The Alaska population is about 660,000, of which 260,000 live in Anchorage. This includes my brother and his wife, who are high school teachers. Having visited for my brother's wedding this summer, I can say that in many ways it's an ordinary city that could be plopped down in any number of states.

Of course, the state is a bit strange. I can make jokes about how in spite of Alaska's overabundance of men, my sister-in-law had to import a man from Southern California to marry, or my brother can explain to me the complicated rules of keeping one's neighborhood bear-proofed even if one lives downtown, and although in wintertime he almost never sees the sun during the school week, he can go surfing or fishing or play softball at 11 p.m. during the summer. But a plurality of the people in the state live in someplace that's not super-extraordinary.

TC Boyle sends a pack of hippies to the Alaskan bush.

Hijinks ensue.

Excellent article - heartening seeing something written about our fair state that isn't about the oil.

One thing, though: Alaska became a state on January 3, 1959, after the 1958 signing of the Alaska Statehood Act - not 1957.

I would put John Haines' "The Stars, the Snow, the Fire" on the list of great Alaska books.

I suspect Seth's comment "I won't even mention the latest one" refers to Peter Jenkins' "Looking for Alaska." Jenkins, author of "Walk Across America", was an AK writer in residence a few years ago and traveled around the state researching for this book. I think it's a great read even if it's not highly regarded in literary circles. He has an easy writing style that makes you feel like you recognize the places he's describing. And for those places that I really DO recognize, I think he captures them well. If I wanted to give someone a book that says, "Here, this is where I live" it'd be Jenkins' book. Another good one? Seth Kantner's own "Ordinary Wolves." An extraordinary book, and kudos to Seth for not blowing his own horn on that one. I also like (and this may get some eye rolling) Cindy Dyson's "And She Was" which is a novel set in mid-eighties Dutch Harbor about a bartender at the infamous Elbowroom. Woven into the story is another story of some Aleut women throughout history involved in mysterious ritual. The two stories come together in the end. None of these three books will likely become classics (Ordinary Wolves may be the exception) but so what? They're still fun to read.

I'm glad Coming Into the Country was deemed the best Alaska book; I heartily agree.

If you loved that one, you'd also love Tracks Across Alaska, by Alistair Scott (if memory serves).

I don't know who told Mr. Kantner that spit cannot freeze before it touches the ground, but he ought to check with one or two interior Alaskans. At 60 below zero for instance, a not uncommon winter temp, you can throw a glass full of water into the air and it will fall as ice. Certainly a bit of spit will easily freeze.

Alaska is so big and so full of extremes that no one book can tell its story. Seth Kantner understands this and makes some fine recommendations. Still even he cannot cover all bases. My book, “Alaska in the Wake of the North Star,” is an authentic account of a journey up and down the coast of Alaska from Sitka to Pt. Barrow in 1950 when Alaska was still a territory. This was a time in Alaska’s history when gigantic changes were just beginning, when you could almost see both the future and the past. Reading it in retrospect you can see both.

“Alaska in the Wake of the North Star” has not received the prominent attention it no doubt deserves, a sad fate that happens to many fine and readable books for reasons all too familiar to both authors and publishers. I would love for some Salon reviewer to read and review it.

Meanwhile I invite you one and all to my website, www.loelshuler.com, to look at pictures read some reviews, an Introduction, even a chapter from my publisher’s site, and perhaps find a copy to read. If you are considering an Alaskan cruise this is one for you. I’m confident that you will find it a truly enjoyable read.

I welcome feedback and comment.

Loel Shuler. loels@pacbell.net

The book "Last Light Breaking" by Nick Jans is one of the best ever written about Alaska, specifically NW Alaska, and simply must be included in this list. Stunning, gripping, beautiful, and haunting, Jans captures the brutality and grandeur of a place many of us cannot even imagine. The only book that even comes close is Kantner's own "Ordinary Wolves."

The Blue Bear by Lynn Schooler. Very moving and captures the essence of Alaska. A must read for Alaska fans.