Guarding Alaska: A Memoir of Coast Guard Missions on the Last Frontier

Alaska represents twenty percent of the land area, twenty percent of the oil production, forty percent of the fresh water of the United States, but after Wyoming, it’s the least populated state.

Despite that contradiction, the state has an abundance of natural resources, history, and adventure—especially for the members of the Coast Guard that oversee its massive coastline.

Captain Jeffrey Hartman served four tours of duty in Alaska with the Coast Guard. He outlines the history of Alaska an...