A Land Gone Lonesome: An Inland Voyage along the Yukon River

Book Description

Part travelogue, part adventure, part love letter to a vanishing world, this is an expedition into the heart of our past in the tradition of Coming into the Countryand Goodbye to a River

In his square-sterned canoe, Alaska resident Dan O'Neill set off from Dawson, Yukon Territory, onetime site of the Klondike gold rush, to trace the majestic Yukon River. His journey down river to Circle City, Alaska, is more than one man's voyage into northern wilderness; it's an expedition into the history of the river and its land, and a record of the inimitable and little-known inhabitants of the region. In A Land Gone Lonesome, O'Neill blends natural history with human history into a piece of brilliant literary travel writing.

Though he spends much of his time on the river, at the heart of O'Neill's story are his forays into the Yukon wilderness and into the lives of a few souls still clinging to the old ways in a beautiful and hostile country-men like "Charley River" Charlie in his dog-fur vest and "The Iron Man of the Yukon" Percy DeWolfe-even as government policies are extinguishing people like them. More than just colorful anachronisms, these wilderness dwellers are a living archive of North American pioneer values.

As O'Neill encounters these characters, he finds himself drawn into the bare-knuckle melodrama of their outmoded lives-and further back still into the very origins of the Yukon River world. With the singular perspective of an insider, O'Neill has painted an intelligent, rhapsodic-and, ultimately, probably the last-portrait of the Yukon and its authentic inhabitants.

Customer Reviews:

A wealth of Knowledge.......2007-06-01

This book is so visual. My OH my...reading this book, with my Alaska ATLAS in hand, I was transported to the Yukon - Charley region almost as if I were there!!!!!!!!!
Then I went onto Google Earth and zeroing in on places like Circle and Eagle was unreal...Thank you Dan, for a terrific, fantastic, ESCAPE from the daily grind. The only thing better...to buy a van, load up a boat, and driver to Circle, Alaska and shove off!!!!!!!!!

How men conquer the nature.......2007-01-10

Very interesting and educational especially for me who is not familiar with the hystory and geography of Alaska.It is amazing how this people who lived there fought for theirlives in this harsh enviroment.It is sorry that the goverment is more interested in searching for oil there that to preserve this unic land and help more people who want to stay there.
What I find a little negative in this book is the missing of photos of the Alascan landscape

Man and Nature.......2007-01-09

A gracefully written account of travels on the Yukon River. In his appreciation for the beauties of place and his understanding of man's place in nature O'Neill reminds one of Wendell Berry (the highest praise I can give). O'Neill also underscores the bureaucratic mentality of the National Park Service that has systematically eliminated the intentions of the legislation establishing the Yukon preserve.

The Depopulation of the Upper Yukon Watershed.......2006-12-27

Dan O'Neill is an adventurer, a historian, a "floater" (as Yukon River canoe campers are called), and an advocate for a people whose names may be last seen in these pages. This book is ostensibly a story about a float trip O'Neill makes from Dawson, in Canada's Yukon Territory, to Circle, in Alaska, through the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve, administered by the National Parks Service. Actually, it is seven trips condensed into one. O'Neill is the spiritual descendant of John McPhee, whom he quotes extensively as the base-line Yukon River interpreter. The reader may be forgiven if he believes that he will be treated to a combination of float trip travelogue and history of the places and people who make the country what it is. Little by little we learn that O'Neill wants to do more than report; he intends to make a statement and to leave an impact.

O'Neill makes (and re-makes) a compelling case that the National Parks Service is egregiously mismanaging the wilderness it is supposed to be protecting. The NPS faces the same conflict in the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve that it has in other national parks. How do you preserve a natural area for people to enjoy in perpetuity when each person who visits incrementally damages the area? O'Neill argues that the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve differs so radically from the nation's other parks that it requires fresh thinking and a more tailored conservation regime. The lament implicit in the title is that this dramatically attractive land, inhospitable as it is, once was home to scores of rugged, subsistence pioneers, and could safely be so again under a more creative land use policy.

