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Looking for Alaska
More than twenty years ago, a disillusioned college graduate named Peter Jenkins set out with his dog Cooper to look for himself and his nation. His memoir of what he found, A Walk Across America , captured the hearts of millions of Americans.
Now, Peter is a bit older, married with a family, and his journeys are different than they were. Perhaps he is looking for adventure, perhaps inspiration, perhaps new communities, perhaps unspoiled land. Certainly, he found all of this and more in Alaska, America's last wilderness.
Looking for Alaska is Peter's account of eighteen months spent traveling over twenty thousand miles in tiny bush planes, on snow machines and snowshoes, in fishing boats and kayaks, on the Alaska Marine Highway and the Haul Road, searching for what defines Alaska. Hearing the amazing stories of many real Alaskans--from Barrow to Craig, Seward to Deering, and everywhere in between--Peter gets to know this place in the way that only he can. His resulting portrait is a rare and unforgettable depiction of a dangerous and beautiful land and all the people that call it home.
He also took his wife and eight-year-old daughter with him, settling into a "home base" in Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, coming and going from there, and hosting the rest of their family for extended visits. The way his family lived, how they made Alaska their home and even participated in Peter's explorations, is as much a part of this story as Peter's own travels.
All in all, Jenkins delivers a warm, funny, awe-inspiring, and memorable diary of discovery-both of this place that captures all of our imaginations, and of himself, all over again.
Now, Peter is a bit older, married with a family, and his journeys are different than they were. Perhaps he is looking for adventure, perhaps inspiration, perhaps new communities, perhaps unspoiled land. Certainly, he found all of this and more in Alaska, America's last wilderness.
Looking for Alaska is Peter's account of eighteen months spent traveling over twenty thousand miles in tiny bush planes, on snow machines and snowshoes, in fishing boats and kayaks, on the Alaska Marine Highway and the Haul Road, searching for what defines Alaska. Hearing the amazing stories of many real Alaskans--from Barrow to Craig, Seward to Deering, and everywhere in between--Peter gets to know this place in the way that only he can. His resulting portrait is a rare and unforgettable depiction of a dangerous and beautiful land and all the people that call it home.
He also took his wife and eight-year-old daughter with him, settling into a "home base" in Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, coming and going from there, and hosting the rest of their family for extended visits. The way his family lived, how they made Alaska their home and even participated in Peter's explorations, is as much a part of this story as Peter's own travels.
All in all, Jenkins delivers a warm, funny, awe-inspiring, and memorable diary of discovery-both of this place that captures all of our imaginations, and of himself, all over again.
434 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
86 people are currently reading
1942 people want to read
About the author
Peter Jenkins
66 books152 followersBorn July 8th, 1951 in Greenwich, Connecticut,
Peter is the eldest of the six children of Frederick and Mary Jenkins.
Graduated from Greenwich High School in 1969.
Attended Woodstock in summer of 1969.
Graduated from Alfred University in 1973 with a BFA, majoring in Sculptor/ Ceramics.
Began his Walk Across America on October 15, 1973 in Alfred, New York. It ended in mid-January of 1979 in Florence, Oregon.
When not traveling and exploring he lives on a farm in middle Tennessee . He is the proud father of six children, Aaron, Brooke, Rebekah, Jedidiah, Luke and Julianne and is married to the former Rita Jorgensen of Michigan .
Peter is the eldest of the six children of Frederick and Mary Jenkins.
Graduated from Greenwich High School in 1969.
Attended Woodstock in summer of 1969.
Graduated from Alfred University in 1973 with a BFA, majoring in Sculptor/ Ceramics.
Began his Walk Across America on October 15, 1973 in Alfred, New York. It ended in mid-January of 1979 in Florence, Oregon.
When not traveling and exploring he lives on a farm in middle Tennessee . He is the proud father of six children, Aaron, Brooke, Rebekah, Jedidiah, Luke and Julianne and is married to the former Rita Jorgensen of Michigan .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
December 2, 2014
Outstanding. On the nail-head description of Alaska. Focused on family, and people, as well as the awesome beauty.
Disclosure: recently, I drove from the Chesapeake Bay to Prudhoe Bay and back. The Alaska portion was some fourteen hundred miles: the Alaskan Highway on the Canadian border to Fairbanks, then north via the Haul Road to the Arctic Ocean, south to Denali National Park and Preserve and on to Anchorage, then the swing northeast around the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and out. Remember how you felt Christmas morning as a kid? Sheer, shameless joy? Alaska does that to you all over again. Only maybe it’s better because now, with the perspective that comes with age, you understand just how far up the scale it is. So, I think I know a little of what Peter Jenkins (A Walk Across America) was expressing here about Alaska.
He lived there for a year, mostly in Seward. He went salmon fishing with Haida and Tlingit people near Prince of Wales Island in Southeast, he kayaked in the coastal fjords of Prince Willliam Sound, spent a week above the Arctic Circle in the Brooks Range (in winter), hunted bowhead whales with the Inupiat on the west coast of the Seward Peninsula, helped his father-in-law hunt moose in the south central mountains near Merrill Pass, and generally did about all you can squeeze into a year there. As he described the effects, they sort of built, one upon the other, until at the end the whole was much greater than the parts.
