Description:
A century ago, Edward H. Harriman, the president of the Union Pacific Railroad and perhaps the wealthiest man in America, put some of his wealth to visionary purpose: he outfitted a steamship with scientific instruments, hired a 65-member crew, and invited choice friends to accompany him on a cruise to Alaska. But more: he invited 30 more guests, "the nation's top natural scientists, mainly, but also a few practical engineering types, some cultural enthusiasts, select writers and artists and photographers." Among those 30 "faculty" were the great naturalists John Muir, John Burroughs, C. Hart Merriam, George Bird Grinnell, and William Dall, who took the opportunity to study the flora, fauna, and geology of the glacier-carved coasts of what Burroughs called "green Alaska," infusing American natural-history literature with a stream of books and articles on the then little-known North. Nancy Lord, the author of the fine Alaska memoir Fishcamp, retraces the course of the Harriman expedition, examining how much of Alaska has changed--but also how much more has remained much as her peers of a century ago saw it. Her graceful, vigorous book is a fine contribution to the history of science, and a welcome addition to the shelves of anyone with an interest in natural-history writing and arctic exploration. --Gregory McNamee
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