AlaskaGeography.com

Further Geography Reading

This is a list of books that I have found helpful in furthering my understanding of both Alaskan Geography and General Geography. Any reading of geography, of course, should be accompanied by journeys into the real world to see how the forces of nature have shaped and are shaping our planet.

Alaskan Geography

An Observer's Guide to the Geology of Prince William Sound	Jim Lethcoe	An exellent source for understanding Prince William Sound in detail as well as Alaskan geological history overall.
Roadside Geology of Alaska	Cathy Connor and Daniel O'Haire	Although it raises about as many questions as it answers, this book is not a bad source of practical geological information for Alaska.
Observer's Guide to the Glaciers of Prince William Sound	Nancy Lethcoe	unread
The Ice-Age History of Alaskan National Parks	Scott A. Elias	A good Quaternary history of Denali, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay and Bering Land Bridge.  It has some very good chapters on the methods scientists have used to reveal this history.
Quaternary Geology of Alaska	Troy Pewe / USGS	A good, if technical overview of the Quaternary history of the entire state.  Published in 1975, so some parts are a little out of date, but still worthy of reading.
The Geology of Alaska	Geological Society of America	This 1000 page tome was published in 1994 and contains detailed, technical chapters on every region of the state and on just about every topic concerning Alaskan geology.  Comes with an accompanying box of maps.
A Geologic Guide to Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska	Gary R. Winkler / USGS	Lots of photos, diagrams and good, not too technical explanations of the geology of this park.
Ecoregions of Alaska	Alisa L. Gallant, et al. / USGS	A descriptive biogeography of the whole state detailing the climate, terrain, soils, vegetation and other characteristics of each of the 20 distinct ecological regions of Alaska.
The Geology of Denali National Park	Michael Collier	A decent little geology of our most popular national park.  Lots of instructive photos.
A Geologic Guide to Mount McKinley National Park	Wyatt G. Gilbert	An older and more technical guide to our most popular national park.  Contains road guide and good diagrams.
Guidebook to the Geology of Anchorage, Alaska	Lorie M. Dilley, Thomas E. Dilley	unread

General Geography

Annals of the Former World	John McPhee	A 20 year effort to produce the geological history of North America along Interstate 80. Non-technical, readable and fascinating. Compiled out of 4 original books: Assembling California, Basin and Range, Rising from the Plains, and In Suspect Terrain, any of which are good sources on their own.
PrairyErth (A Deep Map): An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country	William Least Heat Moon	A wonderful geographical exploration of Chase County, Kansas ("where the west begins"). This book discusses not only physical geography, but also the human geography of this county.
Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions	David Quammen	An eye-opening exploration of the biological diversity of islands, a history of biogeography and a well reasoned argument of why we should be concerned about preservation of natural areas.
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies	Jared Diamond	This book explains how the natural environment, access biological resources and human culture have shaped human societies in the last 10,000 years. Extremely interesting and very readable.
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed	Jared Diamond	This book follows the history of many interesting places around the world to analyze why and how their civilizations may have collapsed. It provides an excellent analysis of Mayan civilization, the Viking settlements in Greenland and an unnerving chapter on Rwanda’s genocide.
The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300 - 1850	Brian Fagan	Detailed anecdotes and useful scientific explanations describing how the global cooling of recent centuries impacted European history.  Reading this book made me realize just how lucky I am not to be a subsistence farmer in Northern Europe, as my ancestors probably were.
The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples	Tim Flannery	Lots of fascinating details about the arrival of, extinction of and distribution of the plants and animals of North America since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Easy to read.
Landscape and Memory	Simon Schama	A rambling, yet fascinating, description of how landscapes become embedded in human historical consciousness and the repercussions of this phenomenon in today’s world.

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