The first thing that gets you is the beauty. You expect it but not to the extent that it is. It stuns you, physically. You actually feel it, not just see it. It’s easy to lose focus on what maybe you should be doing, like flying a plane. Some of the bush pilots who crashed no doubt just got distracted by the overwhelming sights. Perhaps the next thing is the sense of wilderness. Nearly all of us now live in places that are no longer wild. Alaska is almost all still wild. And that both draws you in and humbles you. Once you are in the Alaskan wilderness, especially in winter, you notice the unbelievable silence and you can’t help but think of your mortality. Then, finally, you know Alaska has changed you. Call it confidence, or a settled feeling, but in your center you are calmer.
Whether you have been there, or think you might go, this is one excellent way to share Alaska.
Disclosure: recently, I drove from the Chesapeake Bay to Prudhoe Bay and back. The Alaska portion was some fourteen hundred miles: the Alaskan Highway on the Canadian border to Fairbanks, then north via the Haul Road to the Arctic Ocean, south to Denali National Park and Preserve and on to Anchorage, then the swing northeast around the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and out. Remember how you felt Christmas morning as a kid? Sheer, shameless joy? Alaska does that to you all over again. Only maybe it’s better because now, with the perspective that comes with age, you understand just how far up the scale it is. So, I think I know a little of what Peter Jenkins (A Walk Across America) was expressing here about Alaska.
He lived there for a year, mostly in Seward. He went salmon fishing with Haida and Tlingit people near Prince of Wales Island in Southeast, he kayaked in the coastal fjords of Prince Willliam Sound, spent a week above the Arctic Circle in the Brooks Range (in winter), hunted bowhead whales with the Inupiat on the west coast of the Seward Peninsula, helped his father-in-law hunt moose in the south central mountains near Merrill Pass, and generally did about all you can squeeze into a year there. As he described the effects, they sort of built, one upon the other, until at the end the whole was much greater than the parts.
The first thing that gets you is the beauty. You expect it but not to the extent that it is. It stuns you, physically. You actually feel it, not just see it. It’s easy to lose focus on what maybe you should be doing, like flying a plane. Some of the bush pilots who crashed no doubt just got distracted by the overwhelming sights. Perhaps the next thing is the sense of wilderness. Nearly all of us now live in places that are no longer wild. Alaska is almost all still wild. And that both draws you in and humbles you. Once you are in the Alaskan wilderness, especially in winter, you notice the unbelievable silence and you can’t help but think of your mortality. Then, finally, you know Alaska has changed you. Call it confidence, or a settled feeling, but in your center you are calmer.
Whether you have been there, or think you might go, this is one excellent way to share Alaska.
March 14, 2014
This was one of the best travel/nature books I have ever read! And I've read a few, especially on "the frozen North". I've read other Peter Jenkins books and they are all good but this one I did not want to end. I guess, of the books of his I've read, this one and his first one were my favorites. I will probably never get to see Alaska so this really was the next best thing and I thank him for that with all my heart! I wish there had been more photos but it was a pretty big book as it was so I guess you have to stop somewhere! LOL! I still smile and breathe deeply when I think of the pure joy and total absorption into Alaska that I felt just by reading it. It was really close to virtual reality....that's how good a writer I think he is. There were places and adventures he went on in Alaska that even if you went there yourself you would probably never even know about much less experience. It was one the best books of all time for me. Thank you, thank you , thank you, Mr. Jenkins!
February 5, 2009
I really enjoy Peter Jenkins’ writing style because I found it to be so accessible. He writes sort of like I think…as in, when I’m traveling about and am narrating in my head. That’s how he writes, if that makes sense. Well, it does to me.
In reading Jenkins book, Looking for Alaska, I feel as though the experience can be likened to going on a really great guided tour in a museum, like the one they give at the King Tut exhibit or one, perhaps, at the British Museum or Louvre. You aren’t actually transported from your physical location, but your spirit and mind go someplace else. I suppose this quality is one that I, like others, seek out again and again within books but don’t always find. We do, nevertheless, chase that dragon to the ends of the earth and back. Not knowing much about Alaska myself (other than its state bird) I felt as though Jenkins put me there; that there was enough information provided to give me a sense of the Alaskan ethos. I was actually walking down the main drag in Seward, looking out at the ocean or freezing my ass off up in Deering, or dancing the night away at a bar while Hobo Jim plucked away at his guitar and everyone sang along.
