The best books about Alaska

Who picked these books? Meet our 112 experts.

112 authors created a book list connected to Alaska, and here are their favorite Alaska books.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission

What type of Alaska book?

Loading...
Loading...

Living High

By June Burn,

Book cover of Living High: An Unconventional Autobiography

Margaret Meps Schulte Author Of Strangers Have the Best Candy

From the list on getting you talking to strangers.

Who am I?

When I was a youngster, my parents took me on 6-week journeys across the United States by car. We'd stop in a small town each night, and I would explore on foot and meet other kids at the swimming pool or ice cream shop. That slow mode of travel has become my default, and I've spent years exploring back roads, small towns, and bywaters by car, bicycle, and sailboat. I write about the strangers I've found and the "candy" I've gotten from them: strangers have lessons for all of us and are not as dangerous as we've been told.

Margaret's book list on getting you talking to strangers

Discover why each book is one of Margaret's favorite books.

Why did Margaret love this book?

Sometimes, when we read history, it seems so dry and different from our own lives that it's hard to comprehend. In the 1920s and 30s, June Burn homesteaded on an island in the San Juans, lived in Alaska, and traveled across the country with a donkey cart. Yet I can envision myself in her adventurous life because her views were so much like my own. She was a feminist and a strong, brave woman who used her writing as an excuse to talk to strangers.

By June Burn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Living High as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Courage, gaiety, and a fresh approach to life are reflected in this unconventional autobiography. It is a story of twentieth-century pioneers as resourceful as ever they were in the days of the old frontier. June Burn and her husband Farrar determined to go their own sweet way, enjoying first hand living and not surrendering to the routines of a workaday world. Through the years they had some high and glorious adventures, which included homesteading a gumdrop in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, teaching Eskimos near Siberia, and exploring the United States by donkey cart with a baby…


Balto of the Blue Dawn

By Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (illustrator),

Book cover of Balto of the Blue Dawn

Natalie Rompella Author Of Cookie Cutters & Sled Runners

From the list on middle grade sled-dogs.

Who am I?

Sled dog racing? I knew nothing about it most of my life. I became interested after writing a nonfiction book on the history of sled dog racing. So interested, I wrote a novel on it—Cookie Cutters & Sled Runners. I attended local sprint races and even traveled to Alaska to see the start of the Iditarod. I learned so much watching the mushers prepare and the excitement of the dogs. I still enjoy watching the Iditarod, the Yukon Quest, and local sprint races. I’m excited to share a list of great sled-dog books. What I like about my list is that all the books are so different! 

Natalie's book list on middle grade sled-dogs

Discover why each book is one of Natalie's favorite books.

Why did Natalie love this book?

This sled dog book is both fantasy and historical fiction—a truly unique genre mix. Jack and Annie travel back to Nome in 1925 during the diphtheria epidemic to help with the sled dog relay to deliver the serum. The Author’s Note at the end tells a bit more about the history of the serum race. This book is part of the Magic Tree House’s Merlin Mission series, which is for readers who want a bit more of a challenge. 

By Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Balto of the Blue Dawn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system!

The magic tree house has returned and it’s taking Jack and Annie back in time to Alaska, 1925. There they meet Balto, a jet-black Siberian husky destined to save victims of the diphtheria epidemic. But the trail isn’t easy, and Balto is going to need Jack and Annie’s help!

Formerly numbered as Magic Tree House #54, the title of this book is now Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #26: Balto of the Blue Dawn.

Did you know that there’s…


Sam's Folly

By Carmen DeSousa,

Book cover of Sam's Folly

Tina Wainscott Author Of Wild Lies

From the list on action/suspense romance with hot heroes and heart.

Who am I?

I love the combination of action and romance and suspense. It’s a real juggle as an author to balance the two main elements (suspense and romance mostly), give each depth and page time, and make us care about the people both in love and in peril. I’ve always been drawn to suspense, even as a kid. But I gotta have the relationships, too. I used to direct plays with my childhood friends, and there were always bad guys and the romance—and this was long before I was thinking of having a real romance!

Tina's book list on action/suspense romance with hot heroes and heart

Discover why each book is one of Tina's favorite books.

Why did Tina love this book?

This story has a great combination of romance and suspense and action. You gotta love Sam, who's just trying to keep his family's rescue organization going and has such strong loyalty toward his family. And Nora's courageous and feisty, just trying to survive from a dangerous situation. Carmen’s books are low on the explicit and violence/gore scale, which is perfect when you want to go on a ride without all of the extraneous cursing and whatnot. 

