One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

Originally published in 1973. 224 p.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary:

In 1968, Richard “Dick” Proenneke flew out to the Twin Lakes area of Alaska, 40 miles North of Port Alsworth and 170 miles North of Anchorage, and built himself a cabin. He stayed for 2 years straight before leaving the area for the outside world. Proenneke kept a meticulous account of his days in a dated journal; discussing all of the work involved in building a cabin by himself, his diet, the flora and fauna of the surrounding area, the temperature fluctuations and how that impacted the environment, his rare encounters with other people (confined mostly to the pilot who flew in supplies as needed) and various beliefs and experiences along the way. Includes two sections of photographs that Proenneke took while out there.

Review:

This is a very simple book about a man’s experience with cabin building and living in Alaska. I picked it up because I am headed out to Alaska in a few weeks, and thought that I had better read up on Alaska a bit before I go. I probably wouldn’t have picked up this book otherwise, or gotten past the description of the book on the back.

Having read the book, I am glad that I did, and it fits pretty well with my upcoming travels. It is very calm, very simple writing, just going over the basic facts of what happened during the day; what Proenneke saw and did. It is pretty amazing to me that Proenneke managed to have a journal every single day that he was building the cabin.

The reason I only gave the book 3.5 stars is because it’s not terribly interesting, even if you are interested in the subject matter. I found myself re-reading much of the book because I realized I hadn’t paid any attention to the last page and a half, and had no idea what he was talking about. Sometimes, even when I had been reading carefully, I still had no idea what he was talking about. Since Keith went through and edited Proenneke’s journal, one would think that he would explain some of the more intricate concepts of cabin building for the woodwork-challenged types like myself. Nope.

What really shines throughout the book are the descriptions of the animals and the environment out there. Proenneke is a keen observer, with lots of patience and he records it very matter of factly, without any poetic license. Proenneke is not naturally a writer, and he doesn’t try to be one. Hi journals were very clearly not intended for anyone else, so he doesn’t try to have a fancy style; it is all rather bare-bones.

I don’t know if I would say that it was good book, but it certainly wasn’t a bad book. A bit boring at times, I don’t think I would recommend it for most people. It would be a good read, however, for people going to Alaska or people who are very interested in the outdoors, Alaska, nature and wildlife, etc.