This book was very useful in my trip around south central Alaska. The content was up to date and specific and his reviews of the restaurants/lodging held true. As radio connections were sporadic, we took turns in reading the guide out loud as we traveled from one place to another. Not only was it very informative, but also Don's humor was a pleasant addition. Use other books for research, but bring this one along.

I'm the original author of this book, having researched and written the 1st edition in 1983. After that, I got very involved in writing about the South Pacific islands and had to bow out, so I'm happy to see the way Deke and Don have developed the book through five subsequent editions. Last summer my wife and I returned to the area and tried following my old edition. It was striking how little had changed and we enjoyed our trip immensely. We pitched our tent on some of the same sites I'd used nearly two decades earlier! I suggest you use the far superior new edition of Alaska-Yukon - it's a wonderful part of the world, and you're in for a real adventure.

This book has been truely invaluable in preparing for a trip. It is not written in the normal dry style of many travel planners, but with wit and humor. As I read through the tidbits on the communities the author's dry humor and research come through. He is not afraid to tell you where the tourist traps are and when those self-same traps are worth a look because of the tacky items in them. The commentaries are honest and straight forward. Well worth the read if you are planning a trip to Alaska.

This book was one of the best books I've ever read. It was very heartwarming and sad at the same time.

I first read Arctic Wild in the 1960's and have never forgotten the power of it's words and the compassion the authors demonstrated in showing the world that wolves are not to be feared. Much credit for my work in rescuing and rehabbing domestic and wild animals over the past 3 decades must go to Arctic Wild.

Having recently rescued two white wolves and being privileged to enjoy their friendship and listen to their songs, Arctic Wild has once again brought special meaning to my life.

I would like to see Arctic Wild made a required reading for all junior high and high school aged children for they are the fertile ground for changing attitudes. Of all the animal stories I've read and written, Arctic Wild stands above the rest.

Every few millennia, a book comes along that touches your heart and spirit, leaving you powerless to halt the tremendous urging of your soul to fly far, far away and seek the wonders that you have just read about.

Well along the lines of "Ishmael", except this is pure non-fiction.

Arctic Wild will fascinate you and fill you with a sense of awe and joy, the likes of which you've never felt by reading a book.

To say that this book was wonderful would be a terrible understatement - you may never read a book like this again the rest of your life.

Daniel Pinkwater read this on Chinwag Theatre and it sounds wonderful. What child's imagination wouldn't be captured by an Aunt who has no car but instead has her dog sled in New Jersey? As the owner of a middle aged Siberian, my daughter is fascinated by dogs who work.

The illustration are what we have come to expect from the Pinkwaters. Light, minimal, but sufficient. The dogs are sweet and personable. The Aunt is eccentric but someone any adventureous child would love to have visit.

Author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater dedicates this book to *good* librarians everywhere, and creates an unforgettable character in Lulu, librarian to some rather boring miners in Alaska until she grows tired of the grind and moves to New Jersey with her sled dogs Melvin, Louise, Phoebe, Willie, Norman, Hortense, Bruce, Susie, Charles, Teddie, Neddie, Eddie, Freddie and Sweetie-pie. But what to do about transportation? Aunt Lulu has an intriguing solution.

Don't forget, Daniel Pinkwater writes affectionate, hilarious books for adults too!

I agree - how can this be out of print!?!! We love to give the miners different voices, and it's great that Aunt Lulu is so confident and loves her dogs so much. Pinkwater is so talented!!!

The BIG Fish is a story of hopes and dreams of a young girl, but the setting for the story is what intrigued me and my grandson the most. He had not read of children of the Frozen North, so this was a new experience for him. Indeed, this is the story of a dream come true, and believing in oneself, but at the same time, exposes children to the idea of a small child living in an Eskimo Village - all children in this world have dreams. The illustrations are beautifully done, with gorgeous colours throughout. Very clever and unusual in it's setting.

What a nice bedtime book for my 4 year old! It's beautiful - the illustrations are rich and the artist has a true sense of humor. The story is a tale about a young Native girl wishing to catch a king salmon. The story is a true confidence builder for any child. It's my 4-year old son's favorite bedtime story. I have bought several other books offered by Misty Mountain Publishing and I have found them all to be high quality and enjoyable books. An excellent choice.

