Customer Reviews

Arctic Homestead: The True Story of One Family's Story of Survival and Courage in the Alaska Wilds

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Arctic Homestead is a simply written collection of short stories that chronicles the struggles of the Cobb family as they "prove up" their homestead. It is very light reading and should not take more than an afternoon to read through. While it will not go down as a great book, it does provide some entertaining reading. There are certainly better and more accurate books written about homesteading in the bush of Alaska, but this book does give the reader a sense of what interior Alaska was like in the mid to late 70's. Just take some of what you read with a healthy "grain of salt." This book is of particular interest to me because I lived with the Cobbs on their Lost Creek Ranch Homestead from June of 1978 to January of 1979. My name is Ken Nelson and my time with the Cobbs is erroneously summarized in Chapter 67. Norma mistakenly identifies this time as 1981.

Norma Cobb, as comes through clearly in the book, tends to be quite a paranoid individual. She always fears the worst is going to happen in any situation and almost instinctively distrusts anyone outside of her family. You will notice as you read the book that she also tends to manipulate facts in her stories to place her family in the best possible light.

Les is a driven man and is willing to bend the law and truth to fit his particular needs. While I always liked Les in spite of himself and generally admired Norma for her grit and determination to keep her family together in the wilderness, I was never fully able to accept that their way of getting ahead was right. Too many relationships were destroyed because of her paranoia and their willingness to destroy anyone and anything that might possibly threaten their way of life. My relationship with them was also mostly destroyed through this paranoia even though I wasn't driven off under gun point or blasted out with dynamite. Read the book for stories of people who were.

Les and Norma had promised me the Oh Brother cabin and 5 acres of land with it if I would stay and help educate their children over the winter of 1978 and help Les with the work on the homestead. This I fully intended to do until circumstances made me decide it would be best for me to leave in January of 1979. Les had once again left the homestead looking for work. Norma had basically thrown him out and was threatening to divorce him. There is much more to this story than I care to disclose here to protect all of the parties involved in the situation. Never the less, shortly before I decided it was best that I leave, Norma had made the twins, Cora and Cara, move in with me in the Oh Brother cabin since they were Les's kids and not hers. I was only 21 at the time and did not feel fully prepared to take care of 5 year old twin girls in spite of the fact that they were very sweet and cooperative. Also, I had recently become engaged during the visit of my California girl friend, Donell, and was anxious to get back nearer to her.

In the book, Norma comes across as a devoted and almost worshipful wife. While this was true much of the time, Les and Norma were not immune to the factors that strain marriages of blended families. Also, living as they were, there were even more stresses than usual to threaten their marriage. Les was often gone months at a time. I give Norma credit for sticking with Les even when she had legitimate reasons for breaking up their marriage. Les also had the presence of mind to keep things patched up between him and Norma because he knew that he would fail if she were to leave him. All of these problems were mostly ignored in the telling of this story even though you get hints of it every now and then.

The biggest shock for me came when I read that I was credited with letting most of their dogs die while the Cobbs were gone. I had stayed alone on the homestead while they were gone in order to take care of their dogs. One dog, Arrow, had suddenly and unexpectedly refused to go any farther while in harness on a return trip from Rampart. I had taken him out of harness because the other dogs were just dragging him along. I expected him to follow us home but I never saw him again. He later turned up dead under a cabin in Rampart.

This was very upsetting to me as Arrow was a very friendly dog that I had come to love. Dogs in the bush had no veterinary care and almost no vaccines. It was easy for canine diseases to pass from one team to another. Native dogs teams had spent the night with me on the homestead and I had staked out my dogs with teams in Rampart. Arrow must have contracted a deadly disease, but I'll never know for sure.

All of the other dogs along with around 15 new pups that came while they were gone were still alive when I left. Arrow's death coupled with the necessity to clean up a large amount of dog feces that had been buried in the deep winter snow the next spring made her concoct a story that I must have neglected the dogs. While I freely admit that there were days when I did not get every "pile" chiseled cleanly out of the snow and days when heavy snowfall prevented me from shoveling at all, the dogs were fed and watered regularly and were in good condition upon their return. After their first winter in the bush Norma describes a day of cleaning up after the dogs during breakup that sounds very similar to what it must have been like in the spring of 1979.

