Fifty-Five Years in the Alaskan Bush: The John Swiss Story

Fifty-Five Years in the Alaskan Bush: The John Swiss Story
by Jeff Davis

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Book Summary Information

Author: Jeff Davis
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-06-24
ISBN: 0595282601
Number of pages: 218
Publisher: IUniverse

Book Reviews of Fifty-Five Years in the Alaskan Bush: The John Swiss Story

Book Review: Disappointing writing style
Summary: 2 Stars

I bought this book based on the only other review written here that gave it five stars. I was very disappointed in the way this book is written. It seems as if the author sat down with John Swiss and just tape recorded him telling his stories during an interview. The author, it seems, then basically wrote out the transcript and presto!, he had a book. The book just kind of rambles along. I have NO DOUBT that John Swiss and his son's are very interesting people and obviously have some great stories to be told. A writer like Jim Rearden could have done this material much better justice in my opinion. I thought the author, Jeff Davis, did a good job on the Rusty Annabell book he wrote called "Return to Toonaklut" I really think he just rushed this project out before it was done. It was very hard to keep reading. I put it down and finally picked it up three months later vowing to finish it. I have shelves of Alaska non-fiction and this book just falls short unfortunately, in my opinion.

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Summary of Fifty-Five Years in the Alaskan Bush: The John Swiss Story

Over a half century ago, John Swiss acquired a remote property on the far shore of Cook Inlet 100 air miles southwest of Anchorage. Polly Creek is a place of dreams. With a backdrop of snow-draped peaks, razor clam beds stretch out from the cabin's front door, salmon race through nearby seas and fresh brown bear tracks pockmark the sand at his doorstep. Moose and bear, beaver, eagles and whales are his neighbors. Over the years, he has trapped, fished, hunted, prospected, guided and flown his way into the realm of legend.

John's career as a bear guide spans Alaskan bear hunting from the immediate post war period to the present time. He has guided black and brown bear hunters for all these years and polar bear hunters for 18 of the 20 years it was a popular sport.

This book is told for the most part in John's own words. John's spellbinding stories unwind slowly at first, from his upstate New York childhood. He is a true pioneer of the North and just as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett did before him, he blazed a trail into the unknown land to the west of civilization and carved a life out of the wilderness.

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