This collection contains 67 poems on life in Alaska and the Midwest, arranged in roughly chronological order over the span of the poet's life. Many of the poems are strongly sensory, generating indelible, fresh visual images as diverse as a bumblebee on a dying flower and the sweep of auroras across the sky, or aural images of a madman's song and a jazzman's sax. The precision and elegance of Fitzgerald's words can make readers pause to appreciate their own perceptions in light of hers. Or to examine their feelings: One of her strong themes is the linking of families across generations; from an eloquent, spare elegy for a dead granddaughter to an appreciation of the storytelling of a grandfather, she shows the ties that bind--and some of the knots and ravels that affect those relationships.  Fitzgerald writes disciplined poems, tight in rhythm and sound, often in formal modes. She understands in her bones the musical basis of poetry. Yet there is nothing stuffy in this collection, and even her most tender love lyric may end on a wry twist. For all their sophistication, these are accessible, delightful poems, enjoyable from first to last.

Cake (Selected Poems by Doreen Fitzgerald)

Doreen Fitzgerald

Ester Republic Press

Yet another collection of classics from Alaska's longest-running cartoon, the fruits of Seasonal Affective Drawing are home-grown humor from the heartland of the north. Smith's zany look at life in the Frozen North is appreciated by both visitors encountering our mosquitoes for the first time and sourdoughs with a profound understanding of that winter run to the outhouse...

Freeze-Frame: It's Gonna Be A Long Winter...

Jamie Smith

The first collection of his new strip, Nuggets continues looking at life in Alaska through the cartoonist's irreverent eye. From gag strips to editorial cartoons, Smith's unremitting sense of absurdity shows how life REALLY is in the frozen north.

Nuggets: A Big Ol' Pile of Cartoons from Alaska

Mired in the Morass describes a predicament known to almost 47 million Americans: paying for medical bills without health insurance. Neil Davis navigated this financial black hole and discovered a hidden truth: medical bills don't reflect the costs of medicine. Davis describes the harrowing journey his family took in paying for cancer treatments, and comes to the well-informed conclusion that our health care system is broken, and doesn't have much to do with health. Yet, there is hope: armed with the knowledge Davis provides, you too may get a correct and detailed accounting of what you actually owe often far less than the hospital bill might imply. If enough Americans understand the true costs, both in money and in deaths from reliance on a crippled system, we may be able to change to a fairer, more rational, healthier system for all of us.

Mired in the Health Care Morass: An Alaskan Takes on America's Dysfunctional Medical System for his Uninsured Daughter

Medical Books

Neil Davis

Administration & Medicine Economics

"Jorgy" Jorgensen is a legendary Alaska Native bush pilot, but his life is much more than a great flying story. He was raised by his Inupiat Eskimo mother and his Norwegian gold-miner father in a tiny mining camp in interior Alaska. After his father's death during the Depression, when Jorgy was only seven, they lived a subsistence lifestyle: Jorgy worked in the gold mines, ran a trap line, and mushed dogs. He served in Muktuk Marston's Alaska Territorial Guard and was a sergeant by the age of 17. After Pearl Harbor, he became Sig Wien's fire potter and gas boy, and learned to fly. He operated a dragline in the summers, he was a boxing champion, and he desegregated Nome's movie theater. His flying career was equally varied: he flew all across Alaska, carrying passengers and cargo. He delivered scientific equipment and supplies to the T-3 ice island, fresh fish to and from King Salmon, moved reindeer from Hagemeister Island; he flew in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Canada. He flew from 1943 to 2001, logging more than 35,000 hours of flight time, with only one--minor--accident. Telling his extraordinary life story in spare, no-fuss fashion, this book allows a vivid glimpse into a tulmultuous and exciting period in aviation from the point of view of one of Alaska's early Native bush pilots.

Jorgy: the life of Native Alaskan bush pilot and airline captain Holger "Jorgy" Jorgensen

Holger Jorgensen

Jean Lester

Too often the history of a place is reduced to a list of dates and a handful of major events, ignoring the daily stories that help shape its legacy. In The Long View, Ross Coen stops to explore the smaller yet extremely meaningful moments in Alaska’s past, and in doing so he builds a history unlike any before. This collection of Coen’s columns from the celebrated Ester Republic allows readers to see how short snapshots of everyday life can come together to create a true picture of the unique experience of living in Alaska. Covering everything from mail order brides to failed rocket launches and true political intrigue, Coen’s engaging writing makes the history of Alaska accessible and entertaining.

The Long View: Dispatches on Alaska History (Ester Republic Press)

History

Coen, Ross

Americas

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