Wilderness: A Journal of Quiet Adventure in Alaska [B2008]

1937 HC printing of the 1920 original, with amazingly little wear. The first of Kent Rockwell's adventure memoirs, this book is often referred to as 'Alaska's Walden' and is richly illustrated with Kents's oil-on-wood-panel black & white sketches.

In August 1918 Rockwell Kent and his 9-year-old son settled into a primitive cabin on an island near Seward, Alaska. Kent, who during the next three decades became America's premier graphic artist, printmaker, and illustrator, was seeking time, peace, and solitude to work on his art and strengthen ties with his son. This reissue of the journal chronicling their 7-month odyssey describes what Kent called "an adventure of the spirit." He soon discovers how deeply he is "stirred by simple happenings in a quiet world" as man and boy face both the mundane and the magnificent: satisfaction in simple chores like woodchopping or baking; the appalling gloom of long and lonely winter nights; hours of silence while each works at his drawings; crystalline moonlight glancing off a frozen lake; killer whales cavorting in their bay. The journal vividly re-creates that sense of great height and space ― both external and internal ― at the same time that it celebrates a wilderness now nearly lost to us.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I love the Rockwell Kent's art, and I just visited Alaska, so it was easy to picture myself in the landscape he writes about. He eloquently captures the changing moods of the Alaskan wilderness, while also narrating an inspiring and endearing father-son relationship. Wonderful drawings are scattered through the journal. Great book for anyone who loves Kent, northern wilderness, and heartening father-son stories."; "Wonderful reading, and incredible accompanying illustrations. Can't get enough of Alaska-related content I guess!"