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On the Edge of Nowhere
His father is a white trapper, his mother an Athabascan Indian who walks a thousand miles in winter to reunite with her family. Thus, Jimmy Huntington learns early how to survive on the land. Huntington is only seven when his mother dies, and he must care for his younger siblings.
A courageous and inspiring man, Huntington hunts wolves, fights bears, survives close calls too numerous to mention, and becomes a championship sled-dog racer.
A courageous and inspiring man, Huntington hunts wolves, fights bears, survives close calls too numerous to mention, and becomes a championship sled-dog racer.
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First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
May 1, 2016
I'm walking with my 23-year-old son to the movie theater. It' s winter but still pretty warm. We're headed to "The Revenant" at Edwards Theater complex in Fresno's River Park shopping center. Thinking about the film made me remember "Man in the Wilderness," which I saw at Schiable Hall at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. In winter. Me and Torg thought it was awesome. I believe we saw it again. But I'd already been thinking of the original film. It had been mentioned in reviews. But I'd heard a lot of bear stories, having grown up in Alaska. A bear surprised my grandfather one day on Kodiak. He shot it. Had to, I was told as I slid down its big head. The bear was made into a rug. I played on it constantly at my grandparents house on Raspberry Island. Really in the sticks back then. The greatest bear story, however, was told by Jimmy Huntington in "On the Edge of Nowhere." A teacher had read us the book. The original was published in 1966 about a guy who grew up in the Alaska Bush. Our teacher, and I suspect it was Miss Fenton (she became a principal in Arizona and married some guy named Bufmire) who taught at University Park Elementary in Fairbanks. It was 1970 or thereabouts. It was winter and cold. We all watched the frostbite videos. One in particular shows a guy's blackened dead toes being cut off with a high-speed cutting wheel. So gross, we all would say. Then we'd stare at it. Every time. This was the era of film reels. Black and white. So Miss Fenton reads. We listen. We live Jimmy Huntington's life with him. His mom had been married before. Her first husband was shot and killed. She had to testify against him in Nome. Travel then was either by boat or dog sled. And his mother had to spend the winter in Nome, leaving her children with family. The killer was guilty. But he was a white man, while she was Athabascan Indian. He was freed after the trial. She had to wait another spring to travel. Instead she walked all the way home. A thousand miles in deep winter. No map. Just general directions. She nearly died multiple times. And eskimo and indian didn't much care for each other back near 1875. Huntington was born later. His dad was a white trapper, who married his mom. But when he was still just a kid, maybe 10, mom dies. They live in a remote spot on the Hogatza River way up near the Arctic Circle. Dad's gone a couple weeks. Bears come. Jimmy and his older brother Sidney have a little sister to take care of. Jimmy survives this and multiple other scrapes with living by his wits in a harsh land. One of the stories involves hunting bears. Jimmy tangles with and kills three. He should have been killed. He's laid open. One of his sled dogs is killed. Again he helps a hunter recover from a serious mauling. He sews the man up with his own hair. His face is peeled away. He packs the wounds with salt. The man recovers. Jimmy's fame grows. Jimmy also becomes the first Huslia Hustler, a line of famous dog mushers who are amazingly fast. As kids we knew of him and we all followed a later famous musher, George Attla, from the same little community of Huslia, which Jimmy actually started. This is the kind of book people should read before visiting Alaska. This is the Alaska I knew. The remote, the harsh and the beautiful state that has sights that must be seen in person. When I first went to Nantucket to meet my sister-in-law's in-laws, they asked that we all read Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex." It's about the real story behind a ship and captain from Nantucket who tangled with a great sperm whale and the few of them who lived to tell the harrowing tale of survival. The story provided great context for my family's visit and really got us interested in the history of the island. "On the Edge" provides that sort of insight. In straightforward storytelling, Jimmy Huntington comes alive. His decisions, the time he was a moonshiner, a hunter shooting wolves for a $50 bounty, a fisherman, a trader, a husband, a visiting villager and his mushing exploits. I loved the book. I had remembered it wrong so I totally enjoyed traveling back to those memories. They once made 50 below not so cold. Now they warmed my heart and made me realize that there is life after bear fights. And a shout out to Freya Anderson and Jane Fuerstenau, Alaska librarians who answered my inquiry to figure out the title of this book. I had the most obscure memories and I was confusing one Huslia Hustler with another, not remembering Jimmy Huntington's name. They figured it out. They rock.
