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First Wilderness: My Quest in the Territory of Alaska
Fans of the Alaskan classic ONE MAN’S WILDERNESS will enjoy reading this memoir, of how its author, Sam Keith, and its subject, Dick Proenneke, first met.
After serving as a US Marine during World War II and attending college on the GI Bill, Sam Keith decided to seek adventure and acceptance in Alaska. He arrived on Kodiak Island in July, 1952, where he secured a job as a laborer on the Adak Navy base.
He befriended a group of like-minded men there, including Dick Proenneke, who shared a love of the outdoors, hard work and self-reliance. Keith explored the wilds of South Central Alaska while working on the Navy base, and later as a Stream Guard and Enforcement Patrolman. In his hunting and fishing trips with Dick and his friends, Keith found almost everything he sought.
But at the end of three years, Keith decided to go Outside to pursue other dreams. Dick Proenneke tells him, “Sam, you know right well you don’t want to leave this country. Don’t give up on it. Me and you got to figure something out.”
In 1973, Keith went on to write ONE MAN'S AN ALASKAN ODYSSEY, based on his dear friend’s journals and photography. It was reissued in 1999 and won a National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA). In 2003, portions of text from the book and some of Proenneke's 16mm movies were used in Alone in the Wilderness, which began appearing on US public television stations. The documentary follows Proenneke as he builds a log cabin with only hand tools, and includes reflections on wildlife, weather, and the natural scenery he sees around him.
Sam Keith passed away in 2003. But in 2013, his son-in-law, children’s book author/illustrator Brian Lies, discovered a book manuscript in an archive box in their garage, originally written in 1974 after the publication of ONE MAN’S WILDERNESS.
FIRST WILDERNESS is the story of Keith’s own experiences, at times harrowing, funny and fascinating. Along with the original manuscript are photos and excerpts from his journals, letters, and notebooks, woven in to create a compelling and poignant memoir of search and discovery.
After serving as a US Marine during World War II and attending college on the GI Bill, Sam Keith decided to seek adventure and acceptance in Alaska. He arrived on Kodiak Island in July, 1952, where he secured a job as a laborer on the Adak Navy base.
He befriended a group of like-minded men there, including Dick Proenneke, who shared a love of the outdoors, hard work and self-reliance. Keith explored the wilds of South Central Alaska while working on the Navy base, and later as a Stream Guard and Enforcement Patrolman. In his hunting and fishing trips with Dick and his friends, Keith found almost everything he sought.
But at the end of three years, Keith decided to go Outside to pursue other dreams. Dick Proenneke tells him, “Sam, you know right well you don’t want to leave this country. Don’t give up on it. Me and you got to figure something out.”
In 1973, Keith went on to write ONE MAN'S AN ALASKAN ODYSSEY, based on his dear friend’s journals and photography. It was reissued in 1999 and won a National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA). In 2003, portions of text from the book and some of Proenneke's 16mm movies were used in Alone in the Wilderness, which began appearing on US public television stations. The documentary follows Proenneke as he builds a log cabin with only hand tools, and includes reflections on wildlife, weather, and the natural scenery he sees around him.
Sam Keith passed away in 2003. But in 2013, his son-in-law, children’s book author/illustrator Brian Lies, discovered a book manuscript in an archive box in their garage, originally written in 1974 after the publication of ONE MAN’S WILDERNESS.
FIRST WILDERNESS is the story of Keith’s own experiences, at times harrowing, funny and fascinating. Along with the original manuscript are photos and excerpts from his journals, letters, and notebooks, woven in to create a compelling and poignant memoir of search and discovery.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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358 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 7, 2018
What a fantastic book! It will leave you hungering for your own Alaska adventure.
The author is best known for his book chronicling another Alaskan pioneer, Dick Proennecke (One Man's Wilderness).
In this book he writes about his own Alaskan obsession, his journey there to work at any job he could find, his hunting and fishing adventures, and the beginning of his friendship with Proennecke.
His descriptions of the Alaskan back country, the characters that he meets and works with, his own great relationship with his own family, and his inner feelings, will all leave you feeling that you are there with him!
