Reading the North

By Andrew Lambert (Yale University Press)

The blurb: Naval historian Andrew Lambert examines the life of Sir John Franklin, a man who had mapped nearly two-thirds of the northern coastline of North America but undertook a doomed arctic voyage in 1845.

Excerpt: "There is something about a tragedy wrapped up in a mystery that keeps a good story fresh. A terrible death in the Arctic wastes, given a flesh-chilling frisson of horror by rumours of cannibalism, keeps us coming back. The final, fatal mission of John Franklin has come to define the history of the Arctic, a tale of doomed endeavor endlessly retold for moral improvement, morbid curiosity or that spread of geographical knowledge. The North West Passage opened the Arctic, but it killed Franklin and his men. And at the heart of every Arctic story stands John Franklin. Franklin has been analysed many times: for some he is the 'pathetic blunderer' and 'bungler' who led his men, like some latter-day Grand Old Duke of York, to their icy doom. Others focus on his age and his physical condition -- he was fifty-nine, and in modern terms morbidly obese -- to argue that he was the wrong man for the job. Even his apologists are content to leave him as the archetypal 'heroic explorer,' a brave but simple soul, a type beloved by the Victorians."

A Rocking Chair, a Wig, Two Kids, and a Husband: Above the Arctic Circle, 1964-1965

By Lenora Duling Fuller (Northbooks, $24.95)

The blurb: Wasilla resident Lenora Duling Fuller's memoir recounts the year her family spent in Point Hope, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle.

Excerpt: "We decided, after much discussion, that if this was to be an adventure, then no city schools like Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau for us. We would ask for positions above the Arctic Circle, an Eskimo village above the Arctic Circle. We filled out what seemed like reams of forms, and now this was the result. The Bureau of Indian Affairs wanted us to go to Point Hope, Alaska. Where is Point Hope, Alaska?

"If I had known how disruptive this adventure would be, I may not have been so enthusiastic. But once started, one gets on a roll and there is no stopping. Actually, looking back, preparation for this adventure is a complete blur."

Cale Dixon and the Moguk Murders

By David C. Dagley (Eloquent Books, $18.50)

The blurb: Seward resident David Dagley's novel tells the story of a detective investigating the stabbing death of a South Korean man found with a mouthful of Moguk rubies, a case that leads to many twists and turns.

Excerpt: "Looking through the legs of a small crowd of officers, Cale could see an Asian face on the floor, eyes open and partially rolled up, exposing the whites. Something red protruded from his mouth. The man lay twisted partially on his back, with one arm bent awkwardly underneath him. His shoes were off. Different currencies of money lay strewn on and around the body; U.S. dollars, booklets of traveler checks, Indonesian rupee, and some South Korean money. When Cale moved closer he realized that there were red stones in the man's mouth. There were more stones scattered around the floor and in the victim's pooled blood, but just a shade darker."

-- Compiled by Matt Sullivan, Anchorage Daily News