Posts by Epicenter Press
The Spill, by Sharon Bushell and Stan Jones
Twenty years after the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, sixty-two men and women share personal stories of what they saw, how they reacted, and how they coped with North America’s worst tanker oil spill. Their anger and anguish had receded from view like oil seeping into rocky crevices on the beaches of Prince…
Read MoreReaching for a Star, by Gerald Bowkett
In 1955, with the drive for statehood stalled, a group of men and women from all over Alaska, delegates with strong convictions, given to strong, often colorful expression, created a state constitution that is now considered a model. Reaching for a Star (176 pages) follows the long road of proving that Alaska was politically mature,…
Read MoreMoonlight Madness, by Samme Gallaher
Samme Gallaher offers a lively collection of stories about haunted roadhouses, bizarre animal behavior, weird weather, frontier justice, an unwitting “good time girl,” and an assortment of characters who inhabited Alaska’s remote Copper River Valley between the Klondike Gold Rush and World War II. Moonlight Madness (128 pages) will leave you with chills, and not…
Read More49 at Last! by Claus-M Naske
49 at Last! (350 pages) reads like a plot-line for a political thriller; author Dr. Claus-M. Naske reveals how the Alaska statehood movement struggled through most of the 20th Century, decade after decade, always blocked by powerful special interests. Finally, the unrelenting pro-statehood forces won support from President Dwight D. Eisenhower–a breakthrough for their cause–and…
Read MoreNorth to the Future, by Dermot Cole
Alaska became a state in 1959 after nearly a century of federal rule and domination by powerful mining, timber, and canned-salmon interests. At last the people of Alaska would direct their own destiny. But would they? North to the Future (224 pages) documents the first fifty years, as Alaska’s fate continued to be influenced by…
Read MoreSurviving the Island of Grace, by Leslie Leyland Fields
Surviving the Island of Grace (352 pages) is a powerfully rendered story of a twenty-year-old newlywed transplanted from New Hampshire to a remote island in the immense Gulf of Alaska. Here, she must learn to live communally with her new family in primitive conditions without running water, electricity, or contact with the outside world. Even…
Read MoreSurviving Alaska, by Mary Ames
One can only hope never to face the many life-threatening dangers and just plain annoyances that journalist, pilot, and outdoorswoman Mary Ames warns about in Surviving Alaska (160 pages), a guide that is both useful and entertaining. You’ll learn… what to do if you find yourself in the path of an oncoming avalanche… what to…
Read MoreAlaska Blues, by Joe Upton
This is Upton’s award winning account of a commercial fishing season in Southeast Alaska – the lonely hours at sea as well as the close community of the fishing fleet; the sudden, violent storms and glorious days of sun; the difficult, frenzied work and quiet moments of contemplation. In this new third edition from Epicenter…
Read MoreSaving for the Future, by David Rose
David Rose became the first director of the Alaska Permanent Fund, playing a crucial role in managing the multi-billion dollar savings account created by voters after the discovery of oil. Saving for the Future (254 pages) is his account of the formative days of the fund and the inner workings of a truly unique institution.…
Read MoreMoments Rightly Placed, by Ray Hudson
Along a thousand-mile chain of treeless and windswept islands, Unalaska is perched at the end of the world, or, as some prefer to say, the beginning. In 1964, Ray Hudson, 22, landed in Unalaska village with a brand-new college degree, eager to teach. The Aleuts had seen many outsiders who had come but seldom stayed…
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