I'm not usually a poetry reader, but I enjoyed this collection of tales. It was fun and exciting to read about the tales of the Yukon. I would have to say that my favorite poem in the collection was "The Cremation of Sam McGee" ( )

Robert Service makes for an interesting copyright situation. This collection draws from two books, published in 1907 and 1909, that are easily in the public domain in the United States because they predate 1923. Service died in 1958, and since that was over 50 years ago, these poems are also public domain in his beloved Canada. Yet in the UK and most of the world, which uses death 70 years, the poetry in this book won't be public domain in those countries until 2028.

I guess the point I'm making is that where I am in North America, I could have just downloaded Service's original collections from Project Gutenberg. But I still love the feel of a real book in my hands, so I couldn't resist when I found this volume by accident in a bookstore.

I was already familiar with some of the more famous poems included here, but it was the unfamiliar poems that I enjoyed the most. "The Ballad of the Black Fox Skin" is a real gem, perhaps Service's attempt at a horror story. When I finished the entire book, I went back to read that one again, and I have a feeling I'll do it again before I retire it to my bookshelf. Other favorites were "The Pines", "Clancy of the Mounted Police", and "Men of the High North."

5/5 stars. ( )

A textbook case of a personally repulsive artist producing endurable art.

My Scoutmaster, Mark Kreuger, used to recite "The Cremation of Sam McGee" aruond the campfire when Troop 45 went on camp-outs. I've never enjoyed poetry as much.

I grabbed this inexpensive edition when I saw it in a campus bookstore, and now I need to memorize "Cremation" and several others. ( )