By Carmen DeSousa,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sam's Folly as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Midnight Sons ~ Men as Wild and Rugged as The Last Frontier Itself

Five brothers risk their lives to rescue those caught in the death grip of the Alaska wilderness...and find their hearts in danger of falling for women as tough as the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Series Description:

The siren call of Alaska's untamed wilderness, vast mountain ranges, and majestic glaciers draw thrill-seekers from around the globe. But with more unsolved missing person cases than anywhere else in the world, the Alaska Triangle has an ominous reputation. Enter the Midnight Sons, a team that risks their own…


Book cover of Tales of Alaska's Bush Rat Governor: The Extraordinary Autobiography of Jay Hammond Wilderness Guide and Reluctant Politician

Walter R. Borneman Author Of Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land

From the list on Alaska first-person accounts.

Who am I?

I wanted to visit Alaska since high school. It took me a couple of decades to make good on the urge, but I have made numerous trips. Alaska has everything I have always loved about Colorado, but in superlatives. From a historical standpoint, Alaska means mountains, mining, and railroads, exactly what I have written about in the lower forty-eight. Outdoors, there has never been any place that makes me happier than climbing mountains or rafting rivers. Spend two weeks in the Brooks Range with just one buddy without seeing another human and one comes to understand the land—and appreciate stories from people who do, too! 

Walter's book list on Alaska first-person accounts

Discover why each book is one of Walter's favorite books.

Why did Walter love this book?

Alaska’s politics have always been a blood sport, in part because participants are usually down-to-earth, no-nonsense Alaskans bound and determined to do what they think is right no matter the consequences—even if it costs them an election. 

A former Marine pilot with the famed “Black Sheep” squadron, Jay Hammond came north as a bush pilot and at statehood in 1959 was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives. His self-deprecating accounts of the political battles of the next quarter of a century, including the Permanent Fund, are sure to bring more than a chuckle. I once looked out an aircraft window to see a small plane upside down on a dirt runway at Hamond’s homestead some miles from Port Alsworth. Inquiring, I was told, “Oh, don't worry, Jay’s fine; he just bounced on a bad landing.”

By Jay S. Hammond,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tales of Alaska's Bush Rat Governor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The former governor of Alaska recounts his childhood, education, war experiences, and political career


Time and Again

By Jack Finney,

Book cover of Time and Again

Stoney Compton Author Of Treadwell: A Novel of Alaska Territory

From the list on accurate immersion in a past time and place.

Who am I?

As a child I read and experienced history books as adventures. Adventure drew me to Alaska after a hitch in the Navy. I wanted to write an accurate historical novel about Juneau and the Treadwell Mine and began my research. I knew the Alaska Historical Library was the perfect place to begin. When I discovered the extensive photo collections, I flashed back to my admiration of the historical novels that impressed me. I borrowed technique and structure from all and incorporated imagery in my manuscript. My main goal was to successfully immerse the reader in a good novel about 1915 in Alaska Territory.

Stoney's book list on accurate immersion in a past time and place

Discover why each book is one of Stoney's favorite books.

Why did Stoney love this book?

Being a romantic I loved Time and Again (as well as the movie) for the story’s construction. I appreciate verisimilitude in historical novels and Finney has done his homework. Having briefly visited New York City twice, I do not know it personally. 

Finney makes it breathe in 1882 with fascinating detail that never bores, and by using photographs. I thought the novel was perfect, and it stuck in my head as much for production/construction values as well as the story. When I first researched Treadwell at the Alaska Historical Library in Juneau I came across dozens of photographs, and the form for the novel coalesced in my head.

In retrospect I realize the novels I loved taught me about the architecture of story as well as entertaining me.

By Jack Finney,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Time and Again as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Si Morley is bored with his job as a commercial illustrator and his social life doesn't seem to be going anywhere. So, when he is approached by an affable ex-football star and told that he is just what the government is looking for to take part in a top-secret programme, he doesn't hesitate for too long. And so one day Si steps out of his twentieth-century, New York apartment and finds himself back in January 1882. There are no cars, no planes, no computers, no television and the word 'nuclear' appears in no dictionaries. For Si, it's very like Eden,…


The Sea Runners

By Ivan Doig,

Book cover of The Sea Runners

Kim Brown Seely Author Of Uncharted: A Couple's Epic Empty-Nest Adventure Sailing from One Life to Another

From the list on sailors, sea adventurers, and romantics at heart.

