Alaska's Wolf Man: The 1915-55 Wilderness Adventures of Frank Glaser

by Jim Rearden

Overview

Between 1915 and 1955 adventure-seeking Frank Glaser, a latter-day Far North Mountain Man, trekked across wilderness Alaska on foot, by wolf-dog team, and eventually, by airplane. In his career he was a market hunter, trapper, roadhouse owner, professional dog team musher, and a federal predator control agent. A naturalist at heart, he learned from personal observation life secrets of moose, caribou, foxes, wolverine, Dall sheep, grizzly bears, and wolves—especially wolves. A superb shot, self-sufficient, and wilderness wise, Glaser not only survived, but prospered in the far lonely places. Almost always alone, he survived many encounters with charging grizzly bears, some of which he had to shoot to keep from being mauled. He knew how to cope with 50 and 60 below zero temperatures, and more than once he plunged through the ice in extreme cold and survived only because of his woods know-how.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780882409351
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/04/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	330
Sales rank:	383,461
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Jim Rearden has been a resident of Alaska since 1950. Among his various Alaskan jobs, Rearden has been a college professor, a gandy dancer for the Alaska Railroad, a registered big game guide, a carpenter, commercial fisherman, construction laborer, management biologist for commercial fisheries (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), and a freelance writer/photographer. He served 12 years on the Alaska Board of Fish and Game and Alaska Board of Game. President Gerald Ford appointed him to the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere where he served 18 months. He has written 29 books on Alaskan subjects and 500 magazine articles for about 40 different magazines around the world. For 20 years he was Outdoors Editor for Alaska Magazine, and simultaneously a Field Editor for Outdoor Life magazine. He holds wildlife conservation degrees from Oregon State Universityand the Universityof Maine, as well as an honorary Dr. of Science degree from the Universityof Alaska Fairbanks. He lives in Homer, Alaska with his wife Audrey, in a log house he built himself.

Read an Excerpt

During the 12 years I lived alone in the Savage River wilderness I was constantly aware that if I became injured or ill I was on my own. My close neighbors were bears, caribou, moose and other wild animals, but no people. Mrs. Green’s suggestion that I “..could sit in the sled and let my nice doggies bring me to Healy,” was, of course, nonsense. I was always careful not to fall when I was on my trapline or traveling in the mountains. I used an axe with great care. I guarded against fire at my cabins. I handled my traps with special care; most were small and light enough so I could open them with my hands, although a few required a special clamp to open. I was careful in handling my guns. I was cautious on river and lake ice. In short, I was always aware that I could not expect help if I got hurt or became seriously ill. But I couldn’t guard against everything.

Editorial Reviews

I was glad hear that Jim Rearden won the Historian of the Year 1999 award from the Alaska Historical Society for his book on Frank Glaser. The book Alaska's Wolf Man has earned numerous positive reviews.

Dermot Cole

Nothing that has been written about Alaska captures so intensely the vastness, the loneliness, the natural savagery of this land as Alaska's Wolf Man. It surpasses anything that Ernest Thompson Seton or Jack London ever did and it is far more real because it is actual distilled experience that cannot be contrived. This is a classic that will stand tall in the literature of Alaska.

Cliff Cernick

Alaska's Wolf Man will be a one of those exclusive books that define Alaska's maturity from Territory to State.

Joel Gay

I made dozens of trips down the old dirt Richardson Highway, many with Frank Glaser. While with him I heard stories about almost every creek, ridge, and mountain along the way. Reading your reconstruction of his narrative is a real pleasure."—

Jim King