I bought this book for stories about fishing, hunting, trapping, wilderness travel and "white knuckle" adventure. What I found was a book that covered a wide variety of topics, all relevant to Alaska but in some cases a little "tame" or mundane for the typical adventure reader. So, as is always the case, whether or not you'd like this book depends on your particular interests. I give it a high rating because it has something for everybody. In fact, the book contains almost 60 stories and if you find only 10 that you really enjoy the book is worth buying. I also rated it high because while every story is not a "gripping" adventure thriller, many of them are, and others are informative, entertaining or interesting in other ways.
Among the more "riveting" stories are two about men surrounded or pursued by wolves; one about researchers on a frozen lake during an earthquake; one about a fisherman caught under a capsized fishing boat and one about a daring float plane rescue of men stranded in a deep canyon river. There is the obligatory "avalanche" story and another about a raging walrus, and several "big fish" stories.
One or two stories deal with the psychological effects of prolonged isolated, wilderness living. Another, and one of my personal favorites, is a unique and revealing story about crime and punishment in the bush. It is entitled "Of Traps and Treasures--Klutuk."
Another story, "My Sunset Moose" deals with the realization that time changes everything, and that for better or worse, change must be accepted. Another, "A Trapper Leaves the Country" deals with the same subject, in the same somber way, but in a different context.
But my single favorite story is "A Few Mosquito Bites." I believe that any man or woman or any child old enough to understand simple language would enjoy this story about a man, his hybrid wolf-dogs and life in the wilderness. In fact, it would be worth buying this book just to get this story.
But please don't think that every story is about men going hunting or fishing, or getting killed or maimed in the woods! Many are written by women about the extraordinarily tough and determined women who were attracted to life in the the world's last great wilderness and last free country!
Lots of stories, lots of fun, easy reading. Recommended.
"The Last Frontier" is an interesting collection of feature stories that originally appeared in "Alaska" magazine from 1935 until the present. They were chosen by the current editors of the magazine. The subject matter is quite varied, featuring outdoor adventure tales, life among the native people, wildlife exposes and much more. The stories are as varied as the people who inhabit the last great American wilderness.The caveat I would note for anyone interested in reading the book is that most of the stories are quite short, and because they were published for a then-contemporary audience, someone not familiar with local history or geography might sometimes get lost in the narrative. Also, "Alaska" started out as a sportsman's magazine, so a lot of the early stories are about hunting and trapping, which some people might not enjoy.
Those cautions aside, "The Last Frontier" is a decent read for those who likes outdoor adventure stories.
