Alaska By Cruise Ship  •  Anne Vipond GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES A compact, illustrated guide to ports of call, excursions and sightseeing along the cruising route from Seattle to Anchorage. With a short overview of the culture, nature and history of Alaska, a full-color pull-out map, and excellent town maps. (ALA125, $21.95)
Alaska Light: Ideas and Images from a Northern Land  •  Kim Heacox NATURAL HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 112 PAGES Kim Heacox, one of Alaska's most renowned photographers, turns his camera to landscapes and wildlife found throughout the state in this attractive book of photographs, complemented by informative essays. (ALA122, $22.95)
Alaska Map  •  ITMB 2004 •  MAP A map of Alaska on two sides, featuring the Aleutians, the Bering Strait, and much of neighboring Siberia, at a scale of 1:2,500,000. (ALA31, $8.95)
Best Places Alaska, The Locals' Guide to the Best Lodgings, Outdoor Adventure, Sights, Shopping, and Restaurants  •  Kate Ripley GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A comprehensive guide to the sights, highlights and attractions of Alaska. With chapters on Whitehorse and Dawson. (ALA226, $21.95)
Commerical Fishing in Alaska  •  Terry Johnson NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 112 PAGES An engaging and authoritative overview of the seafood industry in Alaska, featuring color photos and drawings of fish and invertebrates and the gear used to harvest them. Ocean Treasure tells how to recognize fishing boats and gear, what the fish look like, and how good they taste. Readers are treated to an account of the fascinating history of Alaska fishing, insight into mariculture, how the fisheries are managed, and the lifestyle involved in subsistence fishing. The book also offers a bibliography, a glossary, and a full index. (ALA157, $25.00)
Denali National Park and Preserve Map  •  Trails Illustrated 1993 •  MAP A durable, fold-up topographic map of Denali and surroundings at a scale of 1:300,000. (ALA88, $11.95)
Fodor's Alaska  •  Fodor's Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES A popular, practical guide to Alaska. (ALA225, $19.95)
Glacier Bay, The Wild Beauty of Glacier Bay National Park  •  Peggy Bauer  •  Erwin A. Bauer NATURAL HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 80 PAGES A photographic tribute to Glacier Bay by a husband and wife team. A short essay on the region's history and nature accompanies the dazzling images of glaciers, forests and marine life. (ALA120, $14.95)
Glacier Ice  •  Austin Post  •  Edward R. LaChapelle NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 145 PAGES An extraordinary book of aerial photographs of mountains, glaciers and ice accompanied by explanatory text by two devoted glaciologists. Much too beautiful to be called a textbook, this collection of striking black-and-white photographs introduces the major surface features, varieties of glaciers and diversity of ice. With a glossary and annotated bibliography for further reading. An obvious choice for mountaineers and polar explorers, this book will appeal to any curious traveler -- or even anyone who has ever looked out the window of an airplane en route over Greenland. In cooperation with the International Glaciological Society. A modern classic, originally published in 1971. (SCI07, $35.00)
The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced: A Century of Change, 1899-2001  •  Thomas S. Litwin  •  David Rockefeller ANTHOLOGY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 304 PAGES A wide-ranging selection of articles on the history, culture, and ecology of Alaska, with contributions from William Cronon, Sheila Nickerson, Kim Heacox, and Richard Nelson and others. The companion book to a PBS series, contrasting historic findings with contemporary reality. With reproductions of many 1899 original maps, engravings and drawings. (ALA199, $29.95)
In Denali: A Photographic Essay of Denali National Park and Preserve  •  Kim Heacox NATURAL HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 93 PAGES This handsome portrait of Denali, by a well known writer, photographer and naturalist, features color photographs along with an overview of the wildlife, landscapes, human history and environmental challenges of the immense park. With a bird checklist and list of 101 common flowers and plants. (ALA26, $22.95)
Into Brown Bear Country  •  Will Troyer NATURAL HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 200 PAGES Filled with up-close photographs, this is an excellent introdution to the brown bears of Kodiak and Katmai, mixing natural history with the author's own experiences studying and photographing bears for nearly fifty years. (ALA222, $24.95)
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Map  •  Trails Illustrated MAP A durable, folded, topographic recreation map of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest, on a scale of 1:105,000. (ALA33, $9.95)
The Kid's Guide to Cruising Alaska  •  Eileen Ogintz GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 96 PAGES • FAMILY With illustrations, fun facts about the glaciers and Alaska's Inside Passage, and tips for kids who are new to cruises, this book is a must-have for any family planning to take one of these popular cruises. (ALA198, $8.95)
National Geographic Traveler Alaska  •  Robert S. Devine  •  Michael Melford GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 271 PAGES A compact guidebook by National Geographic with the publisher's usual attention to maps and color photography. With a good overview of history, nature, culture and attractions. (ALA228, $22.95)
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska  •  Andy MacKinnon  •  Jim Pojar FIELD GUIDE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES For those with wide-ranging botanical interest, we recommend this terrific handbook to nearly 800 species of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, ferns, mosses and lichens. It features over 1,100 color photographs, and 1000 line drawings, color range maps, and a keys to identifying the plants in each family. Revised edition (PNW02, $24.95)
