Moving from Alaskan prehistory, to Russian exploration, to acquisition by the United States, to statehood, this richly detailed historical novel chronicles the high points of Alaska's history through the lives of fictional and historical characters. Reprint. 40,000 first printing. In this sweeping epic of the northernmost American frontier, James A. Michener guides us across Alaska's fierce terrain, from the long-forgotten past to the bustling technological present, as his characters struggle for survival. The exciting high points of Alaska's story, from its brutal prehistory, through the nineteenth century and the American acquisition, to its modern status as America's thriving forty-ninth state, are brought vividly to life in this remarkable novel: the gold rush; the tremendous growth and exploitation of the salmon industry; the discovery of oil and its social and economic consequences; the difficult construction of the Alcan Highway, which made possible the defense of the territory in World War II. A spellbinding portrait of a human community struggling to establish its place in the world, Alaska traces a bold and majestic history of the enduring spirit of a land and its people. Fact and Fiction ix The Clashing Terranes 3(8) The Ice Castle 11(23) People of the North 34(55) The Explorers 89(86) The Duel 175(52) Lost Worlds 227(83) Giants in Chaos 310(56) Gold 366(99) The Golden Beaches of Nome 465(60) Salmon 525(104) The Railbelt 629(109) The Rim of Fire 738