December 30, 2012
Today’s confession; I have a genuine weakness for wilderness survival stories. When I was a boy I seldom read. My summers were spent in the woods, down by Indian Creek, wading through emerald waters and angling for creek chubs and smallmouth bass. One of the few books that lured me away from my sacred jaunts was The Raft, a true life tale of three WW II Naval airmen who went down in the Pacific and were set adrift. So when my son Noah bought me On the Edge of Nowhere for Christmas, I suspended my reading of Louise Erdrich’s The Roundhouse long enough to devour this true life tale of a man’s life growing up in Alaska. I wasn’t disappointed.
The main reason I gave it four stars is because the writing isn’t poetic and compelling. But the story is pure 5 stars. True, eventful, with plenty of twists and turns that leave you suffering with its main character, James Huntington. His mother was Athabascan and his Dad hiked up into remote Alaska from somewhere south and together these two had Jim (as well as others). Their lives were not easy, but neither were their sons. At the age of 12 Jim and his older brother Sidney spend the winter in primitive wilderness with their old man and his trapping friend. They build a cabin and trap all winter, piling up a huge number of prime pelts, before ice out cleans them out and they’re penniless. From one catastrophe to another, Jim Huntington rises with the aplomb of a cork.
But most of all, I’m a sucker for survival stories, and Jim survived and thrived, eventually being elected to the Alaska legislature. If you enjoy wilderness survival stories, you won’t be disappointed by On the Edge of Nowhere.
The main reason I gave it four stars is because the writing isn’t poetic and compelling. But the story is pure 5 stars. True, eventful, with plenty of twists and turns that leave you suffering with its main character, James Huntington. His mother was Athabascan and his Dad hiked up into remote Alaska from somewhere south and together these two had Jim (as well as others). Their lives were not easy, but neither were their sons. At the age of 12 Jim and his older brother Sidney spend the winter in primitive wilderness with their old man and his trapping friend. They build a cabin and trap all winter, piling up a huge number of prime pelts, before ice out cleans them out and they’re penniless. From one catastrophe to another, Jim Huntington rises with the aplomb of a cork.
But most of all, I’m a sucker for survival stories, and Jim survived and thrived, eventually being elected to the Alaska legislature. If you enjoy wilderness survival stories, you won’t be disappointed by On the Edge of Nowhere.
July 12, 2018
4.5
I really enjoyed this simple memoir about hard luck, hard living, and hardwork. This is a great book that describes living in Alaska during the early to mid 20th century. Anyone who feels as if life has dealt them a bad hand or that they are overwhelmed could learn a lot from this book.
I really enjoyed this simple memoir about hard luck, hard living, and hardwork. This is a great book that describes living in Alaska during the early to mid 20th century. Anyone who feels as if life has dealt them a bad hand or that they are overwhelmed could learn a lot from this book.
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October 7, 2014Overall enjoyed the book. Need to know what happened to his mother's first two children, Fred and Edith? They would have been 6 or 7 yrs old when she (Anna) married his father. Odd that mom walked a thousand miles to get back to them and then you never hear them mentioned again.
December 27, 2015
This was an engaging memoir of a life lived in the wilderness of Alaska. Jim Huntington was a true outdoorsman, an Alaskan. His story is a story of triumph over challenges, and making the best of what life has to offer. I enjoyed this story very much, and read it cover to cover in two sittings.
July 10, 2020
WOW, this is one phenomenal book! Every once in a while, we read a book about a person who borders on mythical. This is one of those books. Jim Huntington carved out a life in the Alaskan bush that can only be believed by reading this book. Jim was a trapper, a hunter, a riverboat pilot, a trading post owner, a musher, and a state representative. I hope this little bit is enough to entice you to pick up this one and read it; it will not disappoint.
March 23, 2023
Great memoir!
People who lived during this time were definitely tougher than us. Imagine being in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness when your mom dies and having to survive on your own, with your brother, while taking care of your little sister- and your 7!!
Would you survive?
That’s just the beginning of Jim Huntington’s story.
