Midnight Wilderness [Paperback]

Debbie S. Miller (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882405179
• ISBN-13: 978-0882405179
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,443,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Debbie S. Miller grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. She loved climbing trees, watching animals, and hiking in wild places such as Yosemite National Park. The natural world inspired her to write at a young age. After obtaining her teaching degree, Debbie moved to Alaska with her husband, Dennis. The call of the wild beckoned them from the freeways of California.

For the past 35 years, Debbie has loved exploring the wilds of Alaska and studying its great diversity of wildlife. Alaska has been the foundation and inspiration for all of her writing. Her first wilderness adventure book, Midnight Wilderness (Sierra Club Books, 1990) describes the wonders and natural history of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge based on 14 years of explorations. Many of her nature books for children, such as Survival at 40 Below (Walker, 2010) have been recognized as Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association and Children's Book Council (NSTA/CBC).

Debbie enjoys speaking in schools across Alaska and America, sharing her books and programs with teachers and students of all ages. She also likes traveling to other wild regions of the world, such as Australia, where she recently studied some fascinating marsupials, reptiles, and birds.

Alaska will always be a home that Debbie cherishes along with her two grown, beautiful daughters who still enjoy hiking, fishing and camping with her.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awe-inspiring account of America's Far North, January 30, 2001

By 

Richard Mayer (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight Wilderness (Paperback)

I have just read Midnight Wilderness and found it to be a compelling account of the mystery and majesty of America's Far North. The authors transports the reader to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge enabling our mind's eye to experience vicariously the splendor of its fauna and flora. As I put this book down, I see the awesome Porcupine Caribou herd thundering across the summertime coastal plain, semipalmated sandpipers, musk-oxen, Dall sheep, wolves, Pacific loons, Lapland longspurs, snowy owls, tundra swans, and arctic foxes. Now more clearly than ever before I see the connections between and among the Arctic's wild and pristine physical and living communities. And, I feel compelled as never before to add my voice to those of the many others who understand why this awe-inspiring wilderness that is unequalled anywhere else on earth should be protected and preserved for future generations.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a passionate plea for wilderness preservation of the ANWR, June 29, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Midnight Wilderness (Paperback)

The book jacket states the book is a passionate and vivid account of her trips into the ANWR, and it certainly is that. Having been in many of the same places, and even flown with some of the same people, I can make an immediate connection with her book. This book is a first person account, not a naturalist documentation. Some of her trials and tribulations make for very interesting reading, and makes one glad sometimes that they did not have to trek in some of the places. Her account of some of her hiking in the rugged Romanzof mountains sent chills up my spine. A weakness perhaps is after almost each description, she states what is at risk by allowing drilling. Sometimes that gets in the way of the journey. However, the last section of the book outlines the history of the preservation attempts, and the very real dangers of oil development to such an unspoiled wilderness. This book is a personal account and not a detail as to the intricate inter-relationships among the flora and fauna, and it was not meant to be. I enjoyed the book for what it is, and that is a personal story. I wished she had described in a bit more detail her time in the arctic when the colors started to appear as fall approached. Having been along the Jago River in the 1002 lands at the height of the fall colors, it is something that cannot be imagined in advance. One can never believe such a landscape of apparent green can take on so many colors. A perfect companion book to this would be that of E. C. Pielou, A Naturalists Guide to the Arctic. With Pielou's book, one can gain a fuller understanding of the tricks of light in the arctic, and the interdependency of the animals with the plantlife. Oil company executives will not like this book. Most others will enjoy reading her accounts.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Journey into ANWR, March 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Midnight Wilderness (Paperback)

I love Debbie Miller's book Midnight Wilderness about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her journal writings, with detailed land references, eloquently paint a portrait of this pristine area and how unique and beautiful this remote land is. I enjoyed reading about all the animals and birds that live and migrate there every year, and about the people who depend on this area. This book educates us on the oil development controversy and why it is vital we continue to fight in protecting this special land for now and future generations. This book is truly the ultimate reference book for the Arctic Refuge and I highly recommend it to all.