Customer Reviews

Alaskan Adventures

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This book and the other four in the Annabel collection are a must read for any outdoor enthusiast.I have searched literally for years trying to find anything written by this author because of his unbelievable ability to make readers live his stories. I have remained captivated by Mr. Annabels writings in Outdoor Life since the late 50's and all of the 60's (all of my childhood years).You feel as though you are walking with him in all his adventures. When I read his articles in the early years I was mistaken to think that he was an Indian or part Indian because of the magic words he uses. This book will explain the reason for this misunderstanding. I wish there were many more books by Mr Annabel because since finding these five books, I read them all, then reread them and now wish there were more.

This is an outstanding collection of stories from the Alaska of 50 years ago. Annabel lived an outsized life in Alaska's most interesting time, and told each story with an eye for both the beauty and adventure all outdoorsmen love. His dispatches from the WWII Aleutian campaign are riveting and heartbreaking, and his face-to-face encounters with bears, wolves and wild-eyed moose are enough to make you want to give up your job, sell the house and find your own place in among the northern lights. Nobody pens a better description of an Alaskan sunrise, and nobody gives a better taste of true Alaskan sourdough life. This book is a bargain at twice the price.

The venerable father of hunting and fishing literature, none other than Ernest Hemingway himself, said that Russell Annabel was the finest outdoor writer he had ever read. After reading this book I have to agree. Mr. Annabel is clearly one of the best, if not the very best, outdoor adventure author of the 20th century.

Most stories are set in Alaska and all are based on Mr. Annabel's real-life experiences or are based on historical fact. In particular, a few stories about the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian islands during World War II will bring tears to the eyes of the most jaded and hardened military historian.

But most stories are happier and deal with the sporting life in its most natural and enjoyable way. The essence of Mr. Annabel's writing is the essence of outdoors Alaska itself and comes from a time when fishing and hunting provided the basis of daily life for most resident Alaskans and many visitors.

Not to worry though, this book is not a dry historical treatise or boring account of sporting economics. It is a series of "up close and personal" accounts of the process of horsepacking, backpacking, hiking and exploring with rod and gun throughout Alaska. The stories also occur during a time when circumstances and attitudes were just a bit different than they are today.

This book is terrific, easy, entertaining, fact-based reading. If you are an outdoorsman (or woman) Annabel's stories will make you long for life in a different era.

In the late 70's was when Mr. Annabel reached his prime in story telling in writing for Petersen's Hunting when it was still the haunt of the old legends like O'Connor, Keith and Annabel. This book is his early stories for magazines and while good is not his later perfection. It is though an interesting and moving tale. His World War II stories about life in Alaska are fantastic. Reading this book makes me miss him even more and remember the time when we were still young in another America. My only complaint is the price on his books even if they are worth it.