The enduring legacy of Dan O'Neill's book will not be his administrative prescriptions, though, but his deft, economical, and often sardonic descriptions of the land and its people. We learn a great deal about the geologic history of the region, including the fact that prior to the last ice age, the river ran southward, opposite its current direction. We learn where the gold-bearing strata are located and how they were exploited during the gold rush. We trap martin and lynx, and catch king salmon to feed ourselves and chum salmon to feed our dogs, We meet characters that couldn't conceivably be made up, like Dick Cook, whom we admire for his resourcefulness and indomitable spirit, and whose body we last see face down in the river that supported him. We poke through trash middens in a sort of contemporary archaeology, and learn how to handle irascible settlers and even more irascible grizzlies.

O'Neill treats us to a world which few of us are likely ever to see. "Moose, wolf, and bear have signed the mud registry in recent weeks, and I make my own prints, climb the bank, and look for a trail..." He faithfully reports and interprets his observations and gently constructs his arguments. Regrettably, however, he is not a gifted writer, and this deficiency occasionally shows, as in his purple descriptions of scenery. "The river is molten gold...the sky is a dazzling, luminous yellow where fiery clouds flash gilded edges...then I remember that the whole spinning world is a miracle, and that sometimes reality dawns more golden than dreams." And then there is the occasional error that an editor should have caught, "Sudden death killed forty-four of the fifty-five Alaskans who died in boating accidents between 2001 and 2003..." The reader may well wonder how death can be the cause of death.

I recommend "A Land Gone Lonesome" to armchair "floaters" and all who are curious about the forced depopulation of the upper Yukon watershed. You will meet the colorful denizens of a world just recently past, and the remarkable stage they have exited. And if you become motivated to visit the Yukon for yourself, you can thank McPhee and O'Neill for their contrasting depictions of the Yukon River and its fatal attraction.

The Yukon: Lonesome Except for the Ghosts.......2006-09-11

Dan O'Neill drops his canoe into the Yukon River near Dawson City (Canada) and paddles downriver in search of the Alaskan homesteader and the subsistence lifestyle familiar to many from John McPhee's book, "Coming Into the Country."

O'Neill's book is meant as both an update and a rebuke to McPhee and his fans. Most emphatically, O'Neill documents the decay and disappearance of the trappers that McPhee wrote about. Outside a few tiny villages, there is no longer a single family inhabiting the whole area O'Neill surveys on a year-round basis. He visits cabin after decaying abandoned cabin, musing on the complicity of the National Park Service in eliminating a culture that, from O'Neill's perspective, was worth preserving.

I expect there are a lot of Alaskans that share O'Neill's disappointment. And he does an excellent job communicating it - he's a first-rate journalist. Some parts of the story are downright lyrical; others are first-rate news reporting.

The narrative thread of his canoe journey from time to time gets buried behind his urge to fuss at the authorities setting policy in the area. The book gets increasingly episodic and disjointed the further downstream he gets. However, for fans of McPhee's book, and for fans of Alaska in general, a worthy addition to the literature.

Stevenson's Inland voyage,: And Travels with a donkey, (English readings for schools)

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Stevenson's Inland voyage,: And Travels with a donkey, (English readings for schools)
Robert Louis Stevenson
Manufacturer: Holt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Tedious, but should be read
Wonderful subject for a book but...
William Least Heat Moon's Finest Writing
"It's all about me" said Author.
IT IS A MATTER OF TASTE I SUPPOSE, BUT I ENJOYED THIS ONE

River Horse: A Voyage Across America
William Heat-Moon
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Blue Highways: A Journey into America
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ASIN: 0671047035

Amazon.com

Since hitting the American roads in Blue Highways nearly 20 years ago, William Least Heat-Moon has been following another calling--to traverse America by its rivers. "I wanted to see those secret parts hidden from road travelers," he writes. And from the waterways of his 5,000-mile voyage, Least Heat-Moon shares a sharp and stirring vision of America. Filling a small bottle with brine from the Atlantic Ocean, Least Heat-Moon and his wise companion, whom he calls "Pilotis," start up the Hudson River in a 22-foot C-Dory that Least Heat-Moon has named Nikawa--from the Osage words ni for river and kawa for horse. The voyage--from New York harbor to the Pacific Ocean--packs surprises, wisdom, regrets, mishaps, candor, and conversations that readers who savored Blue Highways and PrairyErth will delight in.