A memoir of a time that is probably lost forever, and of the adventures we might have had if we had only had the courage to follow his lead.
Outstanding!
The author is best known for his book chronicling another Alaskan pioneer, Dick Proennecke (One Man's Wilderness).
In this book he writes about his own Alaskan obsession, his journey there to work at any job he could find, his hunting and fishing adventures, and the beginning of his friendship with Proennecke.
His descriptions of the Alaskan back country, the characters that he meets and works with, his own great relationship with his own family, and his inner feelings, will all leave you feeling that you are there with him!
A memoir of a time that is probably lost forever, and of the adventures we might have had if we had only had the courage to follow his lead.
Outstanding!
October 21, 2014
Like he did in One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey, Sam Keith puts to word the beauty of Alaska like no one else. It was so interesting to read how he and Richard L. Proenneke met and hear about how Dick was planning to follow his dream to build a cabin in the wilds of Alaska. I have given One Man's Wilderness to every guy I know who loves nature. Now I can give them this!
January 24, 2022
I did not expect this to be in the same league as his first book “One mans wilderness,” but it really is. One man’s wilderness detailed his good friend Dick Proeneke’s success as a man who made a life for himself as a homesteader in the wilds of Alaska for decades. This details Sam’s yearning to do the same, but succeeding in a much different way. It fully deserves 5 stars and both books will stand next to each other as two of my favorites.
November 17, 2014
I have to start off by saying that I won my copy of "First Wilderness" on GoodReads. With that said it was very well written, easy to read and extremely interesting. Anyone that enjoys the outdoors will love this book, and after reading it I added "Alaska" to my bucket list. Thanks Mr. Keith for a great book.
January 30, 2025
Kieth was very cool.
February 1, 2021
In Sam Keith's youth he lived any young man's dream: move to the great wide, white North Country and enjoy nature in all it's glory, immerse oneself in everything Alaskan, as a sort of a coming-of-age passage before a more responsible, civilized life comes - but only after the dreams of life's second decade have been chased down. In this narrative, what Keith also interweaves into the story is how he had to work hard, often 80+ hours a week, in order to play hard, with very little sleep on the weekends, starting his Saturdays as early as 3am in the land of the midnight sun just to be able to maximize his two days off. Unlike many young men who undergo such endeavors, Sam succeeded - succeeded to the tune of nearly 5 years before coming "back home to the East", a decision he made on purpose and with intention rather than out of some need to craw back to sustenance.
I picked up this book because it was likened to the great One Man's Wilderness also authored by Keith, and the two books are distinctly different despite being from the same pen, in the same era, about the same men. I was happy to find that there was indeed new content. The Foreward was warranted in explaining the impetus for the publication of this book, decades in the making, and gave a great history of the Keith family and how Sam was a worthy patriarch. His journey from Massachusetts to the West Coast to Kodiak was also good background information to understand the context of his life and adventures. But I must say I enjoyed One Man's Wilderness much more, and part of that may be nostalgia and the fact that Dick Proenneke was a man of Paul Bunyan fairy tale fame - yet was real.
Keith's descriptions of his time at say, the Seattle hotel, I could care less about. His musings about his work paving tarmac and digging ditches, while necessary to fuel his nature outings, were pedantic. Consequently, the second half of the book was more enjoyable. It is during the second half of the book that Proenneke is more thoroughly introduced, and from that point forward the book flourishes. Keith and Proenneke were good friends, and the best parts of the book were the stories involving the two of them, like stalking game for days for the best shot, running from grizzlies when literally being chased by them, and fishing for mammoth salmon in which a 10-pounder was labeled as a small catch. Bravado wintertime survival stories, great backwoods bush piloting, quartering a moose kill, and preserving bear skulls - they're all there. Keith's time alone proving himself to himself, and relating his experiences to Dick's, corroborating the legend of the great Alaskan outdoorsman lifestyle, brought me back to dreaming again. More wilderness stories please!
