Title: Pipe Dream: An Alaskan Adventure
Author: Deborah Brownlow
Publisher: Toplink Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1948262002
Pages: 196
Genre: Autobiography, Adventure, Alaska, History
Reviewed by: Jessica Schmidt
Hollywood Book Review
Pipe Dream: An Alaskan Adventure recounts the author’s experiences working and living in Alaska in the 1970’s. The book is based on letters she wrote home to her brother as well as the author’s journals and memories. The reader is taken back in history to when the Alaskan Pipeline was being built and gets a sense of what life was like in the camps and in town when women were far outnumbered by men and every day was a potential adventure. The author does a great job of giving the reader a sense of what her life was like in Alaska on a day to day basis and also how her life changed from when she first arrived to when she finally got the sought after union job she wanted. The reader has the opportunity to learn a lot about the author’s younger years and how she spent her time and money.
Overall, the book is well written. The style is appropriate for the autobiographical nature of the book and the details about the parties at the camp or going out in town give the book a personal feel and make the author’s experiences relatable. This would be a great book for young people dreaming of adventure. It is an interesting story about Alaska for readers considering a visit and for those considering making the state their home to have knowledge of the history and what living there was like in the 1970’s. The author provides interesting stories and descriptions of dealing with the 24 hours of daylight, the severe weather temperatures, the wildlife, and taking in the breathtaking views of the Northern Lights and being surrounded by nature and wilderness.
I can relate to the author’s desire to have a fresh start in an unfamiliar area. I was interested in reading about her experiences working on the Alaskan Pipeline and what it was like to be a woman in the male dominated camps. I never have been drawn to live in the harsh conditions I’ve heard about in Alaska. I have dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights. While reading, I noticed very few typos or errors in the first half of the book. In the second half, there were more errors, but not enough to be too distracting.
Pipe Dream: An Alaskan Adventure is an interesting book to gain insight about the author’s experiences as a woman working on the Alaskan Pipeline. It tells about her experiences growing up in the Midwest and longing for adventure, she keeps in close contact with her brother through letters and this book is a personal account of that period of her life using the letters and her present wisdom gained through her life experience since.