Who am I?

Kim Brown Seely was born and raised in Southern California and graduated from Stanford University. A Lowell Thomas Journalist of the Year, she has worked in publishing on both coasts, including as senior editor at Travel + Leisure magazine, contributing editor at National Geographic Adventure, and travel editor at Microsoft and Amazon. Her memoir Uncharted: A Couple’s Epic Empty-Nest Adventure Sailing from One Life to Another was named one of the best books about retirement by the Wall Street Journal and is also a Nautilus Award Winner. She has traveled to more than thirty countries for Virtuoso magazine, where she's a contributing writer and has won more than a dozen writing awards for her work.  

Kim's book list on sailors, sea adventurers, and romantics at heart

Discover why each book is one of Kim's favorite books.

Why did Kim love this book?

An exquisite novel, Doig’s The Sea Runners combines the suspense and drama of a great escape with lovely, spare descriptions of the Northwest Coast’s sea, wind, and space.

Based on an account of three men who survived a coastal canoe voyage from indentureship in Russian Alaska during the winter of 1852, it is a remarkable story of the human spirit versus inhuman elements.  

By Ivan Doig,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sea Runners as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Based on an actual incident in 1853, award-winning author Ivan Doig's The Sea Runners is a spare and awe-inspiring tale of the human quest for freedom.

"Goes beyond being 'about' survival and becomes, mile by terrible mile, the experience itself."—New York Times Book Review

In this timeless survival story, four indentured servants escape their Russian Alaska work camp in a stolen canoe, only to face a harrowing journey down the Pacific Northwest coast. Battling unrelenting high seas and fierce weather from New Archangel, Alaska, to Astoria, Oregon, the men struggle to avoid hostile Tlingit Indians, to fend off starvation and…


Dirt Work

By Christine Byl,

Book cover of Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods

Sean Prentiss Author Of Crosscut: Poems

From the list on trail building and traildogs.

Who am I?

In 1997, I was hired by the Northwest Youth Corps as a trail crew leader. That season, and across five more seasons, I built trails across the Pacific Northwest and Desert Southwest, including in many national parks. Since then, I have been in love with backpacking trails (including hiking the Long Trail and Colorado Trail), building trails, and writing about trails (Crosscut: Poems). I now live in Vermont with my wife and daughter. We have a trail we built that weaves through our woods.

Sean's book list on trail building and traildogs

Discover why each book is one of Sean's favorite books.

Why did Sean love this book?

Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods is a memoir about Byl’s experience as a trail builder in Glacier National Park and Cordova and Denali, Alaska. All too often, books about physical labor highlight a male perspective. It is wonderful to have Byl’s perspective on her life as a trail builder. Byl so stunningly weaves vignettes about a life working in the woods. Her stories teach us about physical and intellectual labor and do so beautifully.

By Christine Byl,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dirt Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A lively and lyrical account of one woman’s unlikely apprenticeship on a national park trail crew—and what she discovers about nature, gender, and the value of hard work
 
Christine Byl first encountered the national parks the way most of us do: on vacation. But after she graduated from college, broke and ready for a new challenge, she joined a Glacier National Park trail crew as a seasonal “traildog” maintaining mountain trails for the millions of visitors Glacier draws every year. Byl first thought of the job as a paycheck, a summer diversion, a welcome break from “the real world” before…


Book cover of Dwellers in the Mirage

Robert Evert Author Of Sword of Betrayal

From the list on forgotten fantasies.

Who am I?

Although I was part of a large family, I frequently felt alone growing up. While my siblings were busy playing sports or running around with their friends, I sat by myself in the basement, reading fantasy stories. Eventually, I began creating my own worlds and published the Riddle in Stone series and Sword of Betrayal. I suppose I’m still trying to find a place where I fit in.

Robert's book list on forgotten fantasies

Discover why each book is one of Robert's favorite books.

Why did Robert love this book?

Leif Langdon is a modern-day explorer who discovers a hidden valley in Alaska and is thrown into a fantastical land where two strange races of people worship an evil Kraken. Leif’s arrival casts the alternative world into chaos—including awakening a powerful incarnation of Leif himself. Originally published in 1932, Dwellers in the Mirage is a classic fantasy story few contemporary readers have had the privilege to enjoy.

By A. Merritt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dwellers in the Mirage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

MERRITT'S MASTERWORK – OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD!

Two men in one body! That's how Lief Langdon had always felt. One part of him was a modern day adventurer, the other was a strange half-memory of another life where he was a High Priest sacrificing living people to Khalk'ru, a demon god from another time and space. Then Langdon stumbled through the mirage into a hidden Arctic valley, where he fell under the spell of Evalie, as beautiful outwardly as she was inwardly, and her friends the Little People, elfin warriors constantly warring with Lur, the Witch-Woman, and her demon…


Taken by Midnight

By Lara Adrian,

Book cover of Taken by Midnight

Selene Kallan Author Of Huntress Prey

From the list on vampires with a unique, spicy bite.

Who am I?

I’m a paranormal fantasy author who loves vampires. They’re my favorite supernatural creatures. I think my obsession with vamps started when I saw Underworld for the first time. I had watched Blade before and thought, “I’d like to see a movie with just as much action but also romance” and voila! Some prefer the darker, less romantic vampire stories in which the bloodsuckers are monsters, but I prefer to read and write stories where they’re more than just their hunger. So if you’re like me and like a good combination of vampire action and seduction, you will probably enjoy the books on my list. 

Selene's book list on vampires with a unique, spicy bite

Discover why each book is one of Selene's favorite books.

Why did Selene love this book?

I love the entire Midnight Breed series. The lore is unlike what I've ever seen in most vampire books. The vampire race was born from alien fathers and human mothers with special talents. These vamps can see their reflections, are not allergic to holy water, and are very much alive. So sexily alive. I spent a solid hour trying to choose one favorite book from this series. They’re all so bloody good! However, Taken by Midnight has some of my fave tropes: badass heroine, protective but gentle hero, interracial relationship, and all the spice. If you like vampires with a unique twist, you’ll love this series.

By Lara Adrian,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Taken by Midnight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Her desire for revenge is ice cold...

In the frozen wilds of the Alaskan interior, former state trooper Jenna Darrow was taken hostage by a deadly vampire who terrorized her for hours, feeding on her blood and leaving her more dead than alive. But Jenna did survive - albeit as an altered being...

Now Jenna wants revenge on that vampire, and for that she must turn to the very race of beings who terrify her the most: the Breed. But of all the Breed warriors it is Brock, the immense, forbidding male who makes Jenna feel most at ease. Even…


Stickeen

By John Muir,

Book cover of Stickeen: John Muir and the Brave Little Dog

Kim Heacox Author Of John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire: How a Visionary and the Glaciers of Alaska Changed America

From the list on John Muir.

Who am I?

Kim Heacox has written 15 books, five of them published by National Geographic. He has twice won the National Outdoor Book Award (for his memoir, The Only Kayak, and his novel, Jimmy Bluefeather), and twice won the Lowell Thomas Award for excellence in travel journalism. He’s featured on Ken Burns’ film, The National Parks, America's Best Idea, and he’s spoken about John Muir on Public Radio International’s Living on Earth. He lives in Gustavus, Alaska (next to Glacier Bay Nat’l Park), a small town of 500 people reachable only by boat or plane.

Kim's book list on John Muir

Discover why each book is one of Kim's favorite books.

Why did Kim love this book?

When Muir made his second great canoe trip in Alaska, in 1880, one of his canoe-mates, a Presbyterian missionary, brought along a little terrier named Stickeen. At first, Muir didn’t like the dog. But later, the two spent a cold, wet day exploring a massive glacier, and barely survived. Muir called it the greatest of his many adventure stories. The illustrations in this book are exaggerated, but stunning. You can almost feel the cold, and the elation man and dog feel at the end as they become fast friends.

By John Muir,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stickeen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First published as "An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier" in 1897 in "The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine" and then expanded into a book and published in 1909, "Stickeen" by American naturalist John Muir is one of literature's most enduring dog stories. Based on a trip he took to Alaska in 1880 with a dog Stickeen and their trek out on a glacier, this short memoir is one of Muir's best-known publications whose enduring appeal has resulted in numerous adaptations and retellings. This thrilling and heart-warming tale follows Muir as he sets out to explore a glacier with the…


The Grizzly Maze

By Nick Jans,

Book cover of The Grizzly Maze: Timothy Treadwell's Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears

Pat Toth-Smith Author Of Wild Among Us: True adventures of a female wildlife photographer who stalks bears, wolves, mountain lions, wild horses and other elusive wildlife

From the list on animal adventures to experience the wild side.

Who am I?

My journey to wildlife storytelling had a very unusual beginning, I started out as a wildlife photographer with an intense curiosity for bears and other North American wildlife. I would pursue these animals wherever it took me and ended up with a large photographic portfolio of these majestic creatures. This quest resulted in remarkable, interesting, and sometimes dangerous wildlife encounters, which I shared in my book, Wild Among Us. My combination of images and storytelling has been a complete immersive experience and has made me appreciate the varied and specific behaviors each animal possesses. These unique adaptive animal behaviors when presented with an interesting adventure story always has interested and captivated me.

Pat's book list on animal adventures to experience the wild side

Discover why each book is one of Pat's favorite books.

Why did Pat love this book?

This book depicts the death of Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard in 2003 by an Alaskan brown bear at Katmai National Park.  The reader is provided a wealth of information but must decide for themselves what really happened. As a past bear observer at Katmai National Park, I camped near brown bears twice, but in the parks designated electrified, fenced-in camping area, which was starkly different from Treadwells’ campsite within the grizzly maze. For twelve years prior, he continued his risky behavior and was unmolested by these very tolerant bears, but his luck ran out and the terrible attack occurred in 2003. This book provides a much more balanced portrayal of the bears than the 2005 movie Grizzly Man. The unique quality of Katmai National Park is the bears have become accustomed to people being there and an uneasy truce exists if you follow the bear guidelines and behave…

By Nick Jans,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Grizzly Maze as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With a new introduction on Werner Herzog's film entitled The Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell, self-styled "bear whisperer" dared to live among the grizzlies, seeking to overturn the perception of them as dangerously aggressive animals. When he and his girlfriend were mauled, it created a media sensation.

In The Grizzly Maze, Nick Jans, a seasoned outdoor writer with a quarter century of experience writing about Alaska and bears, traces Treadwell's rise from unknown waiter in California to celebrity, providing a moving portrait of the man whose controversial ideas and behavior earned him the scorn of hunters, the adoration of animal lovers…


The Stars, the Snow, the Fire

By John Meade Haines,

Book cover of The Stars, the Snow, the Fire: Twenty-Five Years in the Alaska Wilderness

Charles Wohlforth Author Of The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change

From the list on the dark, gritty, beautiful truth of Alaska.

Who am I?

I've never been anything but a writer, despite growing up and spending my first 50 years in Alaska. Alaska has been my major topic—what else could it be in that overwhelmingly powerful place?—but it has also been my frustration, because Alaska is a real place that exists in most readers’ minds only as a romantic vision, and they resist any other version. Like the real Eskimos in my book, whose world is melting from climate change as they pump millions of barrels of crude oil from their homeland. The writers I chose are all Alaskans, like me, who tell those stories about the magical, terrifying place that lies behind the Disney version you already know.

Charles' book list on the dark, gritty, beautiful truth of Alaska

Discover why each book is one of Charles' favorite books.

Why did Charles love this book?

Haines was best known as a poet, highly respected by other writers but uncompromising and without much commercial success or recognition. This collection of essays in the form of a memoir similarly makes no compromise, dispensing with plot, characters, or even a clear sense of time and geography. Instead, Haines takes the reader deep into the mind of a lone man surviving for decades in the harshest wilderness, thinking, observing, and writing—his own mind. And the writing is so strong, it turns out, that he doesn’t need those usually necessary tools of narrative he pointedly ignores. Instead, we feel the cold, see the hypnotic stars above the snow, and feel the brittle edge of aloneness. Through sheer stylistic austerity, those dark lonely nights are real.

By John Meade Haines,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Stars, the Snow, the Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this wilderness classic, the quintessential Alaskan frontiersman relates his experiences from over twenty years as a hoemsteader. As New York Newsday has said of his work, If Alaska had not existed, Haines might well have invented it.''


Shopping for Porcupine

By Seth Kantner,

Book cover of Shopping for Porcupine: A Life in Arctic Alaska

Bradford Smith Author Of Atlin Where Everyone Knows Your Dog's Name

From the list on Northern wilderness and people who survive there.

Who am I?