I picked up this book because it was likened to the great One Man's Wilderness also authored by Keith, and the two books are distinctly different despite being from the same pen, in the same era, about the same men. I was happy to find that there was indeed new content. The Foreward was warranted in explaining the impetus for the publication of this book, decades in the making, and gave a great history of the Keith family and how Sam was a worthy patriarch. His journey from Massachusetts to the West Coast to Kodiak was also good background information to understand the context of his life and adventures. But I must say I enjoyed One Man's Wilderness much more, and part of that may be nostalgia and the fact that Dick Proenneke was a man of Paul Bunyan fairy tale fame - yet was real.
Keith's descriptions of his time at say, the Seattle hotel, I could care less about. His musings about his work paving tarmac and digging ditches, while necessary to fuel his nature outings, were pedantic. Consequently, the second half of the book was more enjoyable. It is during the second half of the book that Proenneke is more thoroughly introduced, and from that point forward the book flourishes. Keith and Proenneke were good friends, and the best parts of the book were the stories involving the two of them, like stalking game for days for the best shot, running from grizzlies when literally being chased by them, and fishing for mammoth salmon in which a 10-pounder was labeled as a small catch. Bravado wintertime survival stories, great backwoods bush piloting, quartering a moose kill, and preserving bear skulls - they're all there. Keith's time alone proving himself to himself, and relating his experiences to Dick's, corroborating the legend of the great Alaskan outdoorsman lifestyle, brought me back to dreaming again. More wilderness stories please!
October 16, 2024
5⭐️ I was absolutely blown away by this random find of a book that I had no prior knowledge of and was just missing living in Alaska. The genre is nonfiction / biography & autobiography, but it reads a bit more like a fiction book and takes you on an adventure through the Alaskan wilderness in the 1950’s. It is compelling, thoughtful, engaging, entertaining, and educational while telling Sam Keith’s story of his time in Alaska through a long lost manuscript with portions of his journal entries, notebooks, and letters included to paint a vivid portrait of his life experiences.
May 22, 2022
The gifted writer/editor of One Man’s Wilderness has his own Alaskan adventures to share in this equally interesting and spirited memoir. Through letters home and journal entries, Sam Keith’s experiences are shared here, with satisfying detail, thrilling adventure and pure, salt-of-the-earth spirit. Thanks to his family for sharing this rich piece of Americana with us!!
Sam Keith - a true American treasure.
Sam Keith - a true American treasure.
December 8, 2022
I wanted to like this book based on his prior book on Dick Proenneke in Alaska, One Man’s Wilderness. But I could not finish it (perhaps it improved in the second half) as the extended descriptions of hunting and fishing really put me off. I did not experience the same feeling in the Dick Proenneke book, which included hunting and fishing but somehow were more gentle, perhaps reverential of the “game.”
August 4, 2023
In May, I read "One Man's Wilderness" by Sam Keith, about lonely life in the Alaskan woods, and I loved it. Not published during the author's lifetime, "First Wilderness" is about fishing and hunting, and I liked it less.
September 30, 2025
Good read
Long time since I have read non fiction. So glad to come across this book. Since I am in my 80s the time of these events seem very real to me. Look forward to reading the true story of his friend Dick.
Long time since I have read non fiction. So glad to come across this book. Since I am in my 80s the time of these events seem very real to me. Look forward to reading the true story of his friend Dick.
June 20, 2020
This book didn't deliver that sense of awe One Man's Wilderness had. Still glad I read it though.
September 12, 2023
The writing was straightforward yet still beautiful describing his adventure to (and love affair with) Alaska.
January 7, 2015
I enjoyed reading about how Sam was determined to get to Alaska-choosing to work at the then Navy Base on Kodiak for minimal pay. Having read both of the books about Dick Pronenneke's amazing life on Lake Clark, it was interesting to read about the "back story" of how Sam and Dick met and their adventures together.
I was disappointed in the ending, but his daughters Epilog made up for it.
All in all I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed "Alone in the Wilderness" or Alaska adventure stories.
I was disappointed in the ending, but his daughters Epilog made up for it.
All in all I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed "Alone in the Wilderness" or Alaska adventure stories.
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April 19, 2016lovely read, difficult to connect with the dominance of killing seals or bears, knowing now what Sam Keith did not know then...
November 23, 2020
Enjoyed it quite a bit. Wilserness adventure is what I enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews