A Window to Heaven

January 8, 2021

The driving force behind the first ascent of Denali, Hudson Stuck (1863-1920), an Episcopal priest, is chronicled along with previous attempts and the successful climb. Writer Dean debuts with a book covering Stuck's background, from his birth in England, to life on the Texas frontier, seminary school in Tennessee and his forward-thinking approaches to priesthood in Dallas, all of which helped shape his approach to priesthood in Alaska, climbing Denali, and understanding his motivations. The climb was as much an effort to summit as it was to bring awareness to Alaska peoples, needed environmental protections, and calling the peak by its indigenous name: Denali. Also surprising for its time, the summit team included an Alaska Native as well as Stuck's prot�g�, Walter Harper (for more on his fascinating life check out Walter Harper: Alaska Native Son by Mary F. Ehrlander). Another Episcopal priest, Robert Tatum, and a co-partner who brought the only mountaineering experience, Harry Karstens, round out the team. After the expedition, Karstens would speak broadly against Stuck for his treatment of others, with Dean presenting a balanced overview. VERDICT From the Texas frontier to North America's tallest peak, this balanced biography of Hudson Stuck offers provide plenty of adventure, setbacks, turmoil, and seeking a way to impact the world, and will engage armchair travelers.--Zebulin Evelhoch, Deschutes P.L., OR

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2021
A gripping account of the 1913 ascent of Denali (formerly Mount McKinley), North America's highest mountain. Though Denali's summit, 20,310 feet, is 9,000 feet lower than Everest's, "the topography, and its position so far north (Everest, by contrast, is on the same latitude as Miami), produce some of the rawest, coldest, windiest conditions on Earth." Environmental journalist and outdoorsman Dean combines a grueling mountain-climbing chronicle with a revealing life of the co-leader of the first successful Denali expedition, Hudson Stuck (1863-1920), an impressive figure who deserves to be better known. Born in England and fascinated by the outdoors, Stuck moved to Texas in 1885, working as a ranch hand and teacher before entering the ministry. Within a few years, he was dean of St. Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral in Dallas, the largest church in Texas. A liberal churchman, he supported progressive causes such as ending child labor; however, in Texas, reforms came slowly. Growing restless, he accepted an appointment as "Archdeacon of the Yukon and the Arctic, with responsibility for 250,000 square miles in the interior of Alaska." Arriving in 1904, he maintained a fierce pace, traveling by river or dogsled to establish missions, hospitals, schools, and libraries while writing on Alaskan life and lobbying against exploitation of the Indigenous population. Still in love with the wilderness, he yearned to climb Denali. Assembling a team that included a veteran adventurer, a mission volunteer, and a young Alaskan Native, they set off on the three-week trek by dogsled to the mountain. All four kept journals, enabling Dean to deliver a detailed account of the two months of torment that followed. Unable to pull his weight the 50-year-old Stuck often seemed on the verge of collapse, but he persisted. Those not captivated by climbing will puzzle over the misery these adventurers embraced, but they will keep reading. The event made Stuck a national celebrity; he traveled, lectured, and wrote popular books but also continued his good works in Alaska and died with many honors. Mountaineering and biography in expert hands.

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February 1, 2021
Readers interested in mountaineers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will recognize names like Mallory and Hillary, but this work brings to light another name worthy of attention: Hudson Stuck. In 1913, Stuck co-led the first successful summit of Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), the highest mountain peak in North America. It was an incredible accomplishment, given the conditions, including subzero temperatures. But Stuck's life story is equally as fascinating as his mountaineering accomplishments. An immigrant to America from Great Britain, he was educated at King's College in London and the University of the South in Tennessee; in the U.S., he spent time in Texas before heading west to Alaska. Not a typical adventurer, Stuck was a devoted Episcopal archdeacon and Alaskan missionary, a proponent of "muscular Christianity" who was a staunch advocate for child-labor laws and the rights of Indigenous people. Author Dean, executive director of the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance, also captures the rich history of Texas and Alaska during an era that inspired Jack London and the Yukon Gold Rush. This well-researched account belongs in most mountaineering collections.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.