Description
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(as of Jun 03, 2025 14:09:49 UTC – Details)
The high points in the story of Alaska since the American acquisition are brought vividly to life through more than 100 characters, real and fictional.
Customers say
Customers find this novel to be a total immersive read with fascinating characters that make history come alive through humanized portrayals. The book receives positive feedback for its historical accuracy, with one customer noting how it starts at thousands of years ago, and for its thorough research that helps readers understand the region’s development. The writing quality and pacing receive mixed reviews – while some praise the beautifully written narrative, others find it tedious, and while many appreciate the typical Michener epic style, some consider it not great.
R Scheese –
Majestic and Intimate
Just finished “Alaska” by James A. Michener. Having visited the state twice over the past six years, I found myself appreciating Michenerâs work even more. He captures the awe, majesty, and wild spirit of the place. Reading this book felt like reliving the incredible landscapes and history I witnessed firsthand.True to Michenerâs style, the novel spans eons, beginning with the formation of the land itself and weaving through the lives of indigenous peoples, Russian fur traders, gold prospectors, bush pilots, and modern settlers. Every chapter brings history to life through memorable characters whose personal struggles mirror the larger forces shaping the region. He doesnât just tell a story â he takes you on a full journey through the history, struggles, and beauty of our 49th State – the Last Frontier.Yes, it’s a long book (nearly 900 pages), but worth the time invested for anyone who loves history, adventure, or just a great, sweeping story you can get lost in.Check it out!
Amazon Customer –
This large paperback is a great value for the money!
I have not read it yet but will start soon as I have a friend who read it in the mid 1980s and told me with my interest in Alaska, that I would really enjoy this book of over 1000 pages.
D. Mikels –
“Any good that comes to Alaska, will come from Alaska.”
Alaska. Have been there, countless times. Every month of the year. It’s cold, isolated, rugged, majestic, desolate, and so brilliantly beautiful.As are its inhabitants.Historical novelist James A. Michener attempts to capture this massive, sweeping land in his novel ALASKA. This is a book that spawns countless thousands of years: From when the land mass of Alaska was pushed to the topmost reaches of the globe; to when the first hearty settlers, the Athapascans, walked across the land bridge from Asia to North America (and would keep walking, as Native Americans, all the way to the tip of South America); to the Eskimos, tens upon tens of thousands of years later, who boldly traveled via canoe and umiak to the land to their east they could see on clear days from their home in Siberia. Michener describes in vivid detail how these rugged people existed in the New World–how they wandered all the way to the southernmost tip of the Aleutian Islands, thousands upon thousands of miles away–until being discovered by other peoples, beginning with Vitus Bering, and the Russians.In a word, Michener is less than kind to the occupation of Alaska by the Russians. The kingdom of the tsars exploited the land–and subjugated its native people–for its natural resources: otter pelts and (baby) seal skins. Yet the author has even more disregard for the Americans, who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. He notes how the American Congress held utter contempt for the land–viewed with disgust as America’s “ice box’–and ignored it for decades to violent lawlessness–until the late 19th Century, when gold was discovered in its pristine rivers and streams–eventually, on the remote ocean beaches of Nome.It is here–during the Gold Rush, the launching of Alaska’s massive salmon industry, the relocating of thousands of Upper Midwest Americans to the Matanuska Valley during the Great Depression–that the author allows us to follow, through time, a core handful of characters. They, and their descendants, take us all the way through World War II (where the Japanese actually occupied a few Aleutian Islands, absolutely unknown before to this reviewer), to the latter years of the 20th Century, when Alaska was trying to come to terms with Big Oil, Washington, D.C., and its native populations. It is here the author writes an eye-rolling, over-the-top ending to one of its key characters (to illustrate a climactic change), that took away one star from this review. After more than a thousand pages, it was a less than stellar ending to a huge novel encompassing America’s most massive frontier. Yet, ALASKA is still a most recommended read.~D. Mikels, Esq.
Liz U –
Another WOW from Michener!