Seabirds of the World, A Photographic Guide  •  Peter Harrison FIELD GUIDE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 317 PAGES • COMING IN A field edition of Harrison's definitive seabird identification guide, featuring 740 color photographs. It illustrates all the world's seabirds, many in a variety of plumages. The book also contains a convenient key to identifying the confusing albatrosses, petrels and other tubenoses, as well as range maps and information about habitats and distribution. This is the book that you'd carry on any sea voyage; our ten-year-old edition has been everywhere. (FG16, $29.95)
Shaman Pass  •  Stan Jones MYSTERY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES The second installation in Jones's Nathan Active mystery series, starring an Alaska state trooper from Anchorage living in Chukchi. Active investigates the theft of an Inupiat mummy in this mystery, noteworthy for its fully realized Arctic setting. (ALA214, $11.00)
Shaman Pass  •  Stan Jones MYSTERY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES The second installation in Jones's Nathan Active mystery series, starring an Alaska state trooper from Anchorage living in Chukchi. Active investigates the theft of an Inupiat mummy in this mystery, noteworthy for its fully realized Arctic setting. (ALA214, $11.00)
The Stars, the Snow, the Fire  •  John Haines BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 162 PAGES A beautifully crafted series of quiet essays on wilderness, wildlife and making a home in the tundra and boreal forest on the Tanana River in Alaska (where the author homesteaded for 25 years). Haines' vision as a poet shines in his sparkling images and prose. Originally published in 1989, many of the chapters were first published in magazines. (ALA154, $15.00)
To the Top of the Continent  •  Frederick A. Cook EXPLORATION •  1996 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES The 90th anniversary edition of the much-debated account by Frederick Cook of his first-ever ascent of Mount McKinley (1903-1906), published by the Frederick Cook Society and including a history of the controversy, additional corroborating source material and a report of a 1994 expedition by Ted Heckathorn. With a selection of archival photographs and illustrations. Here you can read what the explorer himself said about the expedition. Apart from any question of Cooks character or claims, his book is a classic of mountaineering. (ALA83, $19.95)
Trains of Discovery, Western Railroads and the National Parks/Collector's Guide  •  Alfred Runte HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES A celebration of the romance of rail travel, this book features wonderful period advertisements, archival and modern photographs, showing how the railroad contributed to the development of the National Park System. An illustrated tribute to American railroads and national parks, featuring period advertisements, posters and memorabilia of Glacier, Grand Canyon and Denali National Parks. (USW56, $19.95)
Where the Sea Breaks its Back  •  Corey Ford EXPLORATION •  1992 •  PAPER  • 206 PAGES A gripping tale of naturalist Georg Steller and Bering's Second Expedition in 1741. Chronicling one of the great stories of exploration, Ford paints a vivid portrait of Steller and his first encounter with the wildlife of the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Alaskan coast. A classic, first published in 1966, it's subtitled "The Epic Story of Early Naturalist Georg Steller and the Russian Exploration of Alaska." (ALA07, $14.95)
The Wilderness of Denali, Explorations of a Hunter-Naturalist in Northern Alaska  •  Charles Sheldon  •  C. Hart Merriam TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES Originally published by Scribner's in 1930, this classic memoir covers Sheldon's three years camping and hunting the area of Alaska surrounding Mt. McKinley. (ALA108, $21.95)
Wilderness, A Journal of Quiet Adventure in Alaska  •  Doug Capra  •  Rockwell Kent TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 204 PAGES Rockwell Kent, the acclaimed illustrator of Moby Dick and Shakespeare's Complete Works, was, among other things, an adventurer with a particular interest in remote destinations. This journal, featuring Kent's woodcuts, describes a trip to Alaska with his 9-year-old son in 1918. Over a course of 7 months, headquartered in a rustic island cabin near Seward, the father and son rekindle their bond. (ALA106, $18.95)
Wildflowers of Denali National Park  •  Verna Pratt  •  Frank G. Pratt FIELD GUIDE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 166 PAGES A compact guide to wildflowers of Denali, organized by color and featuring large color photographs along with handy checklists. With an overview and of good spots within the park to appreciate plants. (ALA75, $16.95)
Winterdance, The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod  •  Gary Paulsen TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Teenagers will especially enjoy Paulsen's spellbinding account of the 17-day journey (which could also be read aloud to youngsters). Paulsen, a novice, survived the journey with his sense of humor intact. (ALA58, $15.00)
Working on the Edge, Surviving in the World's Most Dangerous Profession  •  Alan Walker HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 280 PAGES Enthralling, if not somewhat pulpy, these true-life tales of crab fishing expeditions off the coast of Alaska capture all the danger and adrenaline that go with making a living at sea. For authenticity's sake, the author served as a crewman on numerous boats and saw first-hand the risks -- and the money -- involved in Alaska's commercial fishing industry. (ALA158, $15.95)
Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park Map  •  Trails Illustrated MAP A folded, full-color map of Alaska's Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park with good topographic relief at a scale of 1:375,000. Printed on tearproof, water-resistant tyvek. (ALA110, $9.95)