Home > Bookstore > Alaska Stories > Coming Into the Country

A Modern Alaskan Classic

Coming Into the Country by John McPhee Who must have this book: Anyone who is interested in subsistence living in the Alaskan bush. Who should have this book: Anyone interested in finding out how Alaska got to this point. ISBN: 0374522871

This is a remarkable book for two things. First, it captures a snapshot of Alaska at a time that it was seeing tremendous amounts of change. Secondly, it is remarkable because nearly every personal account that has come since has been compared to this book.

In many ways this book was needed because decisions about the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was finally being finalized. McPhee was very observant to realize just how important and far-reaching this legislation was going to be. The finalization of land allotment had not only allowed the Alaskan pipeline to begin construction, but it also affected the lives of every single person in the state.

If you couldn’t be in the state in the early Seventies just before the construction boom the pipeline brought, this is the best way to get a feel for it. McPhee brings all sides of the issues alive as they battle for preservation versus development.

Overview

The book is broken down into three separate sections. In the first, McPhee kayaks down the Salmon River in the Brooks Range. The expedition was meant to determine which pristine areas were worthy of permanent protection as National Parks. McPhee vividly describes how a crew of specialists drifted down the river in absolute wilderness. As they go along the author tells many of the issues around the creation of a national park here, especially for subsistence communities in the area.

The second section discusses the hunt for a new capital. This is an eternal suggestion in the state and in the seventies, the anticipated oil money seemed to make anything possible. So McPhee flew along while a committee searched for the perfect real estate to build on with everyone having an opinion and a stake in its new location. Interesting politics and concerns about development throughout this section.

The final section is probably the most interesting and important of the book. The final section describes the town and people of Eagle Alaska. In the Seventies, there was an interesting movement of people moving back onto the land, living a subsistence lifestyle of hunting, trapping, and surviving in the wilds along the Yukon River.

Of course, in the end, the National Parks were created and the suggestions to move the capital from Juneau still come up each year. The big difference is that the subsistence lifestyle has all but disappeared from around Eagle. If you would like to learn more about what happened to them, read A Land Gone Lonesome, it is a great follow up 30 years later.

Author

John McPhee is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer from the New Yorker. He has over 25 books to his credit, including Coming into the Country, the Alaskan classic.