BOOK ON SELF-TAUGHT NATURALIST "BEAR MAN
OF ADMIRALTY ISLAND" PUBLISHED BY UA PRESS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 26, 1996
Fairbanks, Alaska -The second volume in the LanternLight Library series, "Bear Man of Admiralty Island- A Biography of Allen E. Hasselborg," has been released by the University of Alaska Press. The book's author, John Howe, will be in Sitka Dec. 6, and in Juneau Dec. 12 where he will present some of Allen Hasselborg's papers to the Alaska State Library Archives.
"Bear Man of Admiralty Island" is the real life story of Hasselborg, a Midwesterner lured north to Alaska by the Klondike gold rush. The Alaska pioneer became well known as a guide, naturalist, homesteader, frontier character and bear hunter. Hasselborg's respect for the great brown bears of Admiralty Island ultimately led to his decision to stop hunting bears for their hides, inspiring conservationists working to preserve the bears' habitat.
Hasselborg guided and collected natural history specimens for scientists from the University of California and the Smithsonian Institution. He later guided nature photographers and writers and attracted national attention when he was caught in the middle of a key early political battle between the Alaska timber industry and East coast conservationists.
According to Frank Williamson, director emeritus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology, "Bear Man" is a major contribution to the general history of Alaska and in particular, Alaska's natural history.
"Anyone with an interest in Alaska and its history, the out of doors, conservation, brown bears and other related topics will be interested in the book," wrote Williamson in the book jacket's cover notes.
Howe, who wrote "Bear Man" while living in Juneau from 1980 to 1992, now lives in Cambridge, Mass. where he directs an Internet Web site for writers and publishers.
Howe will be the Sitka Conservation Society's Backwoods and Waters guest lecturer Friday, Dec. 6. He will be available to sign his book in the Sitka Pioneers' Home Chapel following the lecture.
From Sitka, Howe will go to Juneau to present papers from Hasselborg's collection to the archives of the Alaska State Library as part of its permanent collection. Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, who is also the director of the Alaska Historical Commission, will be the guest speaker at the Dec. 12 presentation ceremony. Material from the collection, donated by members of Hasselborg's family, were used by Howe while researching the book.
Big City Books and Hearthside Books in Juneau will host book signings and readings by Howe on Dec.13 and 14. Historical footage of Hasselborg shot in the 1930s will be shown at these events, courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society.
"Bear Man" in paperback retails for $15, the cloth edition retails for $25. For more information contact the University of Alaska Press, 1st Floor Gruening Building on the UAF campus.
CONTACT: Pam Odom, University of Alaska Press,
(907) 474- 6389
UAF News releases available electronically at:
http:// www.uaf.edu/univrel/media
DPD/11-25-96/97-033