Every book on my list has a personal connection. I’ve either been to these locations, have had similar experiences, or have met the authors. The connecting threads of my list are perseverance over incredible odds, survival in a harsh landscape, and the courageous and undefeatable spirit of the characters. I love all these books because they tell great stories about amazing people in the land and environs that I have made my home for my entire life.

Bradford's book list on Northern wilderness and people who survive there

Discover why each book is one of Bradford's favorite books.

Why did Bradford love this book?

This is an inspiring memoir depicting life in the arctic, living the traditional substance way of the Inupiat people. Kanter’s writing is top notch and he describes the arctic life as only one who has truly lived it can. I’ve traveled and worked in the land he loves and calls home. He nails the brutality and the rawness and the beauty and the wonder of that vast and harsh land. This book is personal and emotional and depicts a lifestyle, a land, and a culture that’s not often honestly portrayed in literature. I devoured this book and was left wanting more. I’ve met Seth and he is a great guy and a hell of a writer, in my opinion.

By Seth Kantner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shopping for Porcupine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Seth Kantner's Ordinary Wolves told the story of a white boy raised in a sod igloo on the Arctic tundra. A heartbreaking vision of a vanishing world, it established Kantner as one of the nation's most original and authentic writers. Here, he returns to the setting of his debut novel with an autobiographical account of his own life in a rapidly changing land. Beginning with his parents' migration to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1950s and extending to his own attempts to balance hunting with writing, Kantner recalls cold nights wrapped in caribou hides, fur-clad visitors arriving on dog sleds,…


Call of the Wild

By Guy Grieve,

Book cover of Call of the Wild

Sarah Goodwin Author Of Stranded

From the list on surviving in the wild, no matter the cost.

Who am I?

I’ve been fascinated by wild and lonely places since early childhood. Growing up in a small village, there were plenty to choose from. Foraging and an interest in the medicinal properties of plants grew out of that fascination, and later brought me to survival guides and the concept of survival itself. Hostile places, historical skills, and wilderness experiences all have a hold over my imagination. The notion of being prepared for humanity’s decline is something I find endlessly intriguing. Can such a thing be prepared for? What form will our destruction take and how does this affect the methods we need to survive it? I’ll probably keep reading and writing about it until we have an answer.

Sarah's book list on surviving in the wild, no matter the cost

Discover why each book is one of Sarah's favorite books.

Why did Sarah love this book?

A non-fiction account of one office worker’s yearlong attempt to survive in Alaska. As someone who finds non-fiction quite dry and hard to read, this book is the best of both worlds. It has the detail of a true account with the wit and humor of fictional story. This book gives me something that former SAS professionals and hardened explorers cannot; the experiences of an everyday man, trading his desk job for a log cabin in one of the most dangerous parts of the world. 

By Guy Grieve,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Call of the Wild as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Guy Grieve's life was going nowhere - trapped in a job he hated, commuting 2,000 miles a month and up to his neck in debt. But he dreamed of escaping it all to live alone in one of the wildest, most remote places on earth - Alaska.

And just when he'd given up hope, the dream came true. Suddenly Guy was thrown into one of the harshest environments in the world, miles from the nearest human being and armed with only the most basic equipment. And he soon found - whether building a log cabin from scratch, hunting, ice fishing…


If I Were a Bear

By Shelley Gill,

Book cover of If I Were a Bear

Terry Pierce Author Of Eat Up, Bear!

From the list on bear books toddlers can sink their teeth into.

Who am I?

I’m the author of 25 children’s books, and I recently moved to a small mountain town that has come to co-exist with wild black bears by learning how to properly store and dispose of our food (rather than the alternative, which was to eliminate the bears!). Ever since I’ve lived there, I’ve been fascinated by human-bear interactions, having a few of my own now! When Yosemite Conservancy put out a call for children’s stories, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about—how people can help keep bears safe and wild through proper food storage. I’m a huge advocate for bears and all wildlife!

Terry's book list on bear books toddlers can sink their teeth into

Discover why each book is one of Terry's favorite books.

Why did Terry love this book?

What I found most enjoyable about If I Were a Bear is that it uses a rhyming text to share simple facts about various Alaskan bears. It’s a lovely combination of lyrical writing and nonfiction, with soft watercolor illustrations by Erik Brooks. Young children love hearing rhyming texts (their brains actually need rhythm and patterns for healthy development!), so whenever I find a book with well-written rhyme that conveys factual information, it’s a winner in my book!

