Author was named Alaska Historian of the Year in 2004 for Russians in Alaska, 1732-1867.
Selected by CHOICE as an Outstanding Academic Title of 2004
"Definitive. . . the first comprehensive scholarly synthesis of Alaska's Russian period."
—Journal of American History
"Mandatory reading for scholars in northwestern history."
—Oregon Historical Quarterly
"The finest survey of [the] topic in English."
—Journal of the West
Black's work challenges the standard perspective on the Russian period in Alaska as a time of unbridled exploitation of Native inhabitants and natural resources. Without glossing over the harsher aspects of the period, Black acknowledges the complexity of relations between Russians and Native peoples.
She chronicles the lives of ordinary men and women, the merchants and naval officers, laborers and clergy, who established Russian outposts in Alaska. These early colonists carried with them the Orthodox faith and the Russian language; their legacy endures in architecture and place names from Baranof Island to the Pribilofs.
This deluxe volume features fold-out maps and color illustrations of rare paintings and sketches from Russian, American, Japanese, and European sources, many have never before been published. An invaluable source for historians and anthropologists, this accessible volume brings to life a dynamic period in Russian and Alaskan history. A tribute to Black's life as a scholar and educator, Russians in Alaska will become a classic in the field.