Also contrary to Norma's description in Chapter 67, Sid and I parted on very good terms. In fact, the night before I left, Sid came down to my cabin and begged me to stay. Both of us were in tears before that night was over. Sid certainly was forced to grow up before his time but he was up to the task. His dog team was never close to Iditarod caliber, but he was good with the dogs. It was Les that did not have the temperament for dog training and the family sled dogs all died from lead poisoning from Les's 44 some time after I left. This I learned from Les himself when I visited the homestead in April of 1979 and found all my dogs and most of their dogs missing.

I have to agree with a previous reviewer. Although I am a dyed-in-the-wool city girl and wouldn't have it any other way, I love books such as this about lives in remote places.

Norma's story was terrific, but her pontificating tone really ruined it for me. In the last chapter she goes on and on about how American parents don't spend time with their children (as she, the perfect Norma, spent with hers), how worthless life is in the Lower 48 (how would she know??), blah, blah, blah.

Of course, I don't know many mothers, including myself, who would go off and work on the pipeline for an entire summer and leave her children basically unattended. I also don't think a responsible mother exposes her children to physical injury and hardship the way Norma did. I actually could not help thinking how selfish they were, considering some of the things their kids went through. From the sound of it, most of them did not receive a very good education and didn't seem to be excelling at much of anything (except for one son) as adults.

Also, she goes on about people depending on the government - I wonder who picked up the tab when her husband had the serious accident that damaged his eye? It's very unlikely that they had private health insurance, so Joe Taxpayer in the lower forty-eight probably paid for that!! I sure hope they pay taxes on their land now.

She really did ruin a good story with her holier-than-thou preaching. A little humility would have made this a perfect book.

I've been enthralled with the 'North Country' for quite some time; mainly Minnesota and Canada. After spending a summer in Northern Minnesota as a child, I felt I would make it back some day...hopefully to stay or at least build a vacation home. I'm not shy about sharing this 'dream' with close friends so it came as no surprise when a buddy of mine suggested I read ARCTIC HOMESTEAD before I became too giddy about the North.

Norma and Les Cobb came together in a second marriage for both, with the added baggage of 5 children between them. In an effort to make a life for themselves and their childre, they decided to leave the Lower 48 behind and claim a homestead in Canada. Along the way, they found out only a Canadian citizen could file for homestead in Canada at that time. Undeterred, they soon determined that Alaska still had homestead provisions so they set their sights for Alaska, a home and a new life.

Norma and Les find their previously unseen homestead just south of the Arctic Circle. Thus begins their story of striving to beat the homestead clock of improving the land and creating commerce within 5 years of filing the homestead papers. Along the way, they face one of their sons being accidentally shot, a derelict (and former friend) attempting to kill Les, coming face-to-face with black and grizzly bears, dealing with the Bushman (a/k/a Bigfoot), prospecting for gold, holding off ravenous wolves, and, of course, last but certainly not least, the indomitable cold and snow. Through it all, Norma and Les persevere and overcome each challenge faced.

This factual novel was written by Mr. Sasser, a very gifted storyteller, the source document of which was Norma's journal. Norma maintained enough detail to allow Mr. Sasser to write an extremely complete and entertaining novel. It cannot be said that the veracity of Norma's recollections are without challenge. Ken Nelson, who Norma speaks of in Chapters 66 and 67, wrote a review of the hardback version of ARCTIC HOMESTEAD. Mr. Nelson is quite candid regarding his version of the events versus those told by Norma/Mr. Sasser. The biggest discrepancy revolves around the health of Sid's (the oldest Cobb son) dogs entrusted to Mr. Nelson when the Cobb family flew to Colorado to visit Les's ailing father. This certainly creates some uncertainty as to veracity and credence but nevertheless, this book is still a winner regardless the actual chronology of events.

The Cobbs still live in their small homestead in Minook Vally, AK and even have a website promoting their big game/fishing guide services ...Anyone interested in the last true frontier should immediately pick up a copy of ARCTIC HOMESTEAD. Again, regardless your views of Norma, Les and their children, this book reads incredibly easy and totally engrossing.

Highly recommended.

