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Bush Pilots of Alaska
by Fred Hirschmann
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144 pages, hardcover
Graphic Arts Center Publishing |
The unparalleled photography in this book has made it a staple of
coffee tables across North America. The stories that accompany the photographs are icing on the cake.
Publisher's Comments
Take a deep breath, buckle your seat belt, and turn the pages of BUSH PILOTS OF ALASKA.
You are about to fly over America's Last Frontier with some of the most skilled, colorful, and downright
friendly pilots anywhere in the world. This is a book about the American spirit, about romanticism and realism,
about a land so big and beautiful it defies description, and about men and women who love nothing more than to
climb into their small planes, turn over the prop, and fly over that endless land.
Each page is a vicarious thrill, each photograph a window into the way Alaskans get around to live, work, and play.
Bush planes are to Alaska what covered wagons and railroads were to the Old West -- a lifeline. You will travel in
aircraft of all types and sizes, from fabric-winged Piper Cubs to Cessnas, Beavers, Twin Otters and ultramodern
helicopters. You will hear tales of the old days when pilots first came to Alaska, as well as stories of today,
full of adventure and excitement.
Two of Alaska's most respected men -- former Alaskan Governor Jay Hammond and his Lieutenant Governor Lowell Thomas,
Jr., each an experienced bush pilot -- graciously wrote the Preface and Afterword. Kim Heacox, author of the main
text, leads you through five fun-filled chapters about flying in Alaska. The text is lively, yet not exaggerated,
informative yet not academic. Kim's notes were more often than not scribbled as he sat in the copilot's seat or
made after a long day of flying.
Most spectacular, however, are Fred Hirschmann's images, the artwork of a talented professional photographer. He
has flown over every corner of the state from the Southeast panhandle to the North Slope in summer and winter,
sometimes braving storms, turbulence, and below-zero temperatures to sqeeze his camera shutter at the precise
moment when the scenery, light and subject combined to creat magic: a ski plane suspended in flight over the
Chugach Range, a Beaver and an Alaska Airlines jet backdropped by the Fairweather Range, a float plane dwarfed
by glacier and fjord, a smile from a bashful pilot, a laugh from a jubilant passenger. From the thousands of
photographs taken, 192 of the very best were selected for this book.
If you have ever dreamed of flying free over the vastness and beauty of this incredible place called Alaska, then
this book is for you. Open the pages and begin your journey. You will discover the almost indescribable thrill of
flying the bush, for it is true what pilots say: "Where the road ends, the real Alaska begins."
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