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Summary: Perfect "escape" for long distance drivers.
Review: Set in the expanse of the closest thing to true wilderness in the U.S., this tape instantly swept me away. I was angered each time I had to interrupt my listening with another troublesome sales call. This tape was set just far enough in the past to cause the listener to draw on his imagination yet close enough geographicaly to allow us to clutch the events closely. Seldom have I felt so much a part of a story. What a great escape! I have listened to this tape many times and will again and again...
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read in every sence
Review: Simply put, this is just a great book. Michener has got to be the only author that can keep me page turning for over a 1000 pages! Though it took me a while to read, I had the sence that I was reading 10 fantasic novels that all related to the same place. Of course, that's Michener's style. The Source is still my favorite Michener novel, but this one came in a close second. Having read 4 of his books now, I'd say that this one differs in the way Michener carries his characters from Chapter to chapter. You really get a sence of wonder for the history of the land and it's intregue as you read about a character who reappears as an older person in another chapter. The last few chapters are great, as you understand more about the main characters family histories than they do! Alaska really book ends itself well. Some Michener novels cover such a broad spectrum of time that the chapters feel detatched and all together seperate. However, Alaska remains a novel first and foremost about the land itself, and there is just as much wonder and danger in the last chapter as the first. I'm so glad I read this book and can't wait to read another of Michener's books.
Rating: 
Summary: A good history lesson...not a great read.
Review: So I picked up this book because my father-in-law loves Michener and we were fortunate enough to take an Alaskan cruise this summer. You see the book everywhere in Alaska, and I'm a fan of historical fiction.
For over 1000 pages, this book is a bit of a dissapointment. When you're finished, you feel as though you know a good deal about our largest state. This was great, but the drawback is that you don't feel like the story has an coherency. To be fair to the author, this would be very difficult to do when attempting to cover the history of a region starting with the dawn of history. How can a writer connect the life of a primitive Eskimo to a modern day one? Perhaps it would have been more manageable to focus on one period of history and tell the story well.
The other questionable aspect of this book is the way in which the author seems to "cram" in as many unique elements of Alaskan life and history as possible. For example, no book about Alaska would be complete without a reference to the Iditerod. Michener rushes this element into the book at the very end with little connection to the rest of the story.
All in all, if you'd like a general overview of the region, this would be a good choice. But if you're looking for a well crafted story, you might want to avoid this one.
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Summary: Brilliantly explains Alaska's evolution
Review: The Best!!! A compelling, brilliantly woven story that explains how Alaska evolved from the days of the mastodons to its current environmental and social justice issues. The BIG PICTURE as only Michener can display it. This book explains the ethnic, geological, zoological, and political roots of *all* Alaska's current predicaments. Very educational and a fabulous can't-put-it-down read into the bargain. If you can only read one book about Alaska, this is the one!
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Summary: Two books that are a must read if interested in Alaska
Review: There are two books that are a must read if you or anyone you know is intersted in Alaska. They are ALASKA by James Michener and LOOKING FOR ALASKA by Peter Jenkins. Remember Jenkins from his book, A WALK ACROSS AMERICA, Michener from so many big sellers like TEXAS. Michener offers more of the history, in his fact-ion kind of style, Jenkins offers many fascinating views of real people and actual places from today. Michener wrote this book in the 70's and it is a very, very long book, so there is thirty years of Alaska that is no where to be found and this place has changed so much in that time. Peter Jenkins lived there for a year and a half in 1999 through the end of 2000 and traveled thousands of miles in search of the amazing Alaska of today. I wish Jenkins had included more history, is there a place that has had much more of a diverse and fascinating one than Alaska, I wish Michener had met more of the actual people and gone to the actual places and lived the Alaska life like Jenkins did. For these reasons I suggest both books to the several thousand people every year that I work with as they plan their tours of The Last Frontier. Many of my clients have told me after reading these books and going to Alaska that the books greatly enriched their trip and made them go back. One couple I book travel for has been to Alaska five times in the last three years!
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Summary: A great introduction to Alaska AND James Michener
Review: This audio book highlights the best parts of Mr. Michener's famous work on Alaska.Peter Graves is at his best in delivering the story of Missy, Tom and the others in their travels. The audio book makes a wonderful companion for all ages, especially when travelling a long distance. Especially notable is the editing of Mr. Michener's 600 page book to focus on the story of Missy, Tom and the others, while carrying the timeline in an easily understandable fashion. Having lived in Alaska myself, I found the narrative to be refreshingly accurate in portraying much of the history and landmarks. My wife, who has not yet visited Alaska, is looking forward to our cruise, which will pass by the very inlets and landmarks referred to in the tapes. As we will be small-ship cruising, you can bet we will each have our headphones on and this audio book playing in the evenings as we enjoy our visit to these beautiful areas!
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Summary: I Did Visit Alaska After Reading
Review: This book is among my favorites. I have read most or many of his books twice and always find them to be entertaining and educational. I keep a copy of Hawaii, Alaska, and Texas near at hand. This is a nice 850 page historical novel that gives a very detailed picture of the evolution of a great state. Alaska is one of the last places to have a very clean and unspoiled environment where fish can still be seen to just jump out of the ocean. Michener's books use a common plot formula that starts out by telling a story that in some way reflects and utilizes accurately the actual or known historical developments and time lines and people of a region. The story progresses through the development of the region starting with the very early people that came from Asia, he adds in settlers, bush pilots, fisherman, salmon canning factories, business people, etc. adding in more characters and phasing out others as time moves forward up to current times. When I decided to review this book I was not certain if people were still interested in buying this book but I was pleased to see that there is still interest at Amazon.com in buying and reading this great story. After this read this book I visited Alaska. If you have the resources I recommend a fishing trip to Alaska assuming that you like fishing - or just a wilderness trip. Alaska is cool even in the summers, but the clear waters, mountains and all the unspoiled wilderness and animals make it a special place. If you cannot go, then read this book. If you can go, read this first. Good read and a good gift. Jack in Toronto
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Summary: My first Michener experience...will not be my last
Review: This book was a surprise gift to me after I mentioned that I love Alaska and am fascinated with the place. I let it languish on the shelf for over two years and only picked it up with passing interest. I became enthralled with Michener's style of weaving historical and archeological tidbits into a fictionalized portrayal of the eons of geological forces and peoples that have shaped Alaska's culture and landscape. This is a fascinating look at a fascinating part of this Earth, and Michener is a formidable storyteller. While not the best writing I've encountered, it's good enough to turn what might otherwise have been a rather ho-hum narrative into a book that on several occasions I haven't wanted to put down to go to bed.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome. It had me captured from start to finish.
Review: This book was an eye opener. I know most characters were ficticious, but the events were real. My heart goes out to the indigenous people and eskimos. White colonialists were real monsters, whether Russian or American. Greed is prevailent, no matter at what cost. The book was awesome. Alaska created history from the being. It really captured me from start to finish, and I long to go a see the cities of Sitka, Juneau, Nome. And visit the Aleution Islands. No one has ever explained to me how the the earths plates moved to form continents and mountains - until now, in plain language. The way James A. Michener tells the story of the wild animals and the sockeye salmon is as though they were human beings. Great Book, Great Read. A treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and educational
Review: This is a typical michener book of fictional and non fictional characters and events. I found the whole description of the salmon business in Alaska very interesting and especially liked reading about the chaos that endured during the gold rush era. Any michener fan will enjoy this one.
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