I read the reviews and decided I'd better judge for myself. I couldn't put this book down once I started it. Anybody with a pioneering spirit or a sense of adventure would enjoy this book. Norma, unselfishly tells her own life story to whoever wishes to read this book. She sacrifices her and her familys privacy for the world to review. I have to respect her for that.
The Cobbs are true pioneers, successfully and legally homesteading land in a remote valley of Alaska. Living the American dream of rags to riches due to toil, hardship and perseverance. True Alaskans. You'll learn how the Cobbs dealt with the absence of law enforcement and how they struggled to earn money to buy supplies to improve their lifestyle. Just like homesteaders of the mid 1800's.

Growing up on a homestead in the Mat Valley of Alaska myself, I am only a bit familiar of what the Cobbs went through. The law is not a phone call away up here, and law enforcement personel will advise you to 'handle' things by yourself. That still happens. The stories of Les and Norma protecting their possessions and lifestyle are real. When Norma describes how Les often left to work 'outside', that tugged at me hard. Men did that alot up here, and still do. Myself included. My own father worked away from home for weeks at a time, its a necessity all homesteaders had to deal with. Even today, men leave home to work in some far away portion of this huge state. It was and still is very common, its normal. We all hate it but it is a necessary evil.

Love it or hate it, Les and Norma did what they had to do to survive and successfully raise their children. It is a very good book. Two thumbs up.

If you've never lived where the weather can kill you, you might be inclined to believe everything Norma Cobb writes. If you've never encountered a Black bear outside of a zoo, you might think Norma has it right. If you've never set out on your own without a net, you might think God was Norma's personal servant.

I usually enjoy books of adventure, particularly set in the North, and books of personal hardship overcome. This book, however, annoyed and insulted me. Does this author really believe she and her family are unusual? Pioneering is not about moving to Alaska and kind of living off the land; it is about meeting great obstacles and finding the resources to overcome them. Her world view is based on superstition, ignorance, and paranoia. When others start to follow their lead in mining gold in their precious valley, she starts to whine like those she says she despises. To use one of her pet phrases, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

Read the reviews carefully. You will find one from someone who is actually mentioned in the book and was a witness to the reality of the Cobb's lifestyle. I didn't read them before I bought and read the book. I wish I had.

If you're looking for a survival story about a family abandoning their roots in the lower 48 and setting up stakes in Northern Alaska,this will suffice. If you're looking for a tale about one family and its total domination over wilderness,this is it once again. Norma Cobb literally worships her husband Les and glorifies him on virtually every page of the book. He kills every bear they ever encounter whether just traipsing through the homestead or those unfortunate enough to be rousted from hibernation by drunken Les and his friends. Book not as entertaining or as informative as I thought it would be. The Cobbs are pitted against the world which incudes their neighbors and what pases as the law during Les' poaching escapades and his booze running,any and all wildlife that ventures close enough and the reslt is total vanquishment of anything that gets in Lesters' way. They act as the very first frontiersmen must have 100 or so years ago but with the advantage of modern conveniences and better know-how. Book passes as an average tale of hardship.

One of the best books I have read in a while. This book will definitely keep your attention and entice you to stay up all night reading. The book is easily read and comprehended. Almost made me want to move to the Alaska wilderness. I lived in Alaska for three years and traveled extensively in the bush. This book brought out some old memories. Norma Cobb should be commended for writing such a book and being a true part of Alaska heritage and history.

This may be a little prejudice but I've known Les and Norma for a few years now and I am excited that she she finally got her book published. You want to read a book that will make you fall out of the chair with laughter on one page and then the next make you cry. Buy the book and read it then read it again. It's that good. I mean you have family struggles, adventure, and guns. If I didn't know better I would swear it was a fictional story from the old west. Like I said I've known them a while and met most of their kids and I work with both Les and Norma. They're good honest people and I'm happy their story is finally out. Thank you Norma for the good book.

I would never do what this family did, however I can't put the book down. When I felt the urge to read the story a second time, I decided to buy the book. I also enjoy other books such as "Into the Wild", and survival stories of Everest climbers. If these are of interest to you, this may be a story you would enjoy.

This is an unbelieveable story of one womans determination to have a home for herself and family. Reading it I don't think I could have endured the elements nearly as well, as much as I think I would like the idea of getting away from it all I don't think I could give up all the comforts and all the amenities as I know them.