The impetus for River Horse is one of intrigue--less urgent than the departure in Blue Highways--and the narrative possesses a captivating pull as it courses westward through the strongest currents and pauses in the back eddies of contemporary American life. Least Heat-Moon is in his element. Written in short thematic chapters, River Horse plies canals, greets the Missouri's many moods, and challenges chaotic waves. Indeed, the turbulent and placid waters of America flow throughout this well-told story. When Nikawa finally reaches the Pacific Ocean, Least Heat-Moon has discovered a new America in the country he knows so well. He ponders the command that rivers hold on him and celebrates the national treasures that they are. Exceeding 500 pages, River Horse may be a long journey, but when traveling by rivers, America is a larger country. A triumphant book all the way to the salty Pacific. --Byron Ricks

Book Description

In this abridgement of River-Horse, the pre-eminent chronicler of American back roads -- who has given us the classics Blue Highways and Prairyerth -- recounts his singular voyage through American waters from sea to sea. Along the route, he offers a lyrical and ceaselessly fascinating shipboard perspective on the country and its rivers, lakes, canals, and landscapes. Brimming with history, drama, and wisdom, River-Horse belongs in the pantheon of American travel literature.

In his most ambitious journey ever, Heat-Moon sets off aboard a small boat he named Nikawa ("river horse" in Osage) from the Atlantic at New York Harbor in hopes of entering the Pacific near Astoria, Oregon. He and his companion, Pilotis, struggle to cover some five thousand watery miles -- more than any other cross-country river traveler has ever managed -- often following in the wakes of our most famous explores, from Henry Hudson to Lewis and Clark.

En route, the voyagers confront massive floods, submerged rocks, dangerous weather, and their own doubts about whether they can complete the trip. But the hard days yield up incomparable pleasures: strangers generous with help and eccentric tales, landscapes unchanged since Sacagawea saw them, riverscapes flowing with a lively past, and the growing belief that efforts to protect our lands and waters are beginning to pay off. And, throughout its course, the expedition enjoys coincidences so breathtaking as to suggest the intervention of a divine and witty Providence.

Teeming with humanity and high adventure, Heat-Moon's account is an unsentimental and original arteriogram of our nation at the edge of the Millennium.

Customer Reviews:

Tedious, but should be read.......2007-08-25

William Trogdon, alias Heat-Moon, has a Ph.d in English, and it shows. He has a vast command of the language and has keen observations.
This is a very interesting book if you take the time to trace his travels on a map, or preferably, Google Earth and see sat photos of the rivers. It is also an excellent education in geography. From the harbor of New York to the Pacific Ocean is pretty impressive. I envy this man for the courage and fortitude to do this voyage.
My negatives are: a constant search for all things Indian. Trogdon seems to have trouble with his identity.
The writing is somewhat pedantic and stiff. It takes many sittings to get thru the book. Next, his willingness to eat as much meat as he can makes me sick and I thought much less of him when the book was finished. Finally, he is pretty liberal and makes nasty comments about conservatives.

Wonderful subject for a book but..........2007-08-14

I wanted to read about the fabulous adventure. I only made it through 30 pages of this book. The author must have read too many ancient texts translated by 19th century academics. This one failed to keep me awake. Perhaps if Pilotis (the anonymous first mate for this voyage) published his diary I would be more interested.

William Least Heat Moon's Finest Writing.......2007-06-27

This book is a must read for anyone who yearns to travel the American experience in a meaningful way, and yet remain seated in your favorite arm chair.

"It's all about me" said Author........2007-01-23

Heat-Moon undertook a fabulous adventure with the assistance of a seemingly very capable and helpful (and anonymous) crew; it's a shame one of them wasn't an author who was up to the task of capturing such a remarkable journey. He can't seem to keep the focus on the trip, but instead constantly writes about 'me, me, me, me, me' and how urbane and worldly he is. His expressed surprise and dissapointment at the lack of gourmet dining and Guinness in small river towns across the US is just one of the many examples that gave me the impression that he was a bit out of touch and unprepared for the realities of such a trip. Throughout the book, Heat-Moon never seems to decide if the trip is supposed to be a rugged, Lewis and Clark-type excursion to truly experiencing America by river and along the river, or an opportunity to tell the reader how superior he is by criticizing the rural communities he passes through and the agencies and people that helped make his trip possible.

He does bring up some very valid points regarding their first-hand observations of negative environmental impacts due to land-use policies, but these valuable points are lost in his smug presentation and finger-pointing. His cumbersome and pretentious writing detracts from the book's flow and kept me from feeling any real connection with the author and his story.

