Green Alaska: Dreams from the Far Coast

Rating:
Summary: Eloquence and Clarity
Review: It is set on the page as prose but Nancy Lord's prose is poetry. Thought, emotion, reflection, and insight, blend together to form a simple eloquence that is at once the state of Alaska then and now. Following a 'millennial' voyage across this vast territory, Nancy manages to make us understand the ending of the last century, attitudes toward the world, the environment, its theft in some cases, and she does it in as few words as possible. Join her on her own journey as well as she brings into strong relief the changes that took place over the last 100 years and what has not changed. This is exceptional work and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand not only Alaska but also what it means to love the land.

Rating:
Summary: A Letdown
Review: This book takes a good concept (retracing John Muir's travels) and indelible subject matter (southeast Alaska) and reduces it to mediocrity with dull anecdotes and amateurish writing. I got so bored that I stopped reading. I'm still waiting for a truly skilled author to do justice to Alaska and "get it right."

Rating:
Summary: A great read on a hot summer day
Review: Though I read the library's copy, now I have to buy it. Lord, New Englander turned long-time resident of Homer, AK, traces the route of the 1898 Harriman expedition, with many glimpses of her own work on a fishing vessel and of her fellow Alaskans. Amusing vignettes of Harriman and his fellow travellers, esp. the "Two Johnnies," Muir and Burroughs, and their opposite approaches to appreciating & protecting nature. Altogether, a riviting and poignant tale of the Bring 'em Back Dead school of science, but not too heavy on the eco-enlightenment, and well researched, using a wide net.