6/1/2023 0 Comments Alaska by james a michener![]() My Impressions: I really enjoyed this book – it’s long, as most Michener books are, but it’s broken up into sections of about 120-150 pages each of which has its own characters, and context, their own drama, their own cultural and historical lessons. In Alaska, Michener creates compelling characters struggling and thriving in early and then later Alaska, their struggles serving as a lens through which we learn about the broad scope of Alaskan history, with an emphasis on the last 200 years, which included Russian ownership and exploitation, the purchase of Seward’s Folly, the two major gold rushes and then the key 20th century issues leading up to the late 1980s, when the book was published. I can’t compare it to other books by Michener (since I haven’t read any others yet), but I understand Alaska follows his standard format – beginning with geology, then biological history, then human history – it is a series of inter-connected novellas that paint a broad picture of the evolution of human society in the geographical area about which he is writing. ![]() Alaska was recommended to me by a very good friend who has read a number of Michener’s books, so I decided to take it on. I’ve only been to the state of Alaska once, but my daughter spends a lot of time there and I feel drawn to it and want to go back. ![]() Why this book: I’ve always been fascinated by Alaska, and also had never read one of Michener’s tomes. ![]()
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