Cliches about Alaska are legion: to mention the name is to conjure up images of the Frozen North, mushing huskies, and grizzled sourdoughs panning for gold. In this book, author William R. Hunt shows how misleading such images are.

Alaska, writes William R. Hunt, is not the "last wilderness," and it has not been built solely by the self-reliant efforts of hardy pioneers. Instead, it has struggled from its earliest days as an American possession until today for government aid to support commercial and economic development. The real story of Alaska is the story inherent in the disparity between government policies urged by Alaskans and government policies actually dictated from Washington, DC.

The issue of conservation versus development makes Alaska of special interest to all Americans today. Our northernmost state is not what most Americans on the "Outside" think it is; but as author Hunt shows, all Americans have a stake in the future of Alaska and therefore can benefit from understanding the reality of its colorful history.