Official Review: An Alaskan Adventure by Alan R. Adaschik

[CataclysmicKnight]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "An Alaskan Adventure" by Alan R. Adaschik.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Out of all the places in the world, Alaska ranks incredibly high on my list of places to visit. My reasons are different than Alan R. Adaschik - he longs for the smaller number of people and the adventure of it being America's final frontier - but this is what drew me to An Alaskan Adventure. The book is a travelogue of Alan and his wife Gayle's road trip from Florida to Alaska. Along the way they visit family in NY and then in Indiana, and it's in LaPorte, Indiana where the book begins. Their travel method of choice? A 37 foot motorhome with a rear-mounted dirt bike instead of towing a car.

Alan is definitely an "it's the journey, not the destination" kind of guy. Being retired, they're in no big hurry and explore along the way, and there are all sorts of interesting stops along the way. Alaska isn't even reached until over a third of the way into the book, but things move at a brisk pace and there are all sorts of interesting facts, landmarks and even photos along the way.

This was actually my first travelogue, and I was perhaps a bit naive. See, I thought travelogues were like the crazy movies where everything goes wrong, there's misadventure around every corner and by the end even a brief sit-down is a heavenly respite! This, obviously for frequent readers of travelogues, couldn't possibly be further than the truth. I was really pleased by how fascinating things are though; as I mentioned, the book is full of interesting facts and history. Dozens of photos are between the covers of the book, and they really help capture the beautiful scenery and crazy discoveries (Google "gold dredge 8", for example - a huge gold-digging monstrosity that tore a scar into Alaska itself!).

There were quite a few things in this book I could really relate to personally. For starters, as I mentioned, I've always wanted to visit Alaska, and coincidentally I live less than an hour away from where Alan begins in the book! Furthermore, I have some experience driving crazy mountainous paths with no guard rail, although mine has been in a car and a small delivery truck, not a huge 37' RV. Finally, the book talks frequently about panning and digging for gold, something I (and probably everyone, yourself included, admit it!) have always been fascinated by. It was much to my surprise that these weren't even my favorite parts - instead I was consistently pulled in by learning about the history of the road he drove, the Wilson Lake Sign Post Forest (Google that too!), the giant fish and the equally giant vegetables made possible by the altered day/night cycle and so much more!

It's worth mentioning as well that a few times in the book, Alan points out the beauty of the mostly-untouched Alaskan landscape and how wonderful it was to get away from the hordes of other people. The book then ends with a chapter (the longest chapter in the book in fact, just over 10% of the book) about the environment. This covers how we as humanity are dooming our planet through overpopulation and the waste we produce. To me, this was a fascinating read and it really made me consider the future of our planet in a new way. I am aware, however, that there are people out there who couldn't care less or simply don't want to read about humanity's possible self-destruction via pollution.

The only things that hindered my enjoyment of the book were the at-times questionable use of commas (something I'm guilty of myself), slightly less than two dozen grammatical errors (hardly ever bad enough to stumble over, however) and the long "about the author" section preceding the book. While it was very evident Alan has led a fascinating life, it kicked the book off on a foot that was a bit slower than I'd have liked.

Overall, An Alaskan Adventure by Alan R. Adaschik was a really enjoyable read. The book has me very torn on rating it, but based entirely on my own enjoyment of the book I'm glad to give it 4 out of 4 stars. I'm certain anyone who enjoys learning about history, Alaska, natural environmental beauty, gold panning and digging, fishing or even RV vacationing will enjoy the book, but folks who don't care to read about the environment will probably (sadly) skip the last chapter.

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An Alaskan Adventure
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Like CataclysmicKnight's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Shelle]

Great review! This book sounds awesome! My husband has grand plans for our family to one day do an epic Alaskan road trip, so I think I'll recommend this book to him.

[citizenal]

I could not be more pleased with CataclysmicKnight's assessment of my book. It is truly gratifying to know that someone is appreciative of your efforts and understands the motivations behind what you were trying to accomplish.

[ReadandRoll[]

Great review! I just bought the Kindle version and look forward to reading it.

[kimmyschemy06]

I would love to read about Alaska. It is also among the countries I would like to visit someday. I watched the 'Northern Exposure' series and I enjoyed it a lot and I think I'm going to enjoy this book as well. Great review. Congratulations to Alan R. Adaschik on such an obviously well-written book.

[citizenal]

I certainly hope my book meets your expectations. So far, responses from readers have been positive and I am gratified that people find the book informative and entertaining. No one can understand Alaska until they visit Alaska. Reading about cannot come close to the real thing. My hope was to readers a sense of how magnificent the state is so they will be motivated to undertake the journey. If they do, I have accomplished my purpose and having done so, like me, they will never view the world in the same way.

[gaporter]

Great review! I used to have a pen pal in Alaska, I've always been fascinated with the natural beauty in the north. Gold digging is certainly something you don't hear about everyday!

-- 24 May 2016, 19:40 --

I could not be more pleased with CataclysmicKnight's assessment of my book. It is truly gratifying to know that someone is appreciative of your efforts and understands the motivations behind what you were trying to accomplish.

Congrats on the great review!