By Shelley Gill,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked If I Were a Bear as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the author and illustrator of If I Were a Whale and If I Were A Bird, comes this colorful, rhyming board book that playfully features bears found in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. Beautiful watercolor illustrations of bears of all sizes are sure to delight readers young and old.

Toddlers will love this fun introduction to bears, in this beautifully illustrated board book that shares facts about these amazing animals in an imaginative way.

If I were a polar bear
my ears would be small,
my feet would be furry,
I'd have barely any tail at all.


The Sun Is a Compass

By Caroline Van Hemert,

Book cover of The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey Into the Alaskan Wilds

Kathy Elkind Author Of To Walk It Is To See It: 1 Couple, 98 Days, 1400 Miles on Europe's GR5

From the list on strong women walking.

Who am I?

I had always wanted a grand adventure and I’ve always loved reading about epic journeys. When I was a teen, I read an article in National Geographic about walking the Appalachian Trail and thought, I need to do that. I grew up in an outdoorsy family and married a man who loved the outdoors even more. But we never got to an adventure until we were empty nesters. In our late fifties we decided to walk 1400 miles from the cold North Sea to the warm Mediterranean on the legendary long-distance trail the GR5. After finishing our epic journey, I needed to share my love of European walking with others.

Kathy's book list on strong women walking

Discover why each book is one of Kathy's favorite books.

Why did Kathy love this book?

I love this amazing adventure memoir because Van Hermert is much more courageous than I. As she and her husband row, trek, ski, and canoe 4,000 miles across Alaska, I get to come along for the ride without breaking a sweat. 

Van Hemert, who studied birds, uses the birds she observes as metaphors for what she is feeling, and this increases the depth of her writing. She and her husband take this journey before having children, and I like comparing it to my husband and my journey after our kids had flown the nest. I highly recommend this well-written wild journey of a book.

By Caroline Van Hemert,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Sun Is a Compass as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals.

In March of 2012 she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic. Travelling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft and canoe, they explored northern…


The Way of the Brave

By Susan May Warren,

Book cover of The Way of the Brave

Rebecca Hartt Author Of Returning to Eden

From the list on Christian military romance about overcoming fear.

Who am I?

My passion and expertise for writing Christian Military Romance stems from the fact that I was a military wife—twice. My first husband, an Army officer died eight years into our marriage. I then married a petty officer in the Navy—all this on top of growing up all over the world as my father worked in the foreign service. As someone who views the world through the lens of faith and who relies on God to overcome hardship, I'm convinced that the elite warriors who protect us and who fight giants on our behalf must also rely on faith. Tie all those elements together, and, voilá, you have a Rebecca Hartt Acts of Valor book!

Rebecca's book list on Christian military romance about overcoming fear

Discover why each book is one of Rebecca's favorite books.

Why did Rebecca love this book?

Finding a book in my genre that checks off all of my cravings isn’t easy.

But Susan May Warren succeeds every time. I adore this book because it features my favorite types of characters—a Navy SEAL with a psychologist/PTSD specialist. This couple, Jenny and Orion, pick up on a romance they began back in the dangerous desert of Afghanistan, but the majority of the story takes place on the peak of Alaska’s highest mountain, the Denali.

While I’ve only been to the airport in Alaska, now I feel like I have been to that wild, untamed state. Of all the authors I have mentioned so far, Susan May Warren writes books most like my own, with themes of sacrifice and forgiveness. Mrs. Warren weaves God’s truths so deftly into the never-ending action of the plot, that you’ll never once feel like she’s banging you over the head with her convictions.…

By Susan May Warren,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Way of the Brave as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Former pararescue jumper Orion Starr is haunted by the memory of a rescue gone wrong. He may be living alone in Alaska now, but the pain of his failure--and his injuries--has followed him there from Afghanistan. He has no desire to join Hamilton Jones's elite rescue team, but he also can't shirk his duty when the call comes in to rescue three lost climbers on Denali.

Former CIA profiler and psychiatrist Jenny Calhoun's yearly extreme challenge with her best friends is her only escape from the guilt that has sunk its claws into her. As a consultant during a top-secret…


Book cover of Coming Into the Country

Mike Gerrard Author Of Snakes Alive and Other Travel Writing

From the list on US travel writing chosen by a travel writer.

Who am I?

