Good Books

With the temperatures well below freezing and the woodshed still about full, it's that time of year when I get in some reading. I've read his stuff before, but good to revisit an old friend of mine from Sitka, Alaska (now deceased). Richard K. Nelson, known as "Nels". Some of his books, in no particular order. Good reads...

"The Island Within"
"Make Prayers to the Raven"
"Tracks in the Wildland"
"Hunters of the Northern Ice"
"Heart and Blood:Living with Deer in North America"
"Raven's Witness:The Alaska Life of Richard K. Nelson" by Hank Lentfer

Those sound like great reads. Another Alaskan author is Ray Tremblay with two very neat books: "Trails of an Alaskan Trapper and Trails of an Alaskan Game Warden" . Read them in that order as they are chronological and cover a period of 50 plus years of his Alaskan livelihood.

Chris

I certainly agree. Good reads. Especially good for me, as I was the field biologist in that same country as Ray (Lake Minchumina area) and knew the country well.

His book, Hunters of the northern ice, helped a walrus hunting crew I sat in with harvest more walrus!
The deer book was a little out of reality. Burying deer bones seemed weird.

Trembly, in the game wardens book, stated if it wasn't for the wardens Alaskans would have killed all the game. I wasn't impressed. His wife was from Nulato. I know her nephews and a couple nieces.

I have this one on the night stand to start soon

Donner, once you start that book , you'll hardly be able to put it down. That's what happened to me.

Thank you, Donnersurvivor and Sharon.

Jack

I met Ray in 1985. He took the time to explain to this cheechako some basic trap sets and preferred traps for all manner of Alaskan furbearer. He also autographed his books for me. Very interesting that you were a field biologist in the Lake Minchumina area!

Chris

" Born on snowshoes " and " Above the arctic circle, the memoirs of James Carroll " are also excellent reads............................ ( Not by R.K. Nelson ) He worked with some of my wifes family on the " Hunters of the northern forest. " Tracks in the wilderness " is jam packed with lots of good info. His assessment at the end of the book in which he discusses how welfare is/will destroy the traditional culture was spot on.

Best book of the year is The Wager (a British sailing ship in 1740s). Packed full of adventure and it is a true story.

I'm currently reading "Many Tender Ties" by Sylvia Van Kirk. It is the story of women in the fur trade from 1670-1870. Really well researched and shows you a totally different angle to the mountain man era.

Here's one in a similar genre that you guys would probably enjoy; The Last Gentleman Adventurer: Coming of Age in the Arctic by Edward Beauclerk Maurice.

It's an autobiography based on his memoirs and was published posthumously.

He signed up with the Hudson Bay Company at age sixteen in 1930 and shipped from England to the Canadian Arctic where he documented his work and interactions with whalers, the French and the Inuits. It is a very interesting read.

My woodshed is definitely not full but I'm definitely interested in learning more about good books.

Who's the author?

A good short online read yall may like is "An Island to Oneself" by Tom Neale. Kind of the island version of Dick Proenneke.

I'm guessing he means The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann, published last year.

Thank you, lugnut!

I loved three against the wilderness. I read that back in Grade School

For Alaskan hunting I highly recommend Russel Annabell's books, great reading!

King of the Ice by Helen Corbin is another great one! Don't see it mentioned very often, but trust me it is a wonderful read!

Hunting the Alaskan High Arctic by Haugen is a more modern book, and is equally as good a read as the others.

Hunting the Land of the Midnight Sun: A Collection of Hunting Adventures from the Alaska Professional Hunters Association - very recent and great reading. My favorite story is a guide whose hunter shot a grizzly coming out of its den, and it slid back down into the den. The guide went to investigate and slipped and slid down the den SMACK into the bear!

i could go on but will stop here LOL

I really enjoyed this book.

Kenny Salwey good author. Another book i enjoyed was "Alaska's Wolfman" by Frank Readon if i got my words right.

I read that earlier this year. An excellent book!

About an interesting man who resided in Idaho.

“Hard on the wind” by Russ Hafvendahl is an excellent read. Many of the books mentioned in this thread can be purchased on Alibris.com. Used books for 99 cents and up.

Currently reading "Life in the Rocky Mountains" by Warren Angus Ferris. He was not a well-known mountain man like Jim Bridger, Jed Smith or some others, but he kept a remarkable journal and recorded a lot of everyday happenings that really bring to life the things they went through.

Thanks for that Bernie, I'll have to find a copy.

North To Cree Lake
Face the North Wind
A.L. Karras
Outstanding reads

Here's a really good deal https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31567974728&searchurl=kn%3Dwarren%2Bangus%2Bferris%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-image1

Assuming it's in good condition. I bought a first edition new one for $80 about 20 years ago. You don't see this very often someone needs to jump on it right now.

ABE Books is where I buy most of my books. Good used books for cheap.

I read this and thought it was great too.

I just finished "The Long Walk" https://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-True-Story-Freedom/dp/149302261X. It is a story of some Poles and Russians who were locked up in one of Stalin's Gulags during 1939 - 1940 and how they decide to escape. Eventually they decide on a 4,000 mile trip which takes them across the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas to their end location in India. Riveting true story.

There is a good movie on that.

RdFx, "Alaska's Wolf Man" is one of my favorites. The story of Frank Glaser by Jim Rearden.

A couple of others, "North of the Sun" by Fred Hatfield and "Shadows on the Koyukuk" by Sidney Huntington and Jim Rearden. Both stories of Alaska in the early and mid 1900s.

Y'all are too serious on this thread.

Some good reads are:

Jim Kjelgaard:
Haunt Fox
Stormy
Big Red, Irish Red, Outlaw Red
Swamp Cat
Black Fawn
Wild Trek

Sterling North:
Rascal
Wolfling


Wilson Rawls:
Where the Red Fern Grows
Summer of the Monkeys

Fred Gibson:
Old Yeller
Savage Sam
Hounddog man

Reading opens the door to an amazing world that many of us would never know about with out the experiences being put on paper .A good writer has the skill to make the words come alive to each reader That is why books are so important to the people of the whole world And it explains the importance of the first amendment and of course the rest that are about basic freedom The right.to free speech is the key to people learning

Well said, west side...