"More psychological depth than Robinson Crusoe."--Frank McCourt

Praise for Lone Wolves

"A beautiful and moving story of courage and love."--Ray Bradbury

"Powerful, eloquent, and fascinating, showcasing a vanishing way of life in rich detail."--Kirkus Reviews

"An adept focus on coming-of-age and an illuminating glimpse of Native Alaskan cultures."--The Horn Book

"A gifted storyteller with a unique perspective. . . . A breathlessly paced and thrilling ride for readers of all ages."--Cambridge Book Review

Praise for The Great Death and Alaskan

"Gripping and poignant. . . . Smelcer's prose is clean and rich; original yet unpretentious."--Horn Book, starred review

"John Smelcer is Alaska's modern-day Jack London."--W.P. Kinsella

"An indispensible contribution to Alaskan literature."--J. D. Salinger

"Smelcer speaks from the land, for the land, and the people who belong to it."--Ursula K. Le Guin

Sixteen-year-old Seth and his dog fall off his father's commercial fishing boat in Prince William Sound. They struggle to survive off land and sea as they work their way home from island to island in a three-month journey. The isolation allows Seth to understand his father's love, accept his Native Alaskan heritage, and accept his grief over his mother's death.

John Smelcer is poetry editor of Rosebud and the author of more than forty books. He is an Alaskan native of the Ahtna tribe, and the last tribal member who reads and writes in Ahtna. He divides his time between Talkeetna, Alaska, and Kirksville, Missouri, where he teaches in the department of communications studies at Truman State University.