I always wanted to be a writer but never thought I’d become a travel writer. And like many British teenagers, I also had a passion for the USA – its movies, its music, its writers – but never imagined I would end up living in Arizona. I’ve now traveled in the US widely and understand why its landscapes, its people, and its culture have produced so much good travel writing. It’s a country that’s inspiring and surprising in equal measure, ever-changing, vast, and even though I didn’t grow up there it certainly made me who I am. 

Mike's book list on US travel writing chosen by a travel writer

Discover why each book is one of Mike's favorite books.

Why did Mike love this book?

Before I went to Alaska for the first time, I did some background reading and thankfully discovered this book and the writing of John McPhee. He and Alaska were made for each other. He’s the kind of writer who is interested in everything, and everyone, and conveys his curiosity and his discoveries with enthusiasm. Alaska is unique, as is McPhee’s style of writing, jumping from topic to topic as the mood – and his journey – takes him, and hauling the reader along with him. He’s the kind of traveling companion who’s forever saying: let’s see what’s down there, I wonder how that works, let’s go talk to that guy.

By John McPhee,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Coming Into the Country as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Coming into the Country is an unforgettable account of Alaska and Alaskans. It is a rich tapestry of vivid characters, observed landscapes, and descriptive narrative, in three principal segments that deal, respectively, with a total wilderness, with urban Alaska, and with life in the remoteness of the bush.

Readers of McPhee's earlier books will not be unprepared for his surprising shifts of scene and ordering of events, brilliantly combined into an organic whole. In the course of this volume we are made acquainted with the lore and techniques of placer mining, the habits and legends of the barren-ground grizzly, the…


Hanover House

By Brenda Novak,

Book cover of Hanover House

Christopher Murphy Author Of Where the Boys Are: Murder, Martinis and Mayhem... Boys Will Be Boys

From the list on twisty thrillers to keep you guessing until the end.

Who am I?

I’m an activist, artist, and author of the breakout thriller, Where The Boys Are and The Other Side of the Mirror. I specialize in thrillers that highlight diverse characters (LGBTQ+ and people of color.) I’m a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and the Hurston/Wright Writers Foundation. As a graphic designer/copywriter/marketer by day and author by night, I can usually be found creating and designing behind the bright neon glow of my laptop. When I’m not writing, I enjoy traveling to new destinations. I live and work out of my home in Las Vegas with “the hubs” and our two yorkies, and I'm currently writing my next novel, The Dark Side of the Mirror.

Christopher's book list on twisty thrillers to keep you guessing until the end

Discover why each book is one of Christopher's favorite books.

Why did Christopher love this book?

Book 1 in the Evelyn Talbort series, this cold-blooded crime-thriller will keep you thinking long after the final page. After surviving a horrific attack by her high school sweetheart who was never caught, psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the psychopathic mind. She’s established a revolutionary new facility in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst – a prison for the country’s most prolific serial killers. What could possibly go wrong, right? Evelyn’s truly a strong protagonist you want to root for as she navigates the inner workings of Hanover House and a mysterious new threat that has followed her to the cold wilderness of Alaska.

By Brenda Novak,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hanover House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Welcome to Hanover House….

Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the antisocial mind. Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?

After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop,…


30 Days Of Night

By Steve Niles,

Book cover of 30 Days Of Night

Patricia Marcantonio Author Of Under the Blood Moon

From the list on books to keep you on the edge of your seats.

Who am I?

As a writer of murder mysteries, it goes without saying I’m a fan of whodunits. But I’m also a fan of horror stories and those tales that keep me turning pages and looking into the shadows. So in my newest book, I wanted to combine the two. That is, mixing scares and thrills with a whodunit and adding a big dose of Latino culture and characters. In a lot of my work, I write about the culture with which I grew up. I also love to tap into the Mexican myths and folk stories I heard as a kid then revamping and retelling them into something new.

Patricia's book list on books to keep you on the edge of your seats

Discover why each book is one of Patricia's favorite books.

Why did Patricia love this book?

The graphic novel is one rush of scares and thrills. Set in the city of Barrows, Alaska where the sun doesn’t rise for thirty days during winter, the place becomes the perfect grounds (feasting, that is) for a group of vampires. And these monsters aren’t sparkling and pretty by any stretch. It’s up to Sheriff Eben Olemaun to survive with a group of townspeople, but the how and they why they do is one great story, aided by atmosphere illustrations.

By Steve Niles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 30 Days Of Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Collects all three issues of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT from Steven Niles and Ben Templesmith!
The story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.