This is a magical book that teaches kids a lesson about not giving up and trying. It is a great story with beautiful illustrations. All of my kids love this book.

This book was just as exciting as the other 2 in the trilogy, however it does not pick up where the 2nd one left off so you are kinda in the dark to begin with. The ending was very interesting but it was hard to say if it was real or storyteller. Definitely worth reading again.

Sue Harrison's work is not only about storytellers, but also by a storyteller. Her plots are engrossing and the reader can get lost in the emotion of the events.
CALL DOWN THE STARS is not only a wonderful stand-alone book, but a perfect culmination of all her books. In more recent times than her first trilogy, the storytellers in CALL DOWN THE STARS use the old characters from all the books as part of their history and continue to tell new additions to these people's lives while their own stories unfold.
I highly recommend this, and all of Ms. Harrison's books to anyone looking for something new or in this genre.

Sue Harrison is one of the best storytellers out there today-- which she proves in the completion of the storyteller saga. She manages to do by creating intriguing characters who are also storytellers, and manages to make a novel with two parallel plots weave together perfectly.

Harrison makes the way of life for the ancient people of Alaska come alive, in all its hardships and joys. She creates complex and differing characters, from K'os, the villain who thinks only of herself in a place and time where cooperation was a necessity to survival, to Daughter, who is gentle and helpful, even to her adoptive mother K'os. This is definitely a novel worth reading.

Lopez is concerned with our collective understanding of nature. From studying a 3000-year-old horse intaglio to looking for Anasazi granaries he seeks our ancestral relationships. The essays work best when he mixes his reflection with keen observations. Where the essays have a heavier philosophical hand they aren't as effective. As he says "The door that leads to the cathedral is marked by a hesitancy to speak at all, rather to encourage by example, a sharpness of the senses". Lopez 's narratives sharpen many senses from the sudden assault of the sound of snow geese to "two snails small as pinheads chewing a leaf".

There are reflections on the role of biologists, from communicating between scientists and shipmates in the arctic to their role in a whale stranding. Perhaps he thinks biologists have greater insight, but he also understands the need for mystery and direct experience.

For Paul Winter fans there is a description of the raft down the Grand Canyon that produced the album "Canyon". As a current update, the snow geese written about in one essay are continuing to boom and damage their arctic breeding grounds.

"I live in a rain forest in western Oregon, on the banks of a mountain river in relatively undisturbed country, surrounded by 150-foot-tall Douglas firs, delicate deer-head orchids, and clearings where wild berries grow" (p. 148), Barry Lopez writes in this collection of his 1978 to 1986 essays. Lopez allows each essay to tell a story leaving its reader with "an inexplicable renewal of enthusiasm." "It does not matter greatly what the subject is," he writes about storytelling, "as long as the context is intimate and the story is told for its own sake" (p. 63). Subjects of these essays include a stone horse intaglio, white geese at Tule Lake, boating the Colorado River with jazz musician, Paul Winter, bull riders, beached whales, searching for Anasazi remains, and "the passing wisdom of birds."

Readers will cross open ground in these essays and enter the natural world, becoming immersed in its much larger meanings. "Wildlands preserve complex biological relationships that we are only dimly, or sometimes not at all, aware of" (p. 80). These essays are rich in wilderness wisdom, enough wisdom to please any fan of Ed Abbey or Wendell Berry. "We grasp what is beautiful in a flight of snow geese rising against an overcast sky as easily as we grasp the beauty of a cello suite," Lopez writes; "and intuit, I believe, that if we allow these things to be destroyed or degraded for economic reasons we will become deeply and strangely impoverished" (p. 38). He quietly observes, "wilderness can revitalize someone who has spent too long in the highly manipulative, perversely efficient atmosphere of modern life" (p. 82).

Whether I'm reading his stories or essays, Barry Lopez is among my favorite writers. He will bring you to the edge of your senses: "Everything found at the edge of one's senses--the high note of the winter wren, the thick perfume of propolis that drifts downwind from spring willows, the brightness of woodchips scattered by beaver . . .all this fits together" (pp. 149-50).

