A Place Beyond: Finding Home in Arctic Alaska (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Jans could easily have got stuck in his subject matter--life in rural, mostly Native Alaskan Alaska. Or he could have pretended that subject didn't matter and emphasized high-flown prose. He avoids both extremes in essays that are finely written without being "fine writing" and that honor their subject without being overwhelmed by it. For instance, in "Coming Home" he vividly assesses the changes he experiences each time he leaves for Outside (of Alaska, that is): "Caribou to street signs, mukluks to three-piece suits, the stillness of the tundra giving way to the rattle of jackhammers--the quick switch is sensory overload, like running through a crowd while looking through a kaleidoscope." Returning, there is the grandeur and beauty of the arctic. He whispers to the mountains, but "there is no reply. I sit alone, staring north into the wind, waiting for the welcome that will never be offered, knowing that I haven't been missed." Like his Last Light Breaking (1993), this book promises to be a northern classic. Patricia Monaghan

Product Description

This powerful book blends the rhythms of daily arctic life with high adventure. "Jans's writing is a pleasure," said the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 189 pages
• Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882404776
• ISBN-13: 978-0882404776
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,047,528 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A review from the Northwest Borough of Alaska, December 26, 2003

By	J. Dollarhide "lotsa kids" (Haines, Alaska) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a must-read for anyone planning to spend time in Alaska. Jans captures the norms, customs and ways of the people in the Northwest Arctic region. This was one of my very first books when contemplating moving to Alaska. And I recently re-read the books and realized exactly how much I had missed the first time through. It has been almost two years since returning to the Arctic and I cannot believe the everyday life he captures! Read this for all it is worth and extract all you can from his words.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent writer, September 12, 1999

By A Customer

Nick Jans is an extremely gifted writer. I first read one of his essays in the Reader's Digest, and I was so impressed, I just had to read the rest of the book. His straightforward clarity, use of metaphor and intriguing observations make the Alaskan wilderness come to life. I personally would never want to live in Alaska, but I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a bit of Alaska by reading this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Alaska, August 5, 2009

By	Julie L. Pogue "Jewel1967" (Indiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"A Place Beyond" by Nick Jans is an inspiring collection of essays that reads a bit like a memoir, a bit like a story book, a bit like a history book, and a bit like a travelogue. Jans combines them all into one winsome treat. In this book, the author shares with us an inside look at life among the Inupiaq Eskimos in northern Alaska. Jans, who lived in Ambler, just south of the Brooks Range, for fifteen years, captures his eccentric and humorous northern lifestyle in easy-flowing prose. His ability to capture the beauty and complexity of nature in words reminds of award-winning author Bill Bryson.

Jans shines when he waxes about his Alaskan friends and their adventures together. My heart warmed at each mention of Clarence Wood, a wise Eskimo native, whose few words and relaxed attitude made him my instant favorite. And I was moved to tears when Mr. Jans described the spring funeral of a lonely neighbor; Ambler's inhabitants, through this writer's eyes, are people with bottomless hearts.

This Alaskan expert, however, is at his best when he's penning descriptions of the land itself and its indigenous creatures. Through the author's writing, I could almost feel the Kobuk River's mighty power and majesty during its spring ice breakup. And Jans's stories about his rare and magical brush with a wolf pack left me breathless.

This book is a great read for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of life in the Arctic, but it's also wonderfully entertaining and informative for those who love to peek into other cultures and lifestyles.