Synopsis
Longtime Alaska-phile Sam Keith set himself the task of writing about an amazing encounter with the frozen north: that of his friend Richard Proenneke, who left his native Iowa in 1967 at the age of 50 to live in the unspoiled Twin Lakes country west of Anchorage. Proenneke kept a journal of the experience, from which Keith has drawn this narrative. He also took color slides documenting the slow process of building his log cabin, using only hand tools, which is nestled in a grove of spruce trees with the awesome, snowcapped Crag Mountain rising behind it. There are also dramatic shots of a bear in the blueberry patch, a caribou swimming the lake, a porcupine in full prickly armor, and Proenneke's cheery stone fireplace and his shipshape kitchen--and there's an unforgettable photo of the cabin at dusk "glowing with lamplight beneath ice-glistening slopes." The story of Proenneke's adventure, as gripping as a novel, is a tribute not only to his own intrepid spirit but to the staggering beauty of a remote and gloriously pristine wilderness that most people can only dream about.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1999-05-01 | | Edition Description: | Anniversary |
| Size | | Length: | 223 pages | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 12.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
To live in a pristine land unchanged by man ... to roam a wilderness through which few other humans have passed ... to choose an idyllic site, cut trees, and build a log cabin ... to be a self-sufficient craftsman, making what is needed from materials available ... to be not at odds with the world, but content with one's own thoughts and company... Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. He found a place, built a cabin, and stayed to become part of the country. "One Man's Wilderness" is a simple account of the day-to-day explorations and activities he carried out alone, and the constant chain of nature's events that kept him company. The reader plans and works with Proenneke, sees the seasons change, studies the birds and animals that are neighbors, until it all becomes a personal adventure, too.
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