IT IS A MATTER OF TASTE I SUPPOSE, BUT I ENJOYED THIS ONE.......2006-09-10

Differt people look for different things in a book or story and that is the way it should be. I personally enjoyed this work and am quite happy I finally read it. The author is a very good travel writer, and as another reviewer noted, he, the author, does have a good eye and has a very gifted ability to translate what he sees to paper. This is not only a good travel book, but a good adventure book. There is a lot of interesting information to be had here. No, this is not another Blue Highways, nor should it be. From my own taste, I dislike and try not to compair a writers work with his or her previous work and attempt to let the most current stand on it's own credits. The author has done a good job is discribing the country he traveled through via his boat, the River-Horse and has done a good job of discribing the people he meets along the way and has done a very nice job of telling us his feelings. The only aspect of this work that annoyed my was the author's vocabulary. I realize that I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but good grief, I had to constantly run for the dictionary to find out what the author was talking about. I like learning new words but the author sort of went over the top on this one and I felt this distracted from his overall story. All in all though, I felt this was a good read and do recommend it.

Across Europe in a motor boat;: A chronicle of the adventures of the motor boat Beaver on a voyage of nearly seven thousand miles through Europe by way ... the Rhine, the Danube, and the Black Sea

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Across Europe in a motor boat;: A chronicle of the adventures of the motor boat Beaver on a voyage of nearly seven thousand miles through Europe by way ... the Rhine, the Danube, and the Black Sea
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An Inland Voyage
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Manufacturer: Quiet Vision Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In the summer of 1876, Robert Louis Stevenson made a trip by canoe from Antwerp through northern France. Accompanying him was his friend Walter Simpson.

Written when he was twenty five and published in May of 1878 "An Inland Voyage" was R.L.S.'s first published work.

His descriptive abilites, that the reader finds in such works as "Kidnapped" and "Treasure Island" are first showcased here.

Definitely a book to be read at an unhurried and leisurely pace.

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Adventures in Americana 1492-1897: The Romance of Voyage and Discovery from Spain to the Indies, the Spanish Main, and North America; inland to the Ohio Country; on toward the Mississippi; through to California; over Chikoot Pass to the Golden Fields of Alaska. Being a Selection of Books from the Library of Herschel V. Jones, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Three Volumes.
Helen, under the direction of Wilberforce Eames. (Hershel V. Jones) Fogg
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Adventures in Americana, 1492-1897;: The romance of voyage and discovery from Spain to the Indies, the Spanish Main, and North America; inland to the Ohio ... Chilkoot Pass to the gold fields of Alaska
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All goes well: A voyage through the heartland of the U.S. from Saginaw Bay to Galveston Bay via the Tombigbee waterway
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The First Crossing of Spitsbergen. Being an Account of an Inland Journey of Exploration and Survey, with Descriptions of several Mountain Ascents, of Boat Expeditions in Ice Fjord, of a Voyage to North-East-Land, the Seven Islands, Down Hinloopen Strait, nearly to Wiches Land, and into most of the Fjords of Spitsbergen, and of an almost complete circumnavigation of the main Island
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The First Crossing of Spitsbergen. Being an Account of an Inland Journey of Exploration and Survey, with Descriptions of several Mountain Ascents, of Boat Expeditions in Ice Fjord, of a Voyage to North-East-Land, the Seven Islands, Down Hinloopen Strait, nearly to Wiches Land, and into most of the Fjords of Spitsbergen, and of an almost complete circumnavigation of the main Island
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The inland sea and the great river;: The story of Australian exploration
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The inland sea and the great river;: The story of Australian exploration
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Book Description

Is Enrique trying to win her over -- or just trying to win?

Road trip! Lula Cruz has her last summer before college all mapped out. She's checking out of NYC and checking in to the sizzling hot "SoBe" scene with her best friend, Jeff.

When their day jobs get to be a drag, they spice things up by entering a local band contest. And spicy it is! Turns out that the hottie Lula keeps running into is also her band's toughest competition! Enrique might seem like the perfect guy, but as things heat up Lula has to wonder: Can she trust her biggest rival with her heart?

Customer Reviews:

this book was great!!.......2007-08-15

I loved this book it was very refreshing and funny. I read this in 5 hours non stop, i couldnt put it down. I think this book is good for people for all ages. Take my advice get the book it is one of my favorites and im sure will be one of your too.

