Walter R. Borneman tells the interesting social and political history of Alaska, from the Native peoples through the Russian occupation and the sale to the United States down to the present day. The last 100 years or so is covered in greater detail than much of the time prior, but this is still the most comprehensive book about Alaska that I could find. Given the large size of Alaska there is a lot of ground covered in this book from mountaineering and those who surveyed and climbed the peaks to the gold rush and oil boom to the exploitation of sea otters and salmon and the overall exploration of the land. I have had an interest in learning more about Alaska for about a year now, and all I could find in my local library was Michener's immense and sometimes dense "Alaska," which is, of course, historical fiction. It was helpful and covered in detail what might be called the "eras" of Alaska's history, but the fact that it was fiction made it confusing when trying to learn the real history. Nonetheless, it provided a good basis and context. But Borneman's great book gives the real history and names without lumping so much history together, and it does so in a very readable and entertaining way. I had checked out this book from the library but accidentally ordered it from Amazon through "one-click" ordering. Amazon graciously offered to take it back, but I've enjoyed the book so much that it was an easy decision to keep it. ( )

If you're looking for a solid, one-volume history of Alaska, you could do a lot worse than this. Readable and thorough. ( )