Alaska Homesteader's Handbook: Independent Living on the Last Frontier

Alaska Homesteader's Handbook: Independent Living on the Last Frontier

Alaska Homesteader's Handbook: Independent Living on the Last Frontier

Alaska Homesteader's Handbook: Independent Living on the Last Frontier

eBook

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Overview

The Alaska Homesteader's Handbook is a remarkable compilation of practical information for living in one of the most impractical and inhospitable landscapes in the United States.

More than forty pioneer types ranging from their mid-nineties to mid-twenties describe their reasons for choosing to live their lives in Alaska and offer useful instructions and advice that made that life more livable. Whether it be how to live among bears, build an outhouse, cross a river, or make birch syrup, each story gives readers a window to a life most will never know but many still dream about. Fifty photographs and 150 line drawings illustrate the real-life experiences of Alaska settlers such as 1930s New Deal colonists, demobilized military who stayed after World War II, dream-seekers from the '60s and '70s, and myriad others who staked their claim in Alaska.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780882409177
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Publication date: 01/01/2013
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 162
File size: 13 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Tricia Brown is a writer, editor, freelancer, program and book developer, journalist, quilter, mother, grandmother and wife. Her work has been nationally honored for compassionate, insightful depictions of Alaska natives and for children's literature. She began her award-winning literary career in journalism, and in 1984 was the founding editor of Heartland, the Sunday magazine of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Later she wrote for the Anchorage Daily News, then shifted into editing the popular monthly magazine Alaska, with a readership of more than a quarter million. She lives in Alaska.
Nancy Gates has gathered information and compiled the updates for the Alaska Almanac for the past nine years from her home office in the state.

Read an Excerpt

It’s a big job [living in the wilderness]. You have to be willing to tighten your belt. Don’t think Alaska’s going to pay your bills, financial or otherwise. You’ve got to pay your own way. Alaska wants anybody who’s willing to carry his own burdens, anyone who’s willing to give more than 100 percent. You’ve got to be willing to work twice as hard as other people, and be self-sufficient. And don’t blame others for your problems. You have to bump your own head. When you open that cupboard door, and you rise up under it, you know it’s not the first time, and it’s not the fault of the carpenter who put the door there. You’ve got to be practical. You know, practicality is kind of scarce. The greatest thing you’ll ever meet in Alaska is yourself. It’s an awfully pretty spot that gives you a chance to really live life. Martha and I are so grateful [for our time in the Arctic]. In fact, we’re still there—in spirit. It’s home. It will always be home.

Table of Contents

Map — 3, Foreword: Proving Up the Alaska Way — 7, vIntroduction: The Book of Experience — 8, How to Live Off the Grid — 10, How to Dress for Below-Zero Temps — 13, How to Bake in a Wood-Fired Oven — 16, How to Start a Chainsaw — 18, How to Avoid an Avalanche — 21, How to Build a Snowmachine Sled — 24, How to Field Dress a Moose — 30, How to Take Care of Your Sourdough — 33, How to Build a Dock — 36, How to Cross a River Safely — 40, How to Live Among Bears — 42, How to Build a Steambath — 46, How to Age Game Meat — 50, How to Build a Dog Team — 54, How to Operate a “Bush Maytag” — 58, How to Build an Outhouse — 61, How to Catch a King Salmon — 64, How to Read a River — 67, How to Put in a Winter Water Hole — 70, How to Lay a Woodstove Fire — 73, How to Identify Edible Berries — 76, How to Build a Cache — 79, How to Keep Moose Out of the Garden — 82, How to Land a Bush Plane — 85, How to Build a Root Cellar — 88, How to Handle Isolation — 91, How to Make Zucchini Bread — 95, How to Grow Giant Cabbages — 98, How to Make Birch Syrup — 102, How to Travel with Packhorses — 105, How to Build an Airstrip — 108, How to Feed and Water your Family — 112, How to Smoke Salmon — 116, How to Assemble a First Aid Kit — 119, How to Use Horsepower to Haul Wood — 122, How to Tie Useful Knots — 125, How to Avoid—or Survive—Falling Through the Ice — 129, How to Can Salmon on the Beach — 132, How to Overwinter Chickens — 135, How to Spin Dog Fur — 138, How to Build an Icehouse — 141, How to Run a Trapline — 144, How to Survive Alaska Winters in Tent — 148, Acknowledgements — 152, Reading List — 155, Index — 158

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“As someone who loves esoteric knowledge and timeless homesteading and survival skills, this book fascinated me. In addition to being an interesting read, the book could also serve as a preparedness manual.” –Leon Patenburg, The Sportsman Pages blog

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