In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898 [Hardcover]

John Taliaferro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 2006

In the fall of 1897, eight whaling ships became trapped in the ice on Alaska's northern coast. Without relief, two hundred whalers would starve to death by winter's end. Mercifully, an extraordinary missionary, Tom Lopp, and seven Eskimo herders embarked on a harrowing journey to save the whalers, driving four hundred reindeer more than seven hundred untracked miles.

At the heart of the rescue expedition lies another, in some ways more compelling, journey. In a Far Country is the personal odyssey of Tom and his wife Ellen Lopp— their commitment to the natives and the rugged but happy life they built for themselves amid a treeless tundra at the top of the world. The Lopps pulled through on grit and wits, on humility and humor, on trust and love, and by the grace of God. Their accomplishment would surely have received broader acclaim had it not been eclipsed by two simultaneous events: the Spanish- American War and the Alaska gold rush. The United States and its territories were transformed abruptly and irrevocably by these fits of expansionist fever, and despite the thoughtful, determined guidance of the Lopps, the natives of the North were soon overwhelmed by a force mightier than the fiercest Arctic winter: the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When eight whaling ships became icebound at Point Barrow, the northernmost tip of Alaska, in January 1898, a rescue mission blessed by President McKinley was launched to bring the 275 stranded men reindeer meat to fend off starvation and scurvy. The Overland Relief Expedition drafted Tom Lopp, a missionary and advocate of turning native hunters into self-sufficient reindeer herders, who left his wife, Ellen, and children in Cape Prince of Wales, 55 miles across the Bering Strait from Siberia, and drove his 300-head herd 700 miles across ice and frozen tundra. The three-month trek by Lopp and several native herders was monumental, although the saga becomes anticlimactic when it turns out that the whalers' situation was less dire than reported. Along the way, Taliaferro (Tarzan Forever) describes how the Lopps had adapted brilliantly to the Alaskan wilderness, respecting the indigenous people—in marked contrast to fellow missionary Harrison Thornton, an imperious Southerner who was murdered by native peoples. Although a lucid and diligent storyteller who makes good use of period correspondence, Taliaferro isn't in a class with adventure standouts like Jon Krakauer or Sebastian Junger, and will be best appreciated by readers with a specific interest in Alaskan or missionary history. 8 pages of b&w photos; 2 maps. (Nov. 20)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In 1897, eight whaling ships with 200 whalers aboard became trapped in the ice on Alaska's northern coast. Missionary Tom Lopp and seven Eskimo herders set out on a 700-mile journey across ice and frozen tundra at temperatures 60 degrees below freezing with 400 reindeer to rescue the whalers, who faced starvation and scurvy without reindeer meat. The murder involved a missionary who had come to Cape Prince of Wales with Lopp in 1890 and was shot to death by thugs three years later. Taliaferro, the author of biographies of Charles M. Russell and Edgar Rice Burroughs, chronicles the marriage of Lopp and his wife, Ellen, and their relationship with the Arctic's indigenous people. Taliaferro points out that Lopp's accomplishment would have received greater recognition had it not been eclipsed by two other events--the Spanish-American War and the Alaska gold rush. The book, with eight pages of black-and-white photographs, is rich in detail, a thorough account of a long-forgotten adventure. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 424 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (November 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586482211
• ISBN-13: 978-1586482213
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly Page-Turner, December 11, 2006

By 

D. Foster "Omnithuse" (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898 (Hardcover)

John Taliaferro's moving and exciting book is a beautifully researched and satisfying adventure/romance. He captures the ambiguity and humanity of both sincere do-gooders and mercenary outcasts encountering an ancient and vulnerable but canny culture in the far north. His excellent bibliography is generous and useful.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life on the Edge of Civilization, March 8, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898 (Hardcover)

It must have taken individuals of rare inner strength to even have the desire to go establish a Christian mission at Cape Prince of Whales, 55 miles across the Bering Strait to Russia and only 70 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Even more surprising to me was the number of women, single or married to missionaries, who went as well. Tom and Ellen Lopp were both single, that is until six weeks after they met.

This is a story of the mission at Cape Prince of Wales, the Lopp's and of a dramatic rescue where Tom and seven Eskimo herders drove a heard of reindeer some 700 miles to rescue stranded sailors whose ships had become frozen in the ice. This was a trip to rival the other famous trip in the cold, but up until now has been little known.

All in all, a most interesting book about life on the very edge of civilization.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars epic adventure, February 6, 2007

By 

Joyce Griffen (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, a Marriage, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898 (Hardcover)

This book rightly takes its place among the other tales of heroic arctic travel. It is well researched, the writing is sprightly, and the characterizations both compassionate and vivid.