Journeys Through the Inside Passage: Seafaring Adventures Along the Coast of British Columbia and Alaska

I purchased this book in a used bookstore in preparation for an Alaska cruise. This book is a collection of stories. Some are historical, but most are real life experiences of the author or of people he has met. You meet gillnetters, skippers, loggers, bartenders, crabbers and many more, each living their unique lives in a part of the world Upton has intimate knowledge of. As Upton tells his stories, you can hear the whales feeding in the rips and feel the fear as a seiner searches for safe passage in the night, it's radar out, a storm threatening. This is one of the most delightful books I have read in years. It is masterfully paced and compelling from beginning to end. I am re-reading it right now.