Chasing the Horizon: Alaska in Territorial Days - Softcover

Rogers, Les

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1439267251 ISBN 13: 9781439267257

Publisher: BookSurge Publishing, 2010

Synopsis

In the 1940s an adventurous youth flees New England for Los Angeles, a city vibrating with wartime energy and sex. Beach culture and a pretty girl captivate him, but he leaves to tramp alone far into Mexico and climb Paricutín, an exploding volcano. Back in L.A., he drives across the country with his mother in pursuit of her escaping lover. Alone again, he pedals an overloaded bicycle to Canada and hitches a ride on the Alaska Highway with a short-tempered sourdough. The old-timer has bet a quart of whisky on the driving time, and a dangerous washout lies ahead. In Fairbanks, Territory of Alaska, he embraces frontier life, mixing with cheechakos and pioneers, dreamers and realists. He meets a young prostitute at the notorious Line. He works as cement handler and railroad gandy dancer and becomes a student at the University of Alaska. Then he's off for Whitehorse to canoe the Yukon.

About this title

About the Author

When he arrived in Fairbanks in 1947, Les Rogers knew he had found a time and place that fit him. He called it home for forty-eight years. Early employment ranged from cement laborer to gandy dancer to surveyor. He began a career in architectural and engineering design services in 1950, and became a Registered Surveyor and a partner in the firm now known as Design Alaska, Inc. in 1957. The firm became an Alaska adventure from the start, with many projects in remote communities and travel that might require bush plane, skin boat or dog team. He retired as CEO of the firm in 1991. Journal w riting had been a lifelong interest, and he began writing short stories in 1997. Chasing the Horizon is his first book.

Review

Judges Commentary*:

Chasing the Horizon is a beautifully and professionally written, entertaining and often fascinating memoir that reads more like a novel. The author avoids all the pitfalls in memoirs by first-time writers: his dialogue is real and relevant, his details are relevant as well and serve to move the story along. His sense of character and place are spot-on.

He finds a nice balance between his personal issues, the challenges his mother presents and his adventures and love of Alaska. He is deft at weaving in back story, as well as historical details. His writing is easy and draws the reader in while being professional and polished at the same time.

The cover is nice, but more of a design treatment—for instance, framing the picture—would make it more eye-catching. A photo of young Les in Alaska, framed, would also be a great cover. A subtitle that is more to the point: maybe A Young Man’s Adventures in Territorial Alaska, would also help give the reader an idea of what’s inside. The current subtitle makes it sound like a history book.

The book could use a professional edit to polish some minor style and usage issues including too much italics use, capitalization and minor punctuation slips. At 488 pages, many publishers would want it trimmed. While that size is daunting, it’s such a good read that it feels like a lot less. While there are detail parts that could be trimmed, it doesn’t feel padded or over-done.

It’s too bad that English teacher in high school gave the author an aversion to the subject—he is a talented writer whose voice is a fantastic addition to the world of books.

*Commentary may be quoted as: “Judge, Writer’s Digest 21st Annual Self-Published Book Awards”

Edition details

• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1439267251
• ISBN 13: 9781439267257
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 500