Christmas Books
New titles from Northern Light Media
Christmas is just around the corner, and books are always a welcome gift, bringing history, adventure, information and more, long after the last ornaments are removed from the tree! Northern Light Media has published many books over the years which would make outstanding gifts, and five new titles have been published just this year:
The First Newspapers of Knik and Anchorage, Alaska: The Knik News and Cook Inlet Pioneer 1914-1916, by Helen Hegener, published in June, 2024 by Northern Light Media. 6″ x 9″ b/w format, 298 pages. $24.95.
This book was produced with historic pages from the Knik News and the Cook Inlet Pioneer and Knik News, which would in time become the Anchorage Times. The book opens with a brief history of the Cook Inlet region, the land and its first inhabitants, the Dena’ina. The stories of the towns of Knik and Anchorage follow, giving context for the coming of the newspapers, and then the newspaper histories lead into the actual pages of each publication, reprinted in full from archives at the Library of Congress.
The Greatest Fish Ever Caught: Alaska Fishing Tales, and The World’s Most Interesting Man, Alaska Big Game, and the World’s Largest Eskimo: Alaska Hunting Tales, both by multiple award-winning writer Lew Freedman, both 6” x 9” b/w format, 266 and 274 pages, both with many photos, maps and indexed. $24.95 each.
This pair of books would be an excellent gift for any outdoorsman! In his fishing book, Lew shares many Alaska fishing tales with wit and humor in true stories about fishing in the Last Frontier. From salmon to halibut to trophy rainbow trout, with side trips for shrimp, clams, and an octopus (!), he shares dozens of adventurous fishing trips by both Alaskans and visitors to the Great Land. In his hunting book Lew brings to life hair-raising tales of close encounters with bears, moose, walrus, musk oxen and more, but he also shares the lighter side, the faux pas of cheechako hunters, hunting both for food and for sport, and the adventures of several top Iditarod mushers who met big critters both on and off the famous trail.
Sled Dogs in America: The Art of Veryl Goodnight, by Veryl Goodnight and Helen Hegener. Format 11″ x 8.5″ (landscape). 72 pages, printed in Ultra Premium Full Color on 70# paper. Bibliography, Resources, Indexed. $34.95.
This beautiful book is an in-depth look at the incredible paintings done by the award-winning Colorado artist who has elevated the history of sled dogs to an exhibit at the prestigious Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona. Running for nine months, from July, 2024 through April, 2025, the exhibit showcases not only the paintings done by Veryl Goodnight, but includes the history behind the paintings and Veryl’s notes and commentary on her work. Absolutely a gift-worthy book!
The Tender Life: 20 Years of Commercial Fish Tendering in Alaska, by Anne Winters, illustrations and maps by Jon Van Zyle, with over two dozen full color photos. 6” x 9” format, 218 pages, glossary, index. $24.95.
Anne Winters tells stories from her 20 years of working and living aboard two classic wooden boats with her husband Ron as they worked the Alaska fisheries from south of Ketchikan to way north of Nome. They filled their holds with seine fish and gillnet fish, salmon, halibut, black cod and even abalone. They visited big towns and native villages. They suffered a fire and a near total loss of everything they owned. But they worked together, lived a dream, re-built after tragedy and made life long friends. Winters’ stories are told in an easy-to-read familiar style with humor and insight and a true feeling of the love she feels for Alaska, the ocean and beautiful old wooden boats.
Whether you buy books or just enjoy the photos and descriptions, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years!
Helen
