Margaret E. Murie (1902–2003)

Murie starts her first book, Two in the Far North with a look back at her first visit to Alaska when she was nine years old in the year 1911. The writing is full of exuberance and excitement. Her enthusiasm oozes from the pages and offers a unique perspective on the birth of an Alaskan frontier town from a child's point of view. As she grows into an adult and returns from college the emphasis shifts to marriage (1924) and following her biologist husband as he does field research in the show more untamed parts of her beloved Alaska. On each expedition you can tell she never loses that joy from exploring everything that makes Alaska unique. (I can't even tell you how many times she uses the word 'happy' to describe everyone and everything around her.) Murie's chronicle of life in the Alaskan wilderness is honest and passionate from start to finish. show less

This book made me want to visit parts of Alaska I've yet to see and I found myself inspired by Margaret's strength. The description of mosquito swarms on the Yukon River still give me nightmares. If you live elsewhere and dream of Alaska add this book to your must ead list.

I’d heard Margaret (Mardy) Murie’s name in the same news and conversational circles as I’d hear names like John Muir, Barry Lopez, John McPhee - all among my favorite writers, scientists and naturalists - so when this book appeared in my stack of Christmas gifts this year I was really excited.

Over the last several months I’ve picked up several books set in the northernmost corners of the world, some of them truly incredible stories of frontier exploration, survival and human show more endurance - and Murie’s book did not disappoint.

In Two in the Far North, Murie spends the first few chapters recounting her childhood in then-brand new Fairbanks, growing up in a modest cabin during winters that dipped, and often stayed, well into the -40s and -50s, and witnessing the growth of a burgeoning frontier town. Later, after graduating from the University of Alaska (she was the first woman ever to do so), she married Olaus Murie - a scientist studying the migration patterns of Caribou in remote northern Alaska. Together they set off for the Brooks Range to explore wildlife in areas like Bettles and Wiseman and the Old Crow River valley.

Murie is considered by many to be the grandmother of the conservation movement, and much of the passion she had for this territory that later translated into her advocacy for wilderness protection were born in the stories of this book. show less

This piece is so very heartwarming and simply beautiful. The author shares her story filled with adventure, love, and a continued sense of protecting Alaska. A wonderful read for anyone who lives in, has lived in, or plans on living in Alaska.