Alaska by James Michener.
A friend of mine once told me that if Alaska was split in two, Texas would be the third largest state. Being from Texas, I naturally had to decide whether to be rankled or not, then decided to laugh instead: it was true. Alaska is big, really big, and in his book, Michener gives us the highpoints of America’s last frontier in an epic way: from the very beginnings to the modern age. And any one part of the book could have been a book by itself, starting with its unique geography and geology, and the slow shift in the Earths tectonic plates that gave rise to the land. Then comes the history of the first humans to live there, Russian ownership and subsequent sale to America, the gold rush, the huge salmon industry that developed, the pelt trade and the inevitable exploitation of the natives by the first captains and boat crews that went there, and much, much more.
Along the way, we learn that for most of its modern history (16th century to present), Alaska had no viable government: a long way from Russia, with the Czars slow to make decisions on a territory they didn’t understand, plus, forever busy with more important matters closer to the Mother Land. After the sale to America, a long way from Washington as well, so that Alaska remained to fend for itself, like a distant unwanted stepchild, mostly forgotten by its new government. In fact, were it not for the otters and their valuable fur, Russia would not have been interested at all, and it was a miracle that America became interested, or came up with the money to purchase it, some newspapers at the time calling Alaska a “Polar Bear Garden,” and most senators considering Alaska an icy, barren waste, and most certainly a waste of their time and the taxpayers money. (At first it was named the Department of Alaska, then later renamed District of Alaska and finally, the Alaska Territory, before finally achieving proper statehood in 1959).
I enjoyed all of it, partly because it is so well told, but also because Michener manages to weave it all together in such a way that we follow the progress of several people and families through different countries and many generations: it’s not the usual way to tell a story, and he does it so well.
In this book we meet the dirtiest, scroungiest rascals, the blindest men imaginable, as far as vision for a future Alaska goes, true heroes, hardy frontiersmen, strong, resilient, exemplary women, as well as people who live to build and those who love to destroy—we meet them all. I give it a 7.8 in my scale from 1 to 10: classic Michener, highly recommended.