Being a practical person (in a very bi polar sense) I really enjoy receiving practical information and Jenkins provided quite a bit of practical information that I could walk away with. His travels in Alaska took him all over the state; from Seward to Nome, and the handy little map provided in the book allowed me a visual representation of the state and, therefore, an idea of where the hell he was going. In each place he went to, he details how he arrived there, which is quite useful in Alaska. Also, bears! He provided quite a lot of information on bears which, being the outdoors person that I am, gives me more peace of mind. Not that I personally feel that the bear issue is ever really resolved (unless you happen to carry hand grenades and semi-autos with you whilst backpacking), more information is helpful and especially from someone who hangs out in the same turf as Grizzlies.
Anywho, I own a copy and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read more about Alaska.
In reading Jenkins book, Looking for Alaska, I feel as though the experience can be likened to going on a really great guided tour in a museum, like the one they give at the King Tut exhibit or one, perhaps, at the British Museum or Louvre. You aren’t actually transported from your physical location, but your spirit and mind go someplace else. I suppose this quality is one that I, like others, seek out again and again within books but don’t always find. We do, nevertheless, chase that dragon to the ends of the earth and back. Not knowing much about Alaska myself (other than its state bird) I felt as though Jenkins put me there; that there was enough information provided to give me a sense of the Alaskan ethos. I was actually walking down the main drag in Seward, looking out at the ocean or freezing my ass off up in Deering, or dancing the night away at a bar while Hobo Jim plucked away at his guitar and everyone sang along.
Being a practical person (in a very bi polar sense) I really enjoy receiving practical information and Jenkins provided quite a bit of practical information that I could walk away with. His travels in Alaska took him all over the state; from Seward to Nome, and the handy little map provided in the book allowed me a visual representation of the state and, therefore, an idea of where the hell he was going. In each place he went to, he details how he arrived there, which is quite useful in Alaska. Also, bears! He provided quite a lot of information on bears which, being the outdoors person that I am, gives me more peace of mind. Not that I personally feel that the bear issue is ever really resolved (unless you happen to carry hand grenades and semi-autos with you whilst backpacking), more information is helpful and especially from someone who hangs out in the same turf as Grizzlies.
Anywho, I own a copy and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read more about Alaska.
July 30, 2023
3.5 stars. Funny story. Wanted to read the John Green Looking for Alaska and the library updated their website and ended up with this one instead. This type of book is totally my jam so I went ahead and read it (while waiting for the other book). It is a bit dated and I would almost like an updated version with cell phones and Amazon. Also the author makes a reference to “right wing extremists”, which is adorable in 2001. But overall, The author did a good job of describing life, the people, the beauty and the dangers of Alaska. It perhaps was a little long and a little sentimental but I enjoyed it.
June 3, 2009
In the mid-1970's an article appeared in National Geographic about Peter Jenkins a disillusioned college student who set out from upstate New York with his dog Cooper to walk across America. In those turbulent social and political times he was hoping to discover some truths about himself, his country and his place in it. (What I found truly remarkable was that he audaciously walked into the National Geographic offices when he was hiking through Washington, D.C. and proposed that he do an article on his adventure. And even more outrageous, they accepted!) I was totally captivated by the article and his subsequent two books " A Walk Across America" and "The Walk West" describing his journey. So, when I saw this book "Looking for Alaska" at the NPR book sale, I snatched it up hoping for the inspiration offered by his previous writings.
But a funny thing happened to Peter Jenkins between his first two books and this one. He grew up. He aged. He got married. He grew heavy and bald. He had kids. He got divorced. He remarried. Maybe we're uncomfortable seeing a reflection of our own aging selves and hope for the idealism and youthful perspective we ourselves have lost.
Jenkins decides to move to Alaska for a year and a half with his wife and youngest daughter. But my impression was less that he was seeking another adventure than thinking, "Oh wow, I really need to go somewhere different so I can write a book about it because that's what I do for a living." The very early pages are exploring his relationship with his oldest daughter which is fine except that that is not why I bought the ticket.
After they settle in to Seward, Jenkins devotes a great deal of ink to describing the quirky stubbornness and independence of the Alaskan citizenry. True confession: Sarah Palin ruined my attitude toward the people of her state. Where once I would have found these folks to be amusing and interesting, now it was hard not to view them as intolerant and anti-social. It was at about this point that I was quite close to closing this book for good.
However, suddenly things got much more interesting. The author started moving about the state and spent time with some fascinating individuals including the dog musher, the veterinarian who lived with his family far above the Arctic Circle and the tribe of Native Alaskans waiting for a bowhead whale to "give itself to" their hunters. Jenkins did a marvelous job of impressing upon the reader the remoteness of this enormous wilderness and the risk in living in such an unforgiving environment. Admittedly, I even started seeing the Alaskans as less Sarah Palin and more Northern Exposure.
Given the magnificence of the Alaskan scenery it would be difficult for any author not to succumb to using overblown poetic adjectives and metaphors when describing that awe-inspiring landscape. However, Jenkins uses a deft and spare hand when painting his picture of the Alaskan geography which actually makes his descriptions more powerful and compelling.
This certainly was not the best travel book I have ever read, but I'm glad that I tagged along for the entire journey.
