All this attention is being devoted to Alaska, so I thought I should do my own evaluation. Note in advance that politicians don’t usually make these lists, they’re not "favorite" enough for me. And enough about her for now anyway (though I’ll note in passing, in response to Andrew Sullivan and others, that if voters want to like her, they’ll simply refuse to see McCain in the properly cynical light); but no more comments on this issue for now as I want the blogosphere back!
1. Novel, set in: Jack London’s Call of the Wild or White Fang are the obvious choices. Did you know that London’s fiction was very widely read in the former Soviet Union?
2. Music: There’s Jewel and Bette Midler and maybe you’re all wondering which one I will pick. But the excellent Kevin Johansen, also associated with Buenos Aires I might add, is the proverbial rabbit from the hat. Ha!
3. Movie, set in: Both Never Cry Wolf and Grizzly Man are very good; the former had a lead character named Tyler before the name became fashionable. And isn’t Nanook of the North set in Alaska? Into the Wild is another pick and I doubt if I have exhausted the list.
4. Basketball player: Carlos Boozer is from Juneau.
5. Sculpture: Alaska is probably #1 in the entire United States once you consider the indigenous peoples. The best works are from the 1950s and 60s and they are not always attributable. My personal favorite is Thomassie Annanok but of course that is a matter of taste. Ingo Hessel’s book on Inuit Art is a favorite of mine, noting that it focuses more on Canada than Alaska.
6. Other arts: The Tlingit (some of whom live in Canada) have excellent totem poles, boxes, and carvings. The Haida are another rich artistic tradition.
7. Novel, set in: Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is the obvious pick plus I hear The Cloud Atlas (The Liam Callanan book, not the David Mitchell one, which is very good but not connected to Alaska) is good.
8. Travel book, set in: Jonathan Raban’s Passage to Juneau: A Sea and its Meanings is lovely. I’ve never read John Muir’s Travels in Alaska but it is likely a contender.
9. Blogger: Hail Ben Muse of Alaska, advocate of free trade!
The bottom line: It relies too much on "set in," but overall the list is better than I had been expecting. Sadly, Alaska is the one American state I have yet to visit.
Drop City, by TC Boyle (set in, at least the interesting part)
Curt Schilling is more worthy of a mention than Boozer.
Novels, set in: Ordinary Wolves. I can not recommend it enough. I second Drop City. I also enjoyed The Sea Runners as an adventure story.
It is not a novel, but I just bought Shopping for Porcupine and the pictures are amazing. Need to read it soon. I recommend it just for the pictures and because it is Kantner. Other recommended personal narratives are the excellent The Blue Bear, During My Time and My Own Trail. Also Winterdance but it only takes place slightly in Alaska.
Finally I would recommend Yukon Alone and Eagle Blue as books about Alaskan sports. (even if Newhalen has a much more impressive basketball history than Fort Yukon, in my mind)
But read Ordinary Wolves. Thrice.
How come there are two sections for “Novels, set in”? Contemporary and older?
Tyler says ‘noting that’ more than he ever used to.
Umm…Bette Midler is from Hawaii. Honolulu, to be precise.
Did you know that London’s fiction was very widely read in the former Soviet Union?
London was an enthusiastic and active socialist. His novel, The Iron Heel is based on his political views.
Novels – murder mystery series – anything by Dana Stabenow, but particularly the Kate Shugak mysteries.
Re: Jack London – those who read werewolf fiction for enjoyment like to amuse themselves with who is real life was most likely to have been a werewolf. Jack London is high on the list. (So, one novelists suggests, was General Sherman.)
11) Rock Hudson fending off Rushkie invasion TV movies set in: World War III
(to be 12 again…)
And of course Video Game: Metal Gear Solid
Mario Chalmers
of course, the fact that bear-proof trash cans are required in even decent sized cities is worth a mention.
You missed Northern Exposure.
Sean, I’m not going to argue for a second that Anchorage is the Athens of the north, but I think that, like Fairbanks and Juneau, it is quite cultured for a city of its size (around 300,000). There’s plenty of theater, music, and other cultural stuff here. (Faint praise coming:) almost certainly Alaska has a stronger cultural life than the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, and other places without a big city in or very close. Actually, Anchorage has a classical music station, which even Philadelphia lacks.
I love the Iditarod. Also the Glacier Brew House in Anchorage. And Cheena Hot Springs.
The two core members of Supagroup are from Alaska (though they now call New Orleans home). If you like three-chord rock and you aren’t listening to Supagroup, you’re missing something…
Movie- The Edge – Starring Baldwin and Hopkins. – Very Good movie.
I know, technically, Robert Service wrote in Canada, but back then the distinction between Alaska territory and Yukon territory was quite meaningless. Alaskans claim him too.
Many states haven’t produced even one halfway-decent ballplayer, but with Curt Schilling, Alaska’s got a likely Hall-Of-Famer to its credit.
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