’A Land Gone Lonesome’ presentation and book signing

Submitted by John Creed
Phone: (907) 442-3400 ext. 117
07/27/06

Acclaimed Alaska author and journalist Dan O’Neill will be giving a presentation and signing copies of his latest book Saturday, July 29, from 7-9 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in Fairbanks.

The national attention for "A Land Gone Lonesome: An Inland Voyage Along the Yukon River" continues to grow, with strong reviews in numerous prominent national publications, including an rave review just out in "The National Review," the well-known political magazine founded by conservative icon William F. Buckley.

In "The National Review," John R. Coyne Jr. writes that O"sØNeill uses "clear, crisp, and evocative prose, with the reader able to see, hear, and sometimes even smell the characters. As in his earlier books, O’Neill also demonstrates a rare gift for describing in quick and imaginative prose natural phenomena and scientific or mechanical processesìthe properties of glaciers and how they move; the operation of a dredge; and the many different ways there are to die when plunged suddenly into icy water."

O’Neill is also author of "The Last Giant of Beringia" and "The Firecracker Boys," for which he was named Alaska Historian of the Year by the Alaska Historical Society. Land Gone Lonesome, O’Neill’s third book, draws significantly on the collections of University of Alaska archives, highlighting that important work while brokering it to a wider audience. This is an excellent example of university outreach to the general public.

All of O’Neill’s books focus on rural Alaska.

A review of Land Gone Lonesome is also scheduled to appear in New York Times Book Review Sunday, Aug. 13. Meanwhile, O’Neill’s latest book has been a #1 selling title this summer at Gulliver’s, an independent book store located on College Road in Fairbanks.