But a funny thing happened to Peter Jenkins between his first two books and this one. He grew up. He aged. He got married. He grew heavy and bald. He had kids. He got divorced. He remarried. Maybe we're uncomfortable seeing a reflection of our own aging selves and hope for the idealism and youthful perspective we ourselves have lost.
Jenkins decides to move to Alaska for a year and a half with his wife and youngest daughter. But my impression was less that he was seeking another adventure than thinking, "Oh wow, I really need to go somewhere different so I can write a book about it because that's what I do for a living." The very early pages are exploring his relationship with his oldest daughter which is fine except that that is not why I bought the ticket.
After they settle in to Seward, Jenkins devotes a great deal of ink to describing the quirky stubbornness and independence of the Alaskan citizenry. True confession: Sarah Palin ruined my attitude toward the people of her state. Where once I would have found these folks to be amusing and interesting, now it was hard not to view them as intolerant and anti-social. It was at about this point that I was quite close to closing this book for good.
However, suddenly things got much more interesting. The author started moving about the state and spent time with some fascinating individuals including the dog musher, the veterinarian who lived with his family far above the Arctic Circle and the tribe of Native Alaskans waiting for a bowhead whale to "give itself to" their hunters. Jenkins did a marvelous job of impressing upon the reader the remoteness of this enormous wilderness and the risk in living in such an unforgiving environment. Admittedly, I even started seeing the Alaskans as less Sarah Palin and more Northern Exposure.
Given the magnificence of the Alaskan scenery it would be difficult for any author not to succumb to using overblown poetic adjectives and metaphors when describing that awe-inspiring landscape. However, Jenkins uses a deft and spare hand when painting his picture of the Alaskan geography which actually makes his descriptions more powerful and compelling.
This certainly was not the best travel book I have ever read, but I'm glad that I tagged along for the entire journey.
January 26, 2013
From an outsider's point of view, never being anywhere near Alaska, this book was a riveting read. I almost lost it when some of the inhabitants shared their experiences with bears, especially the man who got his skull cracked by one! Peter Jenkins reflected a complete Alaskan landscape, including the humor with which some inhabitants go about their daily tough lives. The hardships and daily adventures explains why the inhabitants are different from the rest of America. There's a purer form of intention, attitude, honesty. After reading "A Walk Across America" I couldn't wait to read more of Jenkins's adventures, and loved his Alaskan journal. He takes time to explore and highlight the local customs, characters and places. Adding some of his personal life experiences and including his family, makes his books almost more like autobiographical novels than travel journals, but the combination works really well. To me at least.
August 17, 2011
I had read Peter Jenkin's Walk Across America and really enjoyed it. Because of this, when I saw Looking For Alaska on the shelf, I decided to snap it up. While I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the other, it was still interesting and Jenkins is still a great writer.
Many years from his first book, Walk Across America, Jenkins has almost grown kids of his own and has explored many places of the world and America. His next stop is Alaska. Moving a portion of his family up (with the rest visiting from time to time)he lands in a place called Seward. But while he describes the beat and pulse of Seward, he also travels to many other different areas in Alaska and has some really wild experiences. He takes part in whale hunting, goes above the Arctic Circle, learns how to be a musher, and just travels to a wide variety of little visited places. But this book really isn't about his travel but more about the people of Alaska. And writing people is where Jenkins excels.
Jenkins loves to talk to people and it really shows in his book. He's almost always positive and despite the people being well, people, he writes them in a way that you really admire them despite any flaws. And he talks to so many that each chapter is basically a new story in this book. He talks to all different kinds of people with occupations such as musher, whale hunters, and others. And he gets time to know the Native people and get a glimpse into what their life is like.
His writing is very clear and you really get a sense of the people, if not the places that he's describing. Since he didn't focus too much on actual Alaska the place I was disappointed that more of the scenery wasn't described, but he made up for it in his excellent portrayal of the people. My other complaint would be that it seemed that he might have written this book in pieces and then put it together as numerous times information and facts were repeated just a chapter later than they first appeared. I also wasn't too fond of when he let his daughter write in on some of her experiences as I didn't find her as good a storyteller as her father.
Jenkins also includes many color and black and white photos of his adventures in Alaska and it was nice to put faces to names and see a bit of the area. A very interesting read on Alaska and anyone planning a trip there should definitely check it out.
Looking for Alaska
Copyright 2001
434 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
Many years from his first book, Walk Across America, Jenkins has almost grown kids of his own and has explored many places of the world and America. His next stop is Alaska. Moving a portion of his family up (with the rest visiting from time to time)he lands in a place called Seward. But while he describes the beat and pulse of Seward, he also travels to many other different areas in Alaska and has some really wild experiences. He takes part in whale hunting, goes above the Arctic Circle, learns how to be a musher, and just travels to a wide variety of little visited places. But this book really isn't about his travel but more about the people of Alaska. And writing people is where Jenkins excels.
