Alaska Wilderness: Exploring the Central Brooks Range

by Robert Marshall, A. Starker Leopold (Foreword), George Marshall (Editor)

There are still a few places on the face of the globe which can legitimately be called wilderness; and it was Robert Marshall's greatest happiness to experience the solitude of these places where no man had ever set foot. This book records his trips by foot, boat, and dogsled into wilderness areas north of the Arctic Circle, exploring, mountain climbing, and mapping new territories. Marshall's account, based on letters and journals written in the field, is a vivid and personal description of his adventures in remote arctic country. There were a few literate pioneers in interior Alaska, men such as Pike, Schwatka, Stefansson, and Schrader. However, most of the explorations of the territory were made by nameless Eskimos and sourdoughs whose thoughts and deeds died with them. Robert Marshall was one of the fortunate latecomers who found a great reach of arctic wilderness to explore and who left us an exceptional chronicle of his travels.

During several expeditions in Alaska in the 1930s, Marshall came upon deep canyons and primeval valleys, followed streams to their sources, and climbed great mountains of the little-explored Brooks Range. His joy was complete when, standing on some peak never before climbed, he beheld the magnificence of a wild, rugged, timeless world, filled with countless mountains and valleys previously unmapped, unnamed, and unknown.

Marshall died at the age of 38; but in his lifetime he had become a leader among those who demand a stop to the devastation of forests and insist that they be administered in the public interest, with a planned consideration of their various uses, including wilderness preservation.

In the continuing struggle over the proper uses of our natural heritage, Robert Marshall stands as an inspiration to all those who wish to preserve our remaining precious samples of original America. His matchless account of his explorations in the Central Brooks Range is all the more timely and necessary for public information now when the North Slope oil boom threatens with destruction the major part of this magnificent Alaska wilderness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Travel

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

Reviews

[Joanne Fate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of books about Alaska. This is one of my favorites ever. You can sense Marshall’s love of the land, sense of adventure, respect for the people, and his knowledge and curiosity of the natural world. He had foresight, which is relevant today as some politicians and corporations want to destroy this area. If you’re looking for a non-fiction book about Alaska then you can’t go wrong with this.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable and detailed account of Bob Marshall's exploration of the Brooks Range near Gates of the Arctic National Park. Parts of the account were dry, but they were punctuated with eexciting encounters with grizzlies, flooded camps, and the like. This book stood out from other exploration books for a couple reasons:

1) For a white man in the 1930s, he was very careful to chalk up his 'firsts' only as a first to white men, acknowledging that native Alaskans may well have explored some of these areas before.

2) He really conveys the difficulty of getting the complex geography correct. He did this not by whining, but by freely and humorously sharing his incorrect deductions of which river must have drained down which range. He was also quick to share the credit with his traveling companions for his accomplishments.

By the way, this dude was a beast! Offhandedly mentioning 30 mile trailless days, some harrowing scrambles, etc. His love of wilderness areas, the native Alaskans, and the pioneers of the area really shine through in this book. It's a fitting legacy that such a wide swath of American wilderness bears his name today.

[Garret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. This is one of the best adventure narratives I've ever read. It certainly helps that the Brooks Range is amazing, and that there really aren't any guidebooks to the range and this 1950's book about 1930's-1940's travels is still one of the closest things there is. However, the prose is excellent. It captures love of the wilderness and adventure as well as the humor and the suffering.

[Billy Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read if you are interested in the Brooks Range.

[Dan Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure how my friend came upon this book, but he mentioned it to me and within the first few pages I was captivated beyond expression. There is no book in memory that has made me want to explore a region of the planet more - than this book. The sense of freedom, exploration, and sheer excitement the author writes with seemed to pour over me. The days i did not have the chance to read this book, i was eagerly awaiting the moment when I could again share Robert Marshall's journey. It is now one of my dreams to take a journey with my closest friends and my younger brother into the heart of the brooks range at some point in life.

[Nola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned quite a bit about the geography of the Brooks Range and got a totally unrealistic impression of what is physically possible. The author is unbelievably cavalier about the most amazing physical feats,such as hiking 20-30 miles a day over difficult terrain with heavy loads. His love of the country and what he was doing shines throughout the book. It is really nice to understand the meaning of the term "Gates of the Arctic", not to mention having an idea of the location of major rivers of the area.

[Teri Robus]

I would like to read this again.

[Mark Lipowicz]

One of the best nature books of all time. First man to document and map much of what is now Gates of the Arctic NAtional Park