"To the north lies Alaska, the vast, untamed land that master storyteller James Michener now reveals in all its awesome, sweeping majesty. The native peoples of Alaska have spent millions of lifetimes confronting the most fearsome elements of destruction-- the bitter winds of Mother Nature, the unlimited might of the great armies of the world. Here are the men and women who tried to tame the land, seize its bounty, and lay claim to the elusive spirit that holds native and visitor alike.'
'In a novel that ranges from the near-forgotten past to the highly technological present, from self-defense to self determination, here is Alaska's emotional, and at time violent, history. It is a stirring portrait of a human community living on the edge of the world, claiming a bold heritage of survival against all odds."
The reason I'm a Michener fan is because I get to learn a lot about a history of a place I never knew existed, or an event I never that happened. The challenge is to identify fact and fiction, but he interweaves the two seamlessly. What I'll never forget from this book is the story of the gritty men and women during the gold rush. I also get to learn that in the distant past, there were prehistoric animals called mastodons. I thought there were only dinosaurs.
This is the fourth Michener book I've read, and this is not going to be my last.