G. Merritt

Excellent reading for those connected with the Earth. Food for the soul. One of the best gifts I have ever recieved.

After booking my cruise, I ordered and read this book and realized that the ship I chose was not really the type of cruise I was looking for. I hope the cruise is better than by current expectations. This rates the ships, food, services and destinations. It also helps you match your life styles with the ship's ammentities. It covers the the ports but could offer a little more information on side trips and lunch stops.

This easy-to-read guide is full of useful information for beginning Alaska cruisers. Can find an answer to any question one might have about Alaska cruise ships, ports of call, land tours, and cruise customs and procedures. Fun reading!

Informative handbook for choosing an Alaska Cruise. Having cruised on 2 ships, we now know how we want to see Alaska, and it's not on a large ship! Many other options are available that most travel agents do not disclose. "The Small Ships" section is invaluable! We will postpone our trip until we can research their listings and find the one that is really for us instead of "joining the crowd".

I've read better, but it had some action in it. I would make the book longer and more excyting. I really like adventure, but this book didn't havemuch of it. I rated this book with a 3. I don't like killing animals. The author could have changed the beginning when the mother bear gets shot. They could have trapped her for the zoo or something. My favorate part of the book is when they find their father and the plane is about to fall, because it is excyting. I also like the setting, because the mountains are cool. I'm glad the author chose to write about a plane crash instesd of a car crash or something. A plane crash is mare excyting andit would interest more readers. If you like adventure stories this is the one for you.

This book Derserves an encore !!!! This book is a trubuite to american Lituare for Children NOTING and I mean NOTHING CAN TOP THIS WONDERFUL ALL TIME CLASSIC!

Alaska is a very good adventure book. It describes the courage of two city kids who move to alaska where their father has an airplane accident. They, Shawn and Jessie, take it upon themselves to rescue their father whose life is hanging on by a thread.

I think this is a very cute book. I know it will help younger kids learn about Alaska, while learning to count and recognize colors. My recommendation: If you have any kids under four, this is the colorful, fun book for them!

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK THAT COMBINES RHYME AND SEARCHING IN THE ILLUSTRATIONS FOR WHAT YOU'VE JUST SAID. MY TODDLER AND KINDERGARTEN KID FIND SOMETHING NEW EACH TIME WE READ. WE LOOK FOR GRIZZLY BEARS IN BLUEBERRY HEAVEN, RAINBOW TROUT PERFORMING FISHY TRICKS, THE COLORS TANGERINE, OLIVE, AND CRIMSON, OR FLIPPING BACK THROUGH THE BOOK TO FIND ANIMAL TRACKS. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE CAPTIVATING FOR THE KIDS AND THE TEXT KEEPS THE ADULT THINKING WHILE READING. THIS IS A WONDERFUL CHOICE TO LEARN ABOUT ALASKAN ANIMALS, COLORS, NUMBERS, AND EVEN SUBTRACTION.

I like this book because it teaches other kids their numbers, shapes and other things. It also teaches about Alaska's animals. The picturs are wonderful! Kids will love this book. It's a fun book to read.

"Derevnia's Daughters" is a non-fiction account of a pioneer family living near Kodiak, Alaska from 1889-1964. The story was taken mostly from letters, diaries and interviews of the family involved. It tends to drag a bit toward the end, but the early descriptions of life on a remote Alaskan island are very enjoyable. I live in Kodiak, and it was fun to read the story and pick up bits of history and ancient gossip. Even if I didn't live here, though, I'd recommend it.

I remeber when I was 8 or 9, my grandmother kept correspondance with Lola Harvey to assist her in writing this book about my ancestors. It was such a huge event in our house when the book was published and our signed copy was delivered. On the cover was a photo of my great-grandmother and the shall she is wearing is now mine. When I was old enough to finally read this book, I was captivated by the detail and affection Harvey used. It opened my eyes to an era I will never see and because of it I can understand and relate to my grandmother's stories of her childhood even better

The author has written an interesting book helping modern readers to visit a time from the past. Because I was born in Kodiak, Alaska and lived in Afognak, the location of the book, it was even more fascinating to me. The lady at the center of the book lived long enough that the author could read her the book before she died.