Books published by publisher Epicenter Press

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along from mother to daughter for many generations on the upper Yukon River in Alaska, this is the tragic and shocking story--with a surprise ending--of two elderly women abandoned by a migrating tribe that faces starvation brought on by unusually harsh Arctic weather and a shortage of fish and game. This story of survival is told with suspense by Velma Wallis, whose subject matter challenges the taboos of her past. Yet, her themes are modern--empowerment of women, the graying of America, growing interest in Native American ways.

In the 1970s, the world's largest construction companies invaded Alaska in a wild rush to build the 800-mile $8 billion trans-Alaska pipeline. Workers by the tens of thousands headed north, hoping to make their fortunes working on the pipeline, in a stampede that dramatically affected Alaska. With the avalanche of big money and new arrivals came new problems: drugs, prostitution, gambling, and violent crime. Rapid economic and social changes ultimately touched the lives of virtually every Alaskan. Journalist Dermot Cole, dean of the Alaska press corps, recalls the best of the pipeline stories with humor, authenticity, and drama.

From the pages of early-day northern newspapers comes a startling collection of accounts of the extraordinary and the unexplained: Mammoths discovered frozen whole in the icy grip of a glacier. A tropical valley hidden deep in the wilderness. Sea serpents sighted off the Bering Sea Coast. A ghostly maiden's endless search for the young miner she loved. Lost mines containing unimaginable wealth in gold.

"Dreaming Bears is the true story of the rare friendship that develops between a young medical student with deep roots in the South and an elderly Indian couple in the wilds of northeast Alaska. In 1961, Mike Holloway, his brother Ted, and a college friend set our from South Carolina to spend the summer hiking in Arctic Alaska, intending to live off the land. They end up in the homeland of the Gwich'in - the northernmost Indians in North America. The young men charter a small plane into the isolated village of Venetie, where the tribal chief directs them to the remote cabins of Johnny and Sarah Frank. The elderly Gwich'in couple lived a thirty-five-mile walk from the village and more than a hundred air miles from the closest road. Johnny was a well-known storyteller and former medicine man. Sarah made their home welcoming with warm, calm kindness - her well-worn hands seldom idle. His rich encounters in Gwich'in country deepen Mike's love of wild land and his respect for those who depend upon it for their survival. The experience alters his life. Mike becomes the adopted grandson of Johnny and Sarah, returning to Alaska as a doctor and an advocate for the land and its people."

When a strong shake is felt in Alaska today, a half-century later, many who lived through the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake still become tense as they count the seconds. How long will this one last? None who were there can forget the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America -- a destructive force that in some places shook the ground for five and a half minutes, wreaking death and destruction and setting off powerful tsunamis. In BAD FRIDAY, survivors share their personal stories -- the Seward family that rode out a tsunami on the roof of a house torn off its foundations and carried away ... widespread early fears that the Russians had dropped an atomic bomb ... the fright of stunned shoppers in a furniture store where chandeliers hanging by chains swung back and forth so violently they crashed into the ceiling and shattered ... the Anchorage homes carried away in a massive landslide ... and the 441-foot cargo ship in Valdez that was tossed thirty feet into the air and knocked over on its side on dry land before powerful forces righted it again back in the bay.

"New, revised second edition! Since A Guide to the Notorious Bars of Alaska was first published in 2014, eight of the bars that were described in the first edition have closed their doors forever. The revised second edition includes five additional bars that meet the criteria. Also added to the second edition are regional maps, and more historic photos and advertisements.The Lower 48 have created myths and legends about things Alaskan: Things in Alaska are bigger, colder, wilder, fiercer, more independent, more rugged, more resourceful, to name just a few of the qualities that surround the Alaska myth. However, the one that says Alaskan bars stand head and shoulders above bars anywhere else just might be true. When author Doug Vandegraft moved to Alaska after graduating college in 1983, he found himself in the wild-west-style bar scene in Anchorage. Nearly two decades later, he officially began conducting research on Alaskan bars that he found as unique as everyone believed.A Guide to the Notorious Bars of Alaska details the rich history and atmosphere of remarkable, one-of-a-kind Alaskan bars, many of which have been around since the end of Prohibition in 1933, and have become legendary in their communities and beyond as places to socialize, meet friends, come in from the cold, and sometimes as community centers or even as churches. Despite stricter laws regarding alcohol sale and consumption, Alaska's bars remain notorious in many ways."

Dreaming Bears is the true story of the rare friendship that develops between a young medical student with deep roots in the South and an elderly Indian couple in the wilds of northeast Alaska. In 1961, Mike Holloway, his brother Ted, and a college friend set our from South Carolina to spend the summer hiking in Arctic Alaska, intending to live off the land. They end up in the homeland of the Gwich'in - the northernmost Indians in North America. The young men charter a small plane into the isolated village of Venetie, where the tribal chief directs them to the remote cabins of Johnny and Sarah Frank. The elderly Gwich'in couple lived a thirty-five-mile walk from the village and more than a hundred air miles from the closest road. Johnny was a well-known storyteller and former medicine man. Sarah made their home welcoming with warm, calm kindness - her well-worn hands seldom idle. His rich encounters in Gwich'in country deepen Mike's love of wild land and his respect for those who depend upon it for their survival. The experience alters his life. Mike becomes the adopted grandson of Johnny and Sarah, returning to Alaska as a doctor and an advocate for the land and its people.

Mushers love to share stories of the rare relationships they have with their sled dogs, whether they're in the dog lot, out training, or competing in sprint, mid-distance, or thousand-mile races. As mushers learn time and again, the heart of a sled dog is filled with loyalty, determination, and full dose of quirkiness. This newly revised collection of quotes and stories will continue to inspire audiences everywhere. At times serious, but always heartwarming, Sled Dog Wisdom is a delightful book with full color photos, guaranteed to make you smile.

Picking up where the best-selling IDITAROD CLASSICS left off, MORE IDITAROD CLASSICS introduces readers to more of the men and women who brave the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. And do they ever have stories to tell! In their own words, as told to award-winning reporter Lew Freedman, famed champions Doug Swingley, Martin Buser, Jeff King, and others share their very best stories--how they came to love the race, train their dogs and themselves, and battle all manner of winter hardships challenging the elements in what some have called the most extreme long-distance competition in the world. Alaskan heroes including Emmit Peters, Ramy Brooks, and DeeDee Jonrowe. explain how, for many of them, the Iditarod has become more of a way of life than an annual sporting event and how the work of training their dogs and making the run to Nome is punishing--but not punishing enough to deter them from trying again next year.