About the Book
Beyond Sled Dogs and Gold
Somewhere between myths and hard facts you find Nome, poised also between yesterday and tomorrow. Drawing on his background in anthropology and an equal passion for history, Michael Engelhard surveys the seam that links two neighboring continents through the lens of one pivotal city. The region's legacy of millennia shines on pages enriched by this writer's recollections-from mammoths to Cold War monuments, from a spa turned orphanage to cyclist miners and shaman hoards. Meet the explorers and adventurers, reindeer herders and hustlers, the dancers, drummers, dreamers, warriors, walrus-tusk carvers, and whalers, clergy, foragers, and photographers who shaped a place of conflicting visions as thoroughly as it shaped them.
About the Author :
Trained as an anthropologist with a degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Michael Engelhard worked for twenty-five years as a wilderness guide and outdoor instructor in Alaska and on the Colorado Plateau. The editor of four anthologies and author of "Ice Bear," a cultural history of the polar bear, he has won three Alaska Press Club Awards, and a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award. Recent books include the National Outdoor Book Award-winning memoir "Arctic Traverse" as well as "What the River Knows: Essays from the Heart of Alaska," and the Grand Canyon essay collection "No Walk in the Park." His writing has also appeared in publications like Outside, Sierra, Backpacker, National Parks, Audubon, Utne Reader, and Times Literary Supplement, with more than a hundred articles in Alaska magazine.
Review :
Praise for No Place Like Nome
Murder, mayhem, mystery, and of course gold-it's all here, but as Engelhard shows, the real gold lies in Nome's people, the culture, and the land. No Place Like Nome is a gritty, gorgeous dive into the heart and history of a town with an indomitable spirit. - Don Rearden, author of The Raven's Gift
Delightful, informative, and crafted with precision and flourish, Engelhard's book brings Nome and the Bering Strait to life for readers, allowing them to truly dwell there for the breadth of its pages. - Michelle Theall, editor of Alaska magazine
No Place Like Nome evokes the unique palette that joins Beringia's ancient past to characters as diverse as Kivetoruk Moses, Roald Amundsen, Sally Carrighar, and Edward S. Curtis, all of whom inscribed these streets and landscapes into our imagination. - Igor Krupnik, Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution
Engelhard leads the reader to explore Indigenous cultural practices, historic episodes, quirky personalities, and dramatic elements of the landscape, while always connecting to the present through his experiences and current events. - Angela Linn, University of Alaska Museum of the North
No Place Like Nome is as swashbuckling as the characters whose trails crossed in this notorious Beringian town. Local lore, language, high drama-and of course gold-march through these pages in breathless progression. Nome is no normal place, and this book captures its storied essence. - William Fitzhugh, co-author of Crossroads of Continents
This impressively panoramic view of Nome and the Bering Strait provides a deep exploration of the region. Engelhard's lively writing and fresh insights pop off the page. - Ian C. Hartman, author of Black Lives in Alaska
Engelhard guides you into realms both rich and strange. You'll learn about a material you can wear that's eight times warmer than sheep wool. You'll hear about a woman naturalist who constantly craved the company of lemmings. You'll find out what music will heal your soul and what plant will heal your various physical wounds. No Place Like Nome itself will heal your desire for a good read. - Lawrence Millman, author of The Last Speaker of Bear
Elegantly written, balanced, and alluring. Engelhard doesn't shy away from controversy or painful topics, but doesn't become mired in them either, choosing instead to focus on the unexpected. - Stephen R. Bown, author of Island of the Blue Foxes