Warning: once you read Michener, other writers will be unsatisfying.A few fav quotes:-Thereâs much to be said for a long book (Kindle position 9694)-the sun glistening off the glaciers and the manifold little islands shining in the Pacific like drops of crystal resting on blue satin (Kindle position 16267)-heaving seas, whipping blizzards, endless nights, and always great storms lashing at the beaches (Kindle position 16784)Some typos in the book, such as:-Impressed by the young manâs to his dog (Kindle position 16081)There is a word missing after “man’s”.Buy. Read. Enjoy!
Amazon Customer –
Very long but comprehensive
I like to know about places Iâll be traveling to. This book explains all aspects of Alaska from its inception to common day, using recurring characters throughout passing settings in the story. Highly recommended, Iâll be reading more of his books.
john purcell –
All the news that is fit to print about Alaska, plus Missy’s latest adventures
This is the first time that I read one of these Michener 1000 page specials and it was a real treat. I have Chesapeake here and will dive into that soon. I wanted to know everything about Alaska in advance of my second extended trip there in August. Michener covers prehistoric times, all the gold rushes, the salmon industry, the political and legal development of Alaska, the Seattle merchants and politicians who made the real money, the Russian era, the acquisition by the US, and even the Jones Act.I was glad to see many copies of Alaska on the cruise ship, as I was concerned that the great and prolific well researched Philadelphian of my grandfather’s age had been forgotten by the youthful travel and adventure enthusiasts. For my money, Michener has a delightful blend of history, fictional characters, and historical figures.
DJG –
Alaska
James A Michener has written another blockbuster in his series of historically and geographically focused dramas. As with the others in this series, Alaska offers entertainment, well researched information, a keen understanding of human nature, a deep respect for the natural environment, and concern to illuminate the lessons of history. At the end of this novel, when an incoming tsunami engulfs both an avid young sportsman whose family had been pivotal to the State’s development, and the male goat he’d just shot, the reader arrives at a sense of a carefully interwoven series of stories, with future vistas yet beckoning.
david canford –
A long read – over 1300 pages. At times I almost gave up, but it was worth sticking with. I now know a lot about Alaska – from the beginning of time to the 1980s.The cruelty of the Russians when they occupied it was awful and the Americans exploited it for what they could and rode rough shod over Native American rights. Businessmen used their influence to stop it becoming a territory for as long as possible so they could take advantage of the lack of government and rule of law, and later lobbied against it being made a State to preserve their monopolies that resulted in Alaskans paying much more for supplies than they should have.Michener, it seems, was progressive in his attitude as demonstrated in the way he tells the story.It was all so interesting – the first inhabitants crossing from Siberia, the gold rush, the salmon, the spectacular landscape – it had me googling for images – the fight for statehood, etcThe book is part fiction and part non-fiction with a lot of facts, the writing solid but not arresting.So would I read another long Michener epic? Probably, but I could read three shorter books for one of his, and thereâs so much else I also want to read. Still, Iâve already downloaded âHawaiiâ – I couldnât resist it!If the thought of Alaska inspires you like it does me, then youâll most probably love this book.
Amazon Customer –
This is an epic novel/history read. You don’t read this in a weekend for sure but it touches facts, has a little fiction and is written only as Michener could write. I’m amazed that almost all Americans I talk to never knew that Alaska was originally owned by Russia, strange??
Ronaldo M. Franchini –
Excelente, como todo livro do Michener. Uma descrição minuciosa da vida no Alasca, e as dificuldades inerentes à vida em uma natureza selvagem.
ARMAND Christiane –
Pour un livre d’occasion, c’est parfait. La livraison a été un peu plus longue que prévu mais ça ne fait rien le principal c’est de l’avoir reçu.
barbarix –
Als Michener-Fan gefällt mir dieses auch sehr gut. In der für ihn oft typischen Weise stellt er uns Alaska vom Anbeginn der Zeit vor bis in die Neuzeit, in seiner bildhaften Sprache läÃt er Szenen und Landschaften entstehen, präsentiert er uns die Menschen in ihrer jeweiligen Zeit, mit ihrem Denken und ihren Problemen, sodass man am Ende des Buches wieder ein Stück Weltgeschichte gelernt hat.