Photographer and writer Fred Hirschmann was not content to merely photograph Alaska from the scant road system as so many have done; Fred struck for the backcountry. He hiked across the crest of the Alaska Range three times, paddled rivers from the Yukon to the Kobuk, and kayaked portions of the Arctic coast. Author Suzan Nightingale's intimate look at Alaska gives a close-up view of life in the 49th state. Through the eyes of the Natives, longtime residents, and newcomers--people who live in the cities, on Alaska's Southeast coast, in isolated villages, along the waterways, in the Aleutian Islands--Nightingale's writing shows the diversity of lifestyles, landscapes, and peoples that make up Alaska.