Posts by Epicenter Press
Hooked! by Leslie Layland Fields
The rousing sea stories are all here: The dramas of near-death battles, the sickening tragedy of lovers and friends lost to the waters – but this is not the whole story. Hooked! (172 pages) represents an extraordinary holistic view of Alaskan fishing: Not just the dying, but the living; not just the obsessive doing of…
Read MoreEskimo Star, by Lael Morgan
The blazing marquee of the plush Astor Theater in New York City billed the 1933 premier of “Eskimo” as “THE BIGGEST PICTURE EVER MADE,” propelling an 27-year-old Inupiat Eskimo from Candle, Alaska, to overnight stardom. The handsome actor was not only the first Alaskan to become a Hollywood movie star but also the first non-white…
Read MoreBering Sea Blues, by Joe Upton
This a gripping memoir of a winter season of crab-fishing in the Bering Sea, filled with scary moments, killer ice, dangerous work, and-for the lucky ones-financial rewards. For others, survival was their reward. Just 25, Joe Upton was the youngest guy aboard when the 104-foot Flood Tide pulled out of Seattle in March 1971 headed…
Read MoreRed Thunder, by David Matheson
Red Thunder (280 pages) is a memoir of a People. The story draws from the oral history of the Schi-tsu-umsh Indians, now called the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Northern Idaho. This unique portrayal of pre-European Native Americans is an authentic work displaying the rich cultural teachings behind Native American life. Red Thunder is not only about courage, love…
Read MoreIn Search of the Kuskokwim, by Stephen Spurr
The United States knew relatively little about Alaska prior to the turn of the century when the Klondike Gold Rush was about to attract thousands of stampeders north, many of them spilling over into Alaska as more gold was discovered on the Yukon River and her tributaries. The government had few reliable maps of the…
Read MoreGoing to Extremes, by Joe McGinniss
This is the fourth edition of Going to Extremes (306 pages) a work that always has been controversial in Alaska. Yet, it is an important and highly readable classic work that captures a portrait frozen in time of a raw state in turmoil during the oil boom. McGinnis went north to find out if there…
Read MorePurely Alaska, by Susan Andrews and John Creed
In the immense, road less expanse of the Far North, storytelling has thrived for many generations. Stories range from harrowing survival adventures to tales of other exotic people, places, and cultures. This anthology captures some of these stories as told by rural Alaskans. Purely Alaska (302 pages) is a sequel to Authentic Alaska. The majority of…
Read MoreThe Fishes & Dishes Cookbook, by Kiyo Marsh, Tomi Marsh, and Laura Cooper
Some of the most dangerous work in the world takes place in the grounds of Alaska, where crews must deal with gale-force winds, towering seas, long hours, and… Baked Salmon Wellington? A generation ago, the women featured in this book might have been celebrated as pioneers. In today’s world, they are simply living their dreams…
Read MoreThe Accidental Adventurer, by Barbara Washburn
Barbara Washburn never set out to become a mountaineering pioneer, but she wasn’t content to be a stay-at-home wife, either. In 1947, defying social convention, Washburn became the first woman to climb Alaska’s Mt. McKinley. Accidental Adventures (192 pages) chronicles her journeys with her husband, Bradford Washburn, on other expeditions to Alaska, the Grand Canyon,…
Read MoreYukon Quest, by Lew Freedman
Over beer and hamburgers at the Two Rivers Lodge near Fairbanks, Alaska, a small group of mushers conceived a gutsy idea for a new sled dog race that would be more challenging than any other marathon race in the Far North. In 1984, mushers organized the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race between Fairbanks and…
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