Part of the global North, home to many diverse indigenous cultures and with a rich history, Alaska is complicated and changing. In North, Anchorage Museum director Julie Decker gathers thoughtful essays and full-color photos to showcase Alaska's stunning natural beauty. She also highlights its handicrafts and material culture, the psychological effects of building a life there and the implications of change--both climatic and cultural.
The essays (several written by Decker) are meticulously researched and broad in scope. They explore the myths and stereotypes of Alaskan life and culture alongside the more nuanced, often harsher realities of both. Priscilla Naungagiaq Hensley Holthouse, an Inupiaq writer, sums up what it means to be a northerner: "in turn, brutal and beautiful, like the land itself."
Sumptuously illustrated, North features the best of Alaskan indigenous crafts as well as art made by natives and visitors, always with a deep sense of the land's past and its future. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams