Ravens Witness, Hank Lentfer
Ravens Witness, Hank Lentfer
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Raven's Witness
The Alaska Life of Richard K. Nelson

Author: Hank Lentfer, Barry Lopez

Narrator: Basil Sands

Unabridged: 8 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/08/2020

Synopsis

Before his death in 2019, cultural anthropologist, author, and radio producer Richard K. Nelson's work focused primarily on the indigenous cultures of Alaska and, more generally, on the relationships between people and nature. Nelson lived for extended periods in Athabaskan and Alaskan Eskimo villages, experiences which inspired his earliest written works, including Hunters of the Northern Ice. In Raven's Witness, Lentfer tells Nelson’s story—from his midwestern childhood to his first experiences with Native culture in Alaska through his own lifelong passion for the land where he so belonged. Nelson was the author of the bestselling The Island Within and Heart and Blood. The recipient of multiple honorary degrees and numerous literary awards, he regularly packed auditoriums when he spoke. His depth of experience allowed him to become an intermediary between worlds. This is his story.

About Hank Lentfer

As a life-long Alaskan, Hank Lentfer is familiar with much of the country Richard Nelson wrote about. Their friendship centered on a mutual love of wild country, writing, and listening to wild voices. A biologist by training, Lentfer currently works as a recordist and part-time land steward for The Nature Conservancy. He is the author of Faith of Cranes: Finding Hope and Family in Alaska, and lives in Gustavus, Alaska.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Robert on August 01, 2020

Someone asked me what I was doing the other day and I casually replied that I was reading the new autobiography of Richard Nelson. It was an unthinking slip of the tongue, but even as I caught myself I realized the kernel of truth that it contained. For Hank Lentfer’s newly published biography is so......more

Goodreads review by Scott on July 10, 2020

Two kindred souls come together in this inspiring book. The author, life-long Alaskan Hank Lentfer—a land steward, hunter, forager, and former park ranger—met anthropologist Richard Nelson three decades ago. Separated by almost a generation in age, the two became as close as brothers through their s......more

Goodreads review by Kim on August 30, 2020

RAVEN’S WITNESS This powerful book is a double helix about two friends, one writing about the other in celebration and defense of the natural world. And more, it’s about the voices of elders who can teach and inspire us… if we listen. Three hundred years from now, as our descendants stagger through t......more

Goodreads review by Jess on August 10, 2020

Loved this deeply. Have read many good bios of this type but Hank has done a superlative job. It felt like tagging along in person with Richard throughout his life. Gripping, fun stories of daily survival in frontier-era Alaska (when one of your dogs chews through its harness late in the day and 20......more

Goodreads review by Mitch on November 25, 2023

The best way to approach this book is to divide it into thirds. The first third: life among the indigenous Alaskans, the second: finding a home in Alaska, the third: return to the indigenous areas. I loved every part of this book except for the parts in which Nelson began writing a new book, at whic......more

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