Reading the North

Edited by Tyler McMahon and Paul Diamond (Casagrande Press, $15.95)

The blurb: "Everyday fishermen, journalists and pros tell their stories of freak or catastrophic accidents, fish attacks, sabotage, pranks, rough seas, idiotic decisions, bizarre incidents and other jaw-dropping calamities. Whether on ice, lake, river or the ocean, these stories bring to life the strange possibilities that await us once we cast our lines."

Excerpt: "He came to a halt. The bear stopped too. She stood and watched us both, bringing me into the line of her vision by moving her head rather than shifting her eyes. She grunted, rocked some more and then looked back toward her cub. The action was now stopped, but the scene might not be over. What would she do? I looked down the line of the barrels. The bead was on her chest. She was grunting but not moving. She looked downstream. Her cub had disappeared into the willows on the left bank."

Into the Savage Land

By Ernest Sipes (Hancock House, $12.95)

The blurb: "Edward Adams, a young Victorian-era doctor, was part of an expedition sent to Russian Alaska in search of explorer John Franklin and his crew. As the mission's naturalist, Adams filled a journal with observations, recordings and drawings, revealing a person who thrived on new experiences and had a true gift for recording what he observed. Full of drama and adventure, 'Into the Savage Land' takes readers back to the Alaska of 1850."

Excerpt: "I could hear no motive whatever for the sudden attack, neither from the Russians nor the neighboring Indians. The Russians had been upon friendly terms with the Indians since the establishment of the post and were in the habit of visiting their villages two to three times per year. Indeed, so secure did they feel that they did not erect a stockade, nor did they fasten their doors at night. The two tribes were also on friendly terms (indeed, I learned they had never been at war), and they paid long visits to each other."

Hunts and Home Fires

By Dennis Lattery (Publication Consultants, $18.95)

The blurb: "There is humor, a bit of education, hunting stories, some muses on the serious and practical, essay glimpses about having lived a special and privileged lifestyle, and even a snippet of poetry. Across it all is the underlying theme of gratitude for having been fortunate enough to have survived living more than 50 years of a wild life on The Last Frontier."

Excerpt: "The evening of Jan. 3, 1959, was a big night in the territory of Alaska, for on that day 'we were in.' The territory ceased to exist, and we were now, officially, the state of Alaska, admitted to the union as the 49th state. On that evening the city of Skagway, where I lived at the time, blew wide open in one of the most unbridled celebrations I had ever seen in Alaska or have seen since. The best-remembered Fourth of July, Labor Day, New Year's Eve or Christmas pales in comparison. Every bar on Broadway, the main street through downtown, threw the doors wide open and in a celebratory frenzy served any person entering the establishment."