I Have No Idea What To Call This Review!.......2007-02-28

Not the best book.I mean this was way to predictable.It didnt keep you guessing.It did keep me laughing a little though.This book is kinda a book you would read and then forget about.N E ways this is my opinon right?This book is enjoyable but the authors could of added a little sizzle.It could of been written better.I dont kno how it could of been better but it could of been.But the book was enjoyable.....i guess.

Fun but lacks some quality..........2006-05-06

Lula Cruz and her best gay friend, Jeff, embark on a trip to Miami just before College eats her time up. After a series of misfortune, they find themselves working for a somewhat Latin woman, Cece, in a Cuban cafe.

SoBe's (South Beach) environment wasn't the only one that caught her attention---a guy named Enrique, a man who you could never go wrong, swooned her heart.

But what if Enrique turns out to be her best competition later on?

The first time I read the book, I got hooked with it. When I finished reading it, the book left me amused and it somehow satisfied me.

What I didn't like in the book was its too predictable. However, because I was hooked in this book the first time I read it, it didn't show (as for me).

However, though I enjoyed it, I wish the authors put some sense of "mystery and quality" in it---something that keeps the readers guessing until the very end.

More warm, not so much sizzle.......2005-06-24

Ok, this book was funny, entertainable, and predictable. There was no tragic break-up with a happy reunion. The end of friendship thing lasted, like, two pages. It was pretty funny, but it's not the type of book that keeps you guessing until the end. It's basically about a girl named Lula finding out about herself. But, she doesn't change from self concious to a wild woman. I think that they could have edited it a little more and added more of a plot twist. I don't know. It was fun to read but not really enlighting. I've read sooooooo many better spring break books. Yet, I must admit, this wasn't the worst. It could have been a lot better. If you want to check it out of a lib. then go ahead. But PLEASE don't waste your money.

Fun Spring Break/Summer Vacation Read.......2005-04-06

Eighteen-year-old Lula Cruz is totally stoked about the road trip she'll be taking with her best friend, Jeff, the summer before she begins her studies at a University in Miami. She plans on checking out of hot, sweaty NYC, and diving right in to the cool waters that SoBe (South Beach) provides. However, the two friends are quickly realizing how hard it truly is to be out on their own, with no one there to support them. They get day jobs that totally run them down, and are, how should we put this...totally boring! So Lula and Jeff decide to spice things up by entering a local band contest that could get them televised and everything. The only problem, is that the newest hottie Lula's been hooking up with, Enrique, has also entered the band contest, and is her band's toughest competition. Sure, Enrique is totally mesmerizing to look at, but Lula's not sure if she can trust him with her secrets...or her heart.

As a HUGE fan of the SIMON PULSE ROMANTIC COMEDY series, I never pass up the opportunity to read their latest releases, which is why SOUTH BEACH SIZZLE quickly caught my eye. Suzanne Weyn & Diana Gonzalez have created an excellent book for anyone looking for an easy read during their Spring Break or Summer Vacation. The characters found in SOUTH BEACH SIZZLE are upbeat, fun, and all feature unique personalities. The romance is cute, and will definitely appeal to pre-teen and teenage girls; while the band competition will appeal to aspiring musicians of the female gender. Overall, this was a wonderful addition to the SIMON PULSE ROMANTIC COMEDY series, that will be enjoyed by all.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Playgirl Magazine, issue dated May 1998 SPECIAL edition: CENTERFOLDS--Meet the STUDS who make south Beach SIZZLE; Rocker PETE STEELES's debut Layout (he's ROCK hard) RARE ISSUE

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Playgirl Magazine, issue dated May 1998 SPECIAL edition: CENTERFOLDS--Meet the STUDS who make south Beach SIZZLE; Rocker PETE STEELES's debut Layout (he's ROCK hard) RARE ISSUE
Playgirl
Manufacturer: Playgirl
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UU4N30

Playgirl Magazine SPECIAL edition: CENTERFOLDS--Meet the STUDS who make south Beach SIZZLE; Rocker PETE STEELES's debut Layout (he's ROCK hard) RARE ISSUE

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Playgirl Magazine SPECIAL edition: CENTERFOLDS--Meet the STUDS who make south Beach SIZZLE; Rocker PETE STEELES's debut Layout (he's ROCK hard) RARE ISSUE
Playgirl
Manufacturer: Playgirl
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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