People who lived during this time were definitely tougher than us. Imagine being in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness when your mom dies and having to survive on your own, with your brother, while taking care of your little sister- and your 7!!
Would you survive?
That’s just the beginning of Jim Huntington’s story.
October 16, 2018
This is an amazing memoir and first-person chronicle of life in the interior of Alaska. It is by turns funny, scary and heartbreaking. There are some flaws, especially where some threads of the story are left to dangle but overall, fascinating.
July 17, 2009
This has to be one of the better accounts of bush living in Alaska to make it to print. James Hunnington, half white half Athabaska straddles several worlds and in rather matter-of-fact prose (unlike many of his contemporaries, Harrington spent several years at a mission school in Anvik - between age seven and twelve- and so could read and write) reveals the stark realities of life along the Yukon in the 1920s and 30s. However, his appreciation for physical labor and for the and wisdom developed only through an intense and often antagonistic relationship with back country wilderness is beautiful in its restraint. Take for example the following: "Still we got along. There was always meat for the pot, and the cabin stayed snug and warm on the coldest nights. We had no rent to pay, no fancy clothes to buy. We had no use for a clock. We lived off the land, and the land was the only thing we had to answer. As long as we stayed tough and smart, we'd make out." Such is his statement about his life at the age of 12, after losing his mother at age seven (he, his brother and baby sister had survived alone for two weeks on the isolated homestead with their mother's corpse splayed out on the cabin floor), and losing a year's worth of work trapping along the Yukon when the spring floods carried off all their meat, furs, and supplies. And it is followed by: "Dad got sick with TB....I was sixteen and on my own." This is not the work of a 'back-to-nature' romantic.
August 19, 2018
Started and finished in one day. It's the simple and haunting memoir of James Huntington, an Alaskan man who seemingly defines the word "outdoorsman". I couldn't put it down.
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October 16, 2011Fantastic! Simple, straightforward, fantastic storytelling. It's a can't-put-down book, and a really quick read about what some might call pretty typical Alaskan living in his time. But the story of his simple, backcountry, subsistence life to a modern audience is astounding. It took me a few evenings of reading and I had to force myself to put it down every time. He wraps it up nicely, too, and makes the reader want to share it with others who need a little perspective on life, and what one views as difficult, hard or stressful. If you seek literary nonfiction, this isn't it. It's a real story of the life of one man getting by, simply told. Not sure I'd agree with the reviewer who says "he lived a life he loved." He accepted his life and appreciated its lessons, but it was clearly hard and full of great loss alongside its rewards. I for one am glad he shared.
April 17, 2016
Autobiographies of people living out in wild Alaska are fast becoming one of my favorite genres, and this book is one of the reasons why (the other is "North of the Sun" by Fred Hatfield which is even better, in my opinion). It's amazing to think that people can live and even thrive in such harsh, simple environments. Living in today's technology-crazed world, where everything is at the touch of our fingertips, it's so refreshing and inspiring to remember that people can survive with only the basic necessities. Life was really hard for these people, but I admire how strong they were and how focused they stayed on the basic aspects of life -- rather than getting caught up in all the drama most of the rest of us spend our time worrying over. I found his whole life story pretty inspiring.
August 21, 2007
Arguably the best book written about Alaska, a true outdoors classic.
From Amazon.com:
"His father is a white trapper, his mother an Athabascan Indian who walks a thousand miles in winter to reunite with her family. Thus, Jimmy Huntington learns early how to survive on the land. When his mother dies, Huntington -- at age seven -- must care for his younger siblings.
A courageous and inspiring man, Huntington hunts wolves, fights bears, survives close calls too numerous to mention, and becomes a championship sled-dog racer."
From Amazon.com:
"His father is a white trapper, his mother an Athabascan Indian who walks a thousand miles in winter to reunite with her family. Thus, Jimmy Huntington learns early how to survive on the land. When his mother dies, Huntington -- at age seven -- must care for his younger siblings.
A courageous and inspiring man, Huntington hunts wolves, fights bears, survives close calls too numerous to mention, and becomes a championship sled-dog racer."
