Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon [Paperback]

John Hildebrand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1997

“John Hildebrand sets out in a canoe . . . to explore the great riverway of northwestern Canada and Alaska. . . . The geography is closely rendered and the characters especially sharply drawn. The country is filled with mad dropouts at river fish camps, good-hearted girls in the towns, sullen natives in tumbledown villages, cranky old-timers, terrible drunks and worse moralizers who live off the wild landscape and its abundant resources. . . . This is a fine work, and Hildebrand is a fine writer.”—Charles E. Little, Wilderness

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a sense, this recounts a journey of expiation: Hildebrand and his wife had gone to Alaska in the early 1970s, hoping to homestead and be self-sufficient. The death of a child and breakup of the marriage forced a change of plans. Ten years later, Hildebrand returned alone, to set to rest the ghost of his dream by canoeing the length of the Yukon. He particularly wanted to meet people who had gone to the wilderness and remained. In his three-month, 2000 mile journey, Hildebrand met trappers, aging hippies, biologists, dog mushers, fishermen, Athabascan Indians, Eskimos, missionaries and politicians. He camped in abandoned cabins during rainy weather. As he approached the Delta, he was beset by wind, rain and rough water; 90 miles from the sea, he left the river, sold the canoe and flew home to Wisconsin. His book is more than an adventure story; it is a fine portrait of individual people and communities in a rugged environment. Illustrated.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the early Seventies, dreaming of the simple life, the author wandered to Alaska, built a cabin, and taught English to Indians and Eskimos at the the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. But the dream collapsed, and he left the area. Ten years later he returned, seeking the "North that had eluded" him. He canoed the length of the Yukon River, drifted into other peoples' lives, and sought how life there used to behow for some it continues to be. The result is a vivid, sometimes lyrical picture of the Alaska of homesteaders, fishers, woodcutters, and small town people, who live off the land in a way the author could not. It also is a finely written account of coming to terms with one's self, of the realities of one's dreams. Recommended for anyone who would follow Thoreau into the woods, even now.Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (February 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299154947
• ISBN-13: 978-0299154943
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Travel > United States > States > Wisconsin

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. A marvel of a tale., April 7, 2004

By 

Mary Hansen "Rose" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon (Paperback)

Having once been an Alaskan traveler myself, I found myself slightly skeptical before plucking this tattered book off the shelf. Everything I'd read of modern Alaska seemed wrong, off-key, and too liberal or too commercialized. But after skimming through a few pages, I was hooked. Never before have I found such wonderful, accurate descriptions of the land, its people, and the emotional tracks it leaves on a person. Somehow, I assumed I was alone in my journeys and my memoirs of Alaska, and unable to share them with people. Here is a man who has weaved together a beautiful adventure, honest and simple. I felt as though I was reading a diary of my own excursions in the North. Reading the River is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. I recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered what draws people away from the city, for those living in the city who craves the wild, and to every dreamer, explorer, and 'old-timer'.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sad but well written tour of the people on the Yukon, February 19, 1998

By 

Keith Drury (Marion, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon (Paperback)

A well written book; good primer for anyone planning a Yukon River trip, or anyone who just likes good adventure reading. Ride down the river with author in his canoe-with-motor and see Alaska through the eyes of a now-grown hippie returning to Alaska to find the self he left behind years before.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "coming of middle age" adventure down the Yukon, October 19, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Rogers, AR (Joe Morton)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon (Paperback)

Hildebrand takes you from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, across into Alaska, to the Arctic Circle at Fort Yukon, and through nearly the whole state of Alaska as he canoes down the Yukon River. Along the way you meet ordinary people with legendary stories of the intense lonliness of winter, of bear attacks, of battles with the US and Alaskan state governments, and of survival. You also get a glimpse into John's recently failed marraige, his life in Fairbanks, and his abandoned homestead near Denali National Park. Even for those who don't own SUVs or long to take on a thousand-mile canoe trip, this book is an intellectual adventure well worth the price of admission.