Jenkins loves to talk to people and it really shows in his book. He's almost always positive and despite the people being well, people, he writes them in a way that you really admire them despite any flaws. And he talks to so many that each chapter is basically a new story in this book. He talks to all different kinds of people with occupations such as musher, whale hunters, and others. And he gets time to know the Native people and get a glimpse into what their life is like.
His writing is very clear and you really get a sense of the people, if not the places that he's describing. Since he didn't focus too much on actual Alaska the place I was disappointed that more of the scenery wasn't described, but he made up for it in his excellent portrayal of the people. My other complaint would be that it seemed that he might have written this book in pieces and then put it together as numerous times information and facts were repeated just a chapter later than they first appeared. I also wasn't too fond of when he let his daughter write in on some of her experiences as I didn't find her as good a storyteller as her father.
Jenkins also includes many color and black and white photos of his adventures in Alaska and it was nice to put faces to names and see a bit of the area. A very interesting read on Alaska and anyone planning a trip there should definitely check it out.
Looking for Alaska
Copyright 2001
434 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
August 29, 2012
I'll be honest, my opinion of this book is not unbiased. I was one of the many people who found Walk Across America to be a formative piece that sowed the seeds of wanderlust in me at a young age. Then later on I found Jenkins' book about his journey of faith, and that really excited me because I like it when people I look up to share my faith. It seems pretty clear from this book that Jenkins has left most of that behind. Now divorced, he rarely talked about God in a book about Alaska. If you can see the Aurora and the mountains and all that and not talk about God, how far must you have wandered from your faith? Or fallen prey to a publisher's demands?[return][return]Okay, that said...[return][return]The stories are great, the people are great, and the pictures that go with them are decent. I love travel books, I love Alaska books. Jenkins waxes poetic about Alaska, but fails to evoke a real "sense of place." He definitely captures the people and the events, but I fail to really feel like I am there. His adventures don't seem spontaneous and accidental, they seem as though he had a list of things his publisher said would make for a good book and he did those things. But those things are still cool![return][return]Worth the read, but it could have been better.
March 24, 2019
If you like travel writing, it’s fine. It’s fine.
It’s probably jump a star or two with some editing. A whole chapter of police blotter about bears digging in trash cans? Multiple entries from his daughter which are simply inane.
There is also a spirit of dishonesty. I believe he mentions having been to Alaska before. He paints a facade of blue-collar grit when he’s from Connecticut and flounces around the world with his kids. He gets melancholy as his father-in-law guns down a bull moose. Spare me.
It’s probably jump a star or two with some editing. A whole chapter of police blotter about bears digging in trash cans? Multiple entries from his daughter which are simply inane.
There is also a spirit of dishonesty. I believe he mentions having been to Alaska before. He paints a facade of blue-collar grit when he’s from Connecticut and flounces around the world with his kids. He gets melancholy as his father-in-law guns down a bull moose. Spare me.
March 15, 2022
A writer known for a book about a post-college Walk Across America in the 1970s takes his family (2nd wife and 4 of six kids) to Seward AK to spend a year living there and experiencing The Last Frontier. This is a good book for the Outsider wanting to understand the 49th state and what Alaska is to Alaskans. Jenkins authorial reputation gets him into good places, and he writes with “first time eyes” and an experienced observer’s perceptions about what makes Alaskans different from the Americans to the south, and about the beauty and dangerous wildness of the place itself. Memorable insifghts into: Jeff King, the musher who is a multi-time winner of the Iditarod, “TheLast Great Race,” of dogsled teams from Anchorage to Nome; Eric the vet, who turned out not to be a psychopath after all, and who lives –well and with wise independence - deep in the interior, where on your own really is just that; about Eleanor Hornblower, Boston socialite and daughter of Harry Hornblower who founded Plimoth plantation – who gave that world up to become the postmaster of Unalakleet , married to a handsome Inupiat son of Unalakleet; of Hobo Jim, Alsaka’s legendary folk entertainer, who sang the life he also lived; of a fishing trip with Inupiat, Haida, and Yupik leaders, who measured him as much as the fishing lines; an Alaska Wildife Management officer in Seward who brings the dangers of bears in the woods and towns vividly to life; the people of Seward, writ large, and strange, and tough, and themselves, and daughter Rebekah,the beloved one, torn between finding herself and being her dad. The country –its size,beauty, dangers, moods, spaces, weathers, differences - is the star of this book. This book convinces me I will only bounce off Alaska on my first visit. But I will go as a better observer, understanding why I am necessary, but invisible.
June 24, 2023
This was fourth book on Alaska that I have read in preparation of our trip to the Last Frontier. I didn’t even know about until I found it at a library book sale. I am so glad I did.
Peter Jenkins presents an entirely different view of our 49th state. He introduces people and cultures that most people, including myself, don’t or won’t see. But it gave me an appreciation and better understanding of what Alaska and her people truly are.
So glad I found this book to add to my knowledge of Alaska.
Peter Jenkins presents an entirely different view of our 49th state. He introduces people and cultures that most people, including myself, don’t or won’t see. But it gave me an appreciation and better understanding of what Alaska and her people truly are.
So glad I found this book to add to my knowledge of Alaska.
January 16, 2018
A solid book. Some parts a slow, but a lot of it is really good. The peek at "normal-day life" Alaska is awesome. It's very uplifting the faith that Peter Jenkins has in strangers and the amazing people's stories that he gets to tell on account of it. Makes me want to get out in the world and make new friends. Keep it up Peter.
July 21, 2021
Not that I've finished it. It has just refused to become a favorite adventure book for me. It has refused to sink in. I'm done with the struggle. Next.
November 23, 2011
Overall this book was a great read. I felt like I was getting small but informative glimpses into other people's lives—and there are several different ways to go about living in Alaska. Everyone there is presented as a bit wild and fiercely independent, although some are more independent than others. There are breathtaking natural wonders everywhere, and nature (sometimes in the form of dangerous black and brown bears) can always come to knock at your door. It is possible to live in towns that are inaccessible by car, or in places where inclement weather can delay your mail for weeks. Some of the things that I could just go to a store and buy are much rarer and more precious in Alaska. And that's before you consider the families living all the way out in the bush, miles away from any towns or even human neighbors. To hear Jenkins tell it, however, all of that sacrifice and deprivation might be well worth it. He certainly claims to have achieved a higher level of inner calm after his experiences there.
Jenkins obviously has a knack for getting other people to let him into their homes and share their thoughts, and he brings some fantastic stories to life. It was also interesting to get glimpses of what it was like for an aging adventurer to travel with family in tow, since this time Jenkins moved to Alaska with his wife and youngest daughter. Other children seem to have visited for extended periods. However, I felt like family members should have either been more present in his work or not present at all. I feel like I know the names of several members of the Jenkins clan, but not very much about them otherwise. Why mention people repeatedly in your writing if I can't really get to know them? How did they feel about being in Alaska? Jenkins does devote lots of page space to his daughter Rebekah, and he showcases several excerpts of her travel writing, which is neither great nor terrible. I can't say I felt comfortable with the nepotism (or with the possible favoritism—what about his other kids?), but I guess I also can't blame a caring father for promoting his child.
Overall, this book is definitely worth the read. I feel like I came away with vicarious experiences of beautiful new world and with a much more pronounced interest in and respect for Alaska and its people. Definitely pick it up!
Jenkins obviously has a knack for getting other people to let him into their homes and share their thoughts, and he brings some fantastic stories to life. It was also interesting to get glimpses of what it was like for an aging adventurer to travel with family in tow, since this time Jenkins moved to Alaska with his wife and youngest daughter. Other children seem to have visited for extended periods. However, I felt like family members should have either been more present in his work or not present at all. I feel like I know the names of several members of the Jenkins clan, but not very much about them otherwise. Why mention people repeatedly in your writing if I can't really get to know them? How did they feel about being in Alaska? Jenkins does devote lots of page space to his daughter Rebekah, and he showcases several excerpts of her travel writing, which is neither great nor terrible. I can't say I felt comfortable with the nepotism (or with the possible favoritism—what about his other kids?), but I guess I also can't blame a caring father for promoting his child.
Overall, this book is definitely worth the read. I feel like I came away with vicarious experiences of beautiful new world and with a much more pronounced interest in and respect for Alaska and its people. Definitely pick it up!
February 12, 2018
Oof. This one was slow going, partly because I kept stopping to look up the fascinating places that Jenkins visited, and partly because Peter Jenkins is a mediocre writer. Let's start with the good: this book opens up Alaska, a place very different from anywhere I have lived. Alaska is a land where most people live one mishap away from death. Alaskans are self-sufficient and defiant of a system the rest of us have bought into, which supports the less fortunate of us. In Alaska, you can shoot a bear in self defense, but only if you skin it and give the pelt to the state. You can get snowed in for long periods of time, and some cities are not even reachable by road. Some towns don't see daylight for weeks in the winter. There are tons of homesteaders in Alaska, people who live so far off the beaten path that you have to visit them via snow machine. Jenkins travels all over Alaska and meets its people, all of whom are fascinating.
Okay, here's the negative, briefly: the writing leaves a little to be desired. Jenkins works hard to make it pretty, at the expense of some basic information someone reading a memoir might want. They originally signed on for six months; why did they stay for over a year? There are parts where they're one place, and then they've whipped off to another with no explanation. His admirers are mostly men, and I can see why.
I'm glad I finished it. I feel like I know Alaska now, which is so different from the rest of America that it's like another planet.
Okay, here's the negative, briefly: the writing leaves a little to be desired. Jenkins works hard to make it pretty, at the expense of some basic information someone reading a memoir might want. They originally signed on for six months; why did they stay for over a year? There are parts where they're one place, and then they've whipped off to another with no explanation. His admirers are mostly men, and I can see why.
I'm glad I finished it. I feel like I know Alaska now, which is so different from the rest of America that it's like another planet.
December 23, 2020
0/5 stars.
Peter Jenkins starts out this memoir with a vignette about a dull bike ride where he only vaguely describes his surroundings, often not providing connecting context or doing so in a linear fashion. And then, the second vignette is about a bear attack. Way to bore the readers into putting the book down before something vaguely interesting happens. As I found out, this was a theme throughout the book. Jenkins would intersperse his few high octane adventures in Alaska with poorly worded and disjointed prose and "thoughtful" reflection that tried its hardest to be provocative but only ended up being frustratingly dull. The saving graces of the book were the pictures and Rebekah's contributions. Unlike her father, Rebekah wrote with a rawness that Peter Jenkins did not have. I have not read his first book, A Walk Across America, and, frankly, I do not care to because he very much came across as an entitled jackass that shirked his parenting responsibilities to galavant around Alaska while his wife took care of their daughter, especially in the dead of winter. If the first is anything like the second, I'd rather not waste my time reading anymore from him. Also, every instance where he talked about his daughter Rebekah being around young men or being attractive came off as extremely creepy, controlling, and gross, and that may be the #metoo movement influencing how I viewed this book from 2001. Either way, read a different memoir about Alaska because this one was Bad.
Peter Jenkins starts out this memoir with a vignette about a dull bike ride where he only vaguely describes his surroundings, often not providing connecting context or doing so in a linear fashion. And then, the second vignette is about a bear attack. Way to bore the readers into putting the book down before something vaguely interesting happens. As I found out, this was a theme throughout the book. Jenkins would intersperse his few high octane adventures in Alaska with poorly worded and disjointed prose and "thoughtful" reflection that tried its hardest to be provocative but only ended up being frustratingly dull. The saving graces of the book were the pictures and Rebekah's contributions. Unlike her father, Rebekah wrote with a rawness that Peter Jenkins did not have. I have not read his first book, A Walk Across America, and, frankly, I do not care to because he very much came across as an entitled jackass that shirked his parenting responsibilities to galavant around Alaska while his wife took care of their daughter, especially in the dead of winter. If the first is anything like the second, I'd rather not waste my time reading anymore from him. Also, every instance where he talked about his daughter Rebekah being around young men or being attractive came off as extremely creepy, controlling, and gross, and that may be the #metoo movement influencing how I viewed this book from 2001. Either way, read a different memoir about Alaska because this one was Bad.
November 19, 2011
Another wonderful book by Peter Jenkins. Years ago I savored "A Walk Across America" and "A Walk Out West (Walk Across America II, joined by his new wife).
He visits representative regions of Alaska and touches and is touched by the people he meets.
The most magical part of the book for me was the description of gathering the root Mussu the first part of September on the Tundra. The women go out and look for small disturbances where mice have built a cache of Mussu and trade the Mussu for vegetables and other food items mice like. They don't just take, they trade! To trade with such a tiny creature with no voice to raise to defend it's rights shows a reverence and respect for life lacking in western cultures.
I had been to some of the places he visited, and others I had not visited.
A very pleasant Saturday read.
He visits representative regions of Alaska and touches and is touched by the people he meets.
The most magical part of the book for me was the description of gathering the root Mussu the first part of September on the Tundra. The women go out and look for small disturbances where mice have built a cache of Mussu and trade the Mussu for vegetables and other food items mice like. They don't just take, they trade! To trade with such a tiny creature with no voice to raise to defend it's rights shows a reverence and respect for life lacking in western cultures.
I had been to some of the places he visited, and others I had not visited.
A very pleasant Saturday read.
October 22, 2015
Mostly interesting travel writing almost ruined by the author's narration of the audiobook. Without exaggeration, the WORST narrator I've ever listened to. He seemed surprised that his sentences weren't finished at certain points, would rush through dialogue exchanges in a monotone robot voice, and even repeated lines when he'd messed them up. It's like it was recorded in his basement man cave using garageband but with zero post-production. Still, I suspect the reading (and not listening) of this book would be more enjoyable, and I'm not giving him 2 stars simply on the merit of his first (and more enjoyable) book, A Walk Across America.
August 8, 2018
Intrigued by a visit to Alaska, Jenkins decides to move to the 49th state for a year with his family and get to know it over his extended stay. Jenkins is strongest when he gets out of the way and lets the locals do the talking - or when he simply describes the awe-inspiring nature before his eyes. Certain passages are harrowing, especially when he speaks to a bear-attack survivor, or describes winter conditions above the Arctic Circle. Because this book was written in the late '90s, a few observations/social attitudes are a bit dated, with some cringe-y, some genteel. But when Jenkins focuses solely on the travel writing, it's a pretty compelling read.
January 8, 2011
I've never been to Alaska, but I've fallen a bit in love with the idea of the place. That, combined with my love for snow dogs and slight obsession with the Iditarod, drew me to this book, which I found really delightful armchair travel. Jenkins makes you wish you were there alongside him and his friends in the Alaskan bush at 50 below. His profiles of the people of the great state just fuel my travel lust. A great read....I've read Jenkins' first and now his most recent book, and will likely eventually make my way through the rest of his tales.