September 19, 2017
We loved this book! It is a great read-aloud book that gives a vivid picture of what life was like living in the bush in Alaska in the first half of the 20th century. James Huntington exemplifies the character traits of resourcefulness and perseverance through various kinds of difficulties and hard times. Sometimes the book made us cry, more often it made us laugh, and it always painted unforgettable pictures on our minds of what life in Alaska was like then. It's full of adventure, courage, sled dogs, and nature, and Huntington is refreshingly upright and honest.
June 4, 2012
This memoir about James Huntington showed how he lived in the bush but was educated and a very hard worker. His father was a white trapper and her mother was an Indian. James' survival in the Alaska territory was illustrated by his ways of being a trapper, dog sled racer, store owner and finally a state legislator! He survived 3 marriages and had seven children. This book showed that you have to fight for whatever is important to you. What a wonderful read!
May 13, 2016
such an adventure to read this book. sometimes I caught myself feeling like I was back in my grandpa's old house and listening to their stories.. definitely one of the most vivid and beautiful books I've read so far. it is the book about the relationship between humankind and nature. survival instincts and a life full of trial and errors, victories and defeats, happiness and sorrow.. all together, told in the most warm-hearted and yet down to the bone fantastic!
March 15, 2013
My husband and I read this together and we loved it - James Huntington's Alaskan memoir defines the importance of living off the land and knowing your people and neighbors no matter where you are - and it resonates with those who see this way of life's value in the past as well in our survival in the future. Highly recommend to anyone!
May 6, 2016
Interesting book about being raised in Alaska in the early 1900's. Felt bad for Jimmy in the end when he finally got is store after working so hard all his life and then lost it all in a fire. He was a very forward-thinking person and accomplished many great things in his life, both for himself and for other people. He left behind a great legacy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2018
This is exactly the kind of book I most love to read in winter! It brought me out of my own gloom and filled my mind with adventure! A very hard life Meat for the pot and all, the stories were fantastic and I am very glad to have found this book at library. Right on to those who write books like this and keep the lust for reading alive!
February 24, 2010
SUch an interesting read. Wonderful to learn about living off of the land in Alaska. James was such a man of strength, bravery and integrity. I still can't get over the man fighting 3 bears story!!
September 9, 2011
I really wish I had started this book earlier in my visit to Alaska so that I could've finished it. But I really enjoyed it. I think I liked it better than his brother's book. But both were fascinating looks at a "real Alaska".
May 17, 2012
I loved this book! A peek at life in teh far northern parts of our globe! James Huntington was quite a guy & had quite a life! Some good, some not-so-good. I couldn't wait to finish this book so my husband could read it - definitely an interesting book for anyone who loves the outdoors!
July 15, 2016
This is probably my favorite book of all and I have read a little of just about everything. It's the true story of a boy who grows up under the most difficult circumstances. It's survival that you can hardly imagine. Amazing book!
August 12, 2013
Quite a story. That a child of five could take care of younger siblings in the bush is impressive in and of itself. I read this before I went into the bush. One finishes this book with a tremendous respect and appreciation for Athabascan culture and lifeways.
October 18, 2013
A good book in its own right, and not just for the crazy upbringing but because these early arctic trappers had pretty interesting lives. Yes you should also read his famous brothers book; Shadows on the Koyukuk.
December 20, 2015
This is a simple well told story about a man's life and upbringing in the most remote areas of Alaska from about the 1920's into the 1960's.. I picked it up one afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it.
December 26, 2015
A life lived fully.
As someone who used to live in Alaska, this makes me homesick. He was an amazing story teller and really captures how the land takes hold of a person, and teaches you what it means to truly live.
As someone who used to live in Alaska, this makes me homesick. He was an amazing story teller and really captures how the land takes hold of a person, and teaches you what it means to truly live.
January 10, 2018
Loved this book. Very entertaining narrative style. The fascinating life of Jimmy Huntington, a hunter, trapper, and musher in the Alaskan interior. Covers the years spanning about 1920 through the 1960s. I'm going to recommend this one to my dad!
November 20, 2009
Short, interesting read about Jim Huntington, Alaskan trapper turned dog sled racer. Lots of good information about life in the wilderness in the early 1900's.
January 23, 2012
Wow! This guy led an amazing life. It was interesting to read about the difficulties of his life. In his case, the truth truly is stranger than fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews