. There are many adventures and gun fights along the way. Do they find Wyatt in the end, do they kill him???? Have to read to find out. A well written book that gets you involved with the characters. You are sad when something happens to some of them. Keeps you attention. Think you will like this book. Really just fiction but after all most are just fiction.

I typically read at least one book per week. This book is the best I've read in over two years. I normally don't pick up western themed novels, but after watching several Earp movies recently I gave it a shot. I was not disappointed. I have recommended it to all my reading partners - and all have come back with similar experiences.