Alaska's Dog Heroes: True Stories of Remarkable Canines (PAWS IV)
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Alaska's Dog Heroes: True Stories of Remarkable Canines (PAWS IV)
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Description
Even after my career was largely over, in 2017 I realized that a river in one of my former field areas on the Alaska Peninsula had never been named. I went through the official federal and State of Alaska procedures and named the Spirit River, which is in the vicinity of Port Moller on the Bering Sea coast. In some ways it felt like a capstone to my long and fortuitous career in Alaska.
In the spring, as the annual gold stampeders began to stream in, London left. He had contracted scurvy, common in the Arctic winters where fresh produce was unavailable. When his gums began to swell he decided to return to California. With his companions, he rafted 2,000 miles (3,200km) down the Yukon River, through portions of the wildest territory in the region, until they reached St. Michael. There, he hired himself out on a boat to earn return passage to San Francisco. [9] MOSS-COANE: What do they need? And how do you take care of them in this - what? - 17-, 18-, 19-, 20-day run? PAULSEN: I mean, you have to understand. My mind was completely fried by this time. I was just gone. But a lot of that wishing for solitude still exists in me. I still - I mean, I'm out here in California right now restoring a sailboat that I'll probably do some solitude on. Everything about Alaska, their lifestyle and hardships was so alien to me, but the author has done a great job explaining it. It was fascinating to learn about the first dwellers in the island of Nome, how the finding of a gold nugget made this place popular, how the economy bloomed and collapsed, all about the breeds of dogs, their strengths, how the dogs are adapted to the extreme cold, their diet and how the driver cares for the dogs. It was interesting to read about the treacherous routes, the extreme cold affecting the dog relay, the risks of riding on the frozen river, the chemical and physical changes due to hypothermia. Alaska, 1974. Untamed. Unpredictable. A story of a family in crisis struggling to survive at the edge of the world, it is also a story of young and enduring love.GROSS: I'd like you to read something from a recent novel for young adults called "The Cookcamp." And there's a prologue in this that I think relates to your own life. Let me ask you to read it, and then we'll talk about how autobiographical it is.
PAULSEN: I had found a kind of solitude and beauty. And I still have some of that, by God. I really do. This book really has the most unfortunate title but it’s a strong read if you can get past it. While many books focus on the leaders of dogsledding, those that finish first or second, O’Donoghue is a journalist who decides to run the Iditarod…and takes last place. It’s a hilarious and entertaining read. This Much Country by Kristin Knight Pace But they find a special joy in their work that can never be matched by the easier world of the landsman. No matter how great the hardship or how bad the storm, the highliners put out to sea in their primitive battle against the elements. Since dogs are such an important part of life in Alaska, a book about some famous dogs from that state is sure to be an interesting one. The stories of nineteen dogs that did amazing, extraordinary, or simply interesting things are included…Author Shelly Gill was one of the first women to complete the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, so she has the credentials to write this book. The icing on the cake, though, is the beautiful, life-like illustrations by Robin James.” Gill, a past Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race participant and the author of best-selling children’s books about Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, introduces young children to heroic tales of 19 courageous Alaska canines. Accompanied by James’ captivating illustrations, the stories of how dogs in Alaska have accomplished feats such as warding off bears and finding lost children will thrill young readers.”In this coming-of-middle-age memoir, Kim Heacox, writing in the tradition of Abbey, McPhee, and Thoreau, discovers an Alaska reborn from beneath a massive glacier, where flowers emerge from boulders, moose swim fjords, and bears cross crevasses with Homeric resolve. In such a place Heacox finds that people are reborn too, and their lives begin anew with incredible journeys, epiphanies, and successes. All in an America free of crass commercialism and overdevelopment.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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