The largest by far of the fifty states, Alaska is also the state of greatest mystery and diversity. And, as Claus-M. Naske and Herman E. Slotnick show in this comprehensive survey, the history of Alaska's peoples and the development of its economy have matched the diversity of its land- and seascapes."Alaska: A History" begins by examining the region's geography and the Native peoples who inhabited it for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived. The Russians claimed northern North America by right of discovery in 1741. During their occupation of "Russian America" the region was little more than an outpost for fur hunters and traders. When the czar sold the territory to the United States in 1867, nobody knew what to do with "Seward's Folly." Mainland America paid little attention to the new acquisition until a rush of gold seekers flooded into the Yukon Territory. In 1906 Congress granted Alaska Territory a voteless delegate and in 1912 gave it a territorial legislature. Not until 1959, however, was Alaska's long-sought goal of statehood realized. During World War II, Alaska's place along the great circle route from the United States to Asia firmly established its military importance, which was underscored during the Cold War. The developing military garrison brought federal money and many new residents. Then the discovery of huge oil and natural-gas deposits gave a measure of economic security to the state. "Alaska: A History" provides a full chronological survey of the region's and state's history, including the precedent-setting Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, which compensated Native Americans for their losses; the effect of the oil industry and the trans-Alaska pipeline on the economy; the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill; and Alaska politics through the early 2000s.

How a prophesy was fulfilled Secretary of State William Seward, who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Czarist Russia in 1867, predicted on his first visit to the northern possession that Alaska one day would become "a state or many states." Seward's prediction came true in 1959 when Alaska became the 49th and largest state. Little wonder this took ninety years. At first, Alaska was recognized as a military district and later as a territory with limited self-government. The movement toward statehood was frustratingly slow for its advocates given the powerful influence of outside mining, shipping, and commercial fishing interests who exploited Alaska; the differences of opinion both at home and in Washington, D.C. as to whether the territory could support itself as a state; and the swirl of complex political intrigue that touched on other issues such as civil rights, the balance of power between the Democrats and Republicans, and the timing of Hawaii's admittance as a state. In a book that reads at times like a political thriller, author Dr. Claus-M. Naske tells the story about how, after decades of trial and error, the unrelenting pro-statehood forces won support from President Dwight D. Eisenhower-a breakthrough for their cause-and forged a coalition in Congress that

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Ernest Gruening governor of territorial Alaska. What followed were twenty historic years that changed the face of North America when Alaska became a state in 1959.
Using unpublished archival materials, Claus-M. Naske follows Gruening from Puerto Rico to the Pacific Islands and from Alaska to Antarctica. As governor, Gruening devoted himself to the economic development of Alaska and fought discrimination against Alaska Natives. In 1958, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he opposed the Vietnam War and earned a reputation for his liberal views on civil rights. Gruening's letters and memos reveal the challenges that he faced every day as an activist governor and senator. As a man of talent, ambition, and ego, Gruening met conflict head-on and gained the respect of Alaskans for his honesty and plain speech.
The life of Ernest Gruening is a personal account of Alaska statehood as well as a political odyssey through the twentieth century.