Arctic Homestead, Charles W. Sasser
Arctic Homestead, Charles W. Sasser
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Arctic Homestead
The True Story of One Family's Survival and Courage in the Alaskan Wilds

Author: Charles W. Sasser, Norma Cobb

Narrator: Emily Beresford

Unabridged: 8 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/29/2018

Synopsis

In 1973, Norma Cobb, her husband Lester, and their five children pulled up stakes in the Lower Forty-Eight and headed north to Alaska to follow a pioneer dream of claiming land under the Homestead Act. The only land available lay north of Fairbanks near the Arctic Circle where grizzlies outnumbered humans twenty to one. In addition to fierce winters and predatory animals, the Alaskan frontier drew the more unsavory elements of society's fringes. From the beginning, the Cobbs found themselves pitted in a life or death feud with unscrupulous neighbors who would rob from new settlers, attempt to burn them out, shoot them, and jump their claim.

The Cobbs were chechakos, tenderfeet, in a lost land that consumed even toughened settlers. Everything, including their "civilized" past, conspired to defeat them. They constructed a cabin and the first snow collapsed the roof. They built too close to the creek and spring breakup threatened to flood them out. Bears prowled the nearby woods, stalking the children, and Lester Cobb would leave for months at a time in search of work.

But through it all, they survived on the strength of Norma Cobb—a woman whose love for her family knew no bounds and whose courage in the face of mortal danger is an inspiration to us all. Arctic Homestead is her story.

About Charles W. Sasser

Charles W. Sasser has been a full-time freelance writer, journalist, and photographer since 1979. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy (journalist) and U.S. Army (Special Forces, the Green Berets), a combat veteran and former combat correspondent wounded in action. He also served fourteen years as a police officer (in Miami, Florida, and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was a homicide detective). He is author or coauthor of more than sixty books, including One Shot-One Kill. Sasser lives outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Melody

This could have been a fantastic story but was ruined for me by four things. One, the constant and pervasive references to religion. I'm a scientist and the frequent references to auroras and other natural phenomena as being "god's paintbrush" are just annoying. Two, the insistence of the presence o......more

Goodreads review by Rex

Started this to “get the facts” about homesteading in Alaska, not expecting to be drawn in. But Norma Cobb’s voice, which her co-author was smart enough to amplify, did just that. She was the last person to file under the Homestead Act, before availability ended in 1974. She was twenty nine, divorce......more

Goodreads review by Susan

I was totally engrossed in this "true" story of survival in the Alaskan wilds. Did a bit of research afterwards and found not all the author's claims of various events were accurate. While I liked reading about the hardships and what it took to make a home in this wilderness, I grew to dislike the a......more

Goodreads review by D. Lori

The first part of this book I loved it. I was into Ms. Cobb's story and enjoyed reading about the issues that faced the family as they journeyed to settle in the wilds of Alaska. As her story unfolded I began to wonder about the truth behind her tale. Alaska though it is the largest land wise of all......more

Goodreads review by Chuck

This book reminds me of books of the Krakauer genre. Adventures into the wild by brave or foolhardy people which is finally determined by whether you are succesful or not. The first thing that attracted me to the story was that it was told by a woman which is unusual for outdoor, non-fiction risk-ta......more

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