September 7, 2009
This is a book that my Dad gave me to read. I wasn't really excited at the time, but this is a truly fascinating book. Those braving the winters in the Alaskan wilderness risk their lives to survive the winter as part of their everyday existence. I'll take my heat, highways, cable TV and supermarket any day, but now I appreciate it more.
February 28, 2010
Purchased this book from a Library sale, and couldn't be happier. Peter Jenkins writing is engaging, and rather than reading like the travel guide that it could be, it reads like a blog. He and his family moved to Alaska, living there for 18 months, and he writes about the places he visited very vividly. Loved it!
April 3, 2010
Again Peter Jenkins makes you feel like you are with him on his travels. His beautiful descriptions of Alaska and the people he came to know and sometimes live with are rich with detail. He paints Alaska as the raw, wild an incredible place that it is. Capturing its aura through countless tails of adventure that keep you on the edge of your seat. A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book.
October 1, 2017
Up until this point, every Jenkins book I've read has either been 5 Starts on my Favorites list. This one was a little disappointing because it consisted of vignettes opposed to a linear adventure (the reason I enjoy reading his books). If you're going to read a Jenkins book, I highly recommend beginning with A Walk Across America and A Walk West opposed to Looking for Alaska.
May 26, 2012
This book made me re-think ever moving to Alaska. I don't want to get eaten by a bear. Great look at many aspects of the state. Anyone who wants to visit might want to read this book first.
August 17, 2021
I wanted to love this book. I even know some of the people in it - with their portion occurring before I met them in more current times, so it was fascinating to learn where they came from (I had no idea). Many of the places are familiar. However, the writing style and repetitive use of the same words made it hard to trundle onwards. I also did not enjoy the transcribed dialogue from various people. It felt like an invasion of privacy, as if he had recorded someone who spoke in confidence, one on one, then had it published for the world to view and critique. I did enjoy quite a bit, especially the experiences around the Kenai Peninsula that were directly those of Jenkins himself. The bear bits and bush pilot discussions stand out. But when the cover compared Jenkins to Jack London and Robert Service, claiming that Jenkins had them beat. . . Sorry, Peter. It’s not the same genre or caliber.
January 2, 2018
This kind of book isn’t my usual style, I tend to be geared more towards fiction, but I thought it was pretty good. I particularly enjoyed the stories about the run in with bears he heard from the locals. He also did a good job of making me feel like I was actually in Alaska, very descriptive with the surroundings and the feelings of where he was. The only negative thing I really have to say is that there were quite a few times it felt like he was advertising for certain brands for things like the gear he used. Maybe he was and maybe that benefits him financially- or maybe he is just someone who is brand loyal. Either way, I’m not a fan of it. Other than that, a good read. I’d recommend it to my friends who enjoy nonfiction adventure type stories.
January 6, 2022
A literary chasm leap from his first work "Walking Across America". What is lacking in raw unrefined emotion on paper from his earlier work, is made up for with a more robust, poetic and refined writing that stlil captures the voice of the author and his subjects.
This book elegantly captures the scenes from alaska that make up daily life and experience with a little excitement and color thrown in. IT takes you on a fun adventure right from your chair and is an easy read.
While perhaps lacking a specific point of view on life in the farthest north US state and how it could/ should or otherwise relate to our experience in the lower 48 it certainly provides a wonderful picture of what it is like.
This book elegantly captures the scenes from alaska that make up daily life and experience with a little excitement and color thrown in. IT takes you on a fun adventure right from your chair and is an easy read.
While perhaps lacking a specific point of view on life in the farthest north US state and how it could/ should or otherwise relate to our experience in the lower 48 it certainly provides a wonderful picture of what it is like.
January 16, 2025
I read "A Walk West" by this author many years ago, and thought the idea of walking across the country was the best thing ever. I never even came close to doing it, but definitely enjoyed reading about someone else's experience. I picked this book up because visiting Alaska has always been on my bucket list, plus, it's one of those mysterious states that you don't hear much about, other than the touristy stuff.
Upon finishing the book, I am convinced that I would never survive there in the winter - as I sit here with my space heater on and it's in the low 60's outside. The book was fascinating, though.
Upon finishing the book, I am convinced that I would never survive there in the winter - as I sit here with my space heater on and it's in the low 60's outside. The book was fascinating, though.
December 2, 2020
Not quite the book I was hoping for. It was very Steinbeck-ish, which was fine and made for light, easy reading. I mistook the book description and envisioned a true-tale about someone surviving in Alaska. I enjoyed meeting Peter Jenkins, and his family, especially daughter Rebekah - who seems like a chip off the old block.
The Cannery Row-esk of the book made me feel a part of the story as Jenkins spends time with an amazing host of different people, gaining an array of exceptional experiences.
The Cannery Row-esk of the book made me feel a part of the story as Jenkins spends time with an amazing host of different people, gaining an array of exceptional experiences.
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