REVIEW COMMENTS
Alaska…In the Wake of the North Star
By Loel Burket Shuler
Loel Shuler has the strong vibrant voice of a pioneer woman--a highly talented one at that-- discovering new territories. Even though she is relating her Alaskan explorations from a little over a half century ago, the reader gets the thrill an d the imme diacy of share d discoveries. The intensity and vivi dness of each new discovery vibrates through the syntax and one really sees an d hears the places an d the people she eagerly encounters.
Alaska and its natives are always brought strikingly to our awareness and all cliché images of Eskimos, igloos and exotic landscapes are blown cleanly out of our minds. A remarkable piece of writing!
-- Lamont Johnson, Hollywood Filmmaker, Five-Time Golden Globe Winner
Loel Shuler’s account of her trip from Sitka to Point Barrow is not only a good read; it’s also a great source of material for anthropologists an d sociologists studying Alaska’s mid-20th century life. I’m glad she made the amazing voyage and shared it with us fifty-plus years later. A valuable record of a vanishing Alaska!
--Janey Bennett, Writer, Pacific Northwest & Canada
Loel Shuler's Alaska in the Wake of the North Star is part memoir and part travelogue -- a can did an d insightful account of the author's 11,000 mile, three-month voyage from Sitka to Point Barrow as a passenger aboard the USMS North Star.
Shuler (who was pregnant with her first child during this rugged odyssey) offers a one-of-a-kind snapshot of every day life in coastal Alaskan communities in the summer of 1950 - - shortly after the war, before statehood, before the pipeline, before tourism, even before bathtubs, and weeks before the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb.
Her natural and unaffecte d prose reads like a letter written to loved ones back home, full of the details and revelations that make such correspon dences worth savoring. Like the cliff dwellers of Alaska's King Island, the lifestyles and communities she describes have literally vanished in the short half-century since. This is a rare and memorable addition to the small collection of books about the people who make their home in our 49th state.
--Adam Miller, Folksinger, Woodside, California
I cannot tell you how much I feel for your story and pictures. There is much food for thought in your words. And I pray your story will touch many hearts besides us few King Islanders who are so happy to have something of our old home to hold onto. My love for my culture has now had a good moment. Thanks!
--William Willoya, Alaskan Eskimo, Coauthor of Warriors of the Rainbow
Alaska …in the Wake of the North Star is delightful. It provides an intimate and insightful view of Alaska and its numerous native people and cultures. I believe it is an important addition to the anthropology of the region.
As I am sure is true of many people, my ignorance of the Alaska Loel describes was profound until I opened her book and began to read. What an amazing journey! What great courage she showed us all in embarking on this remarkable trip, pregnant with her first child, traveling to parts unknown with no idea of the dangers she might face – and she went anyway. BRAVO!
It is my sincere hope that this book is read by many people. I also hope she is considering writing more books.
James Drury, actor. Star of the television series The Virginian.
I have just finished reading Alaska …in the Wake of the North Star, and as after all good literary journeys, feel bereft that it is over.
On my first cruise to Alaska, I read all of Jack London between the ship’s tour of ports such as Juneau and Sitka. In London’s stories of nearly a hundred years before I entered a strange and often magical world that until Loel’s book I did not experience again.
What kind of character would it take to venture out into such waters while pregnant for the first time? By the end of the book I knew her well enough to admire her spirit and courage and am grateful that she had the curiosity to plunge into the unknown and record for us who live in a world increasingly alienated from nature, a time that is no more.
Barbara Babcock; Emmy award winning actress ( Hill Street Blues)
Your book is a wonderful memoir and tribute to the North Star and her crew. Your trip in 1950 in many ways was during the golden era of the ship and life in Alaska. You were fortunate to experience it and we are grateful for your keen record of that interesting time and those fascinating people. Your kind words about my father were especially appreciated. Thank you.
Robert Cole, Son of Cecil W .(Moe) Cole
Ni hao from North China. I just wanted to write and tell you how much I loved reading your book and enjoyed every last page. The writing, anecdotes, descriptions and insights were so lovely and rich, grounded and clear. There was one afternoon when I was so engrossed that I was surprised to look up from the page and find myself in China, not on Alaska’s King Island. On top of the lovely writing—what an adventure!
Cathleen Keenan Church, English teacher in a North China school.