Originally published by the University of Alaska Foundation in 1992, this book is available through the University of Alaska Press. ISBN 1-883309-01-8.
List Price $30.00 627 pages
Chronicles Book I
I The Founding of a New University in a New Land
Chapter 1 College Hill
Chapter 2 Alaska Before James Wickersham
Chapter 3 Opening the Book
II The Early, Practical Years
Chapter 4 Mining is the Game
Chapter 5 Pioneering for Spinach
III Science Comes to the Campus
Chapter 6 The Bone Wagon
Chapter 7 Aurora's Offspring
IV The Changing of the Guard
Chapter 8 Cutting the Net
Chaptern 9 A New Player
Chapter 10 High Expectations
Chapter 11 Pursuing a Dream
Chronicles Book II
V A New Way of Doing Business
Chapter 12 Early Storm Warnings
Chapter 13 If You Can't Stand the Heat...
Chapter 14 The Ice Bowl Era
VI The Development of the Community College System
Chapter 15 Getting a Dose of Religion
Chapter 16 Branching Out
VII The Confrontation Over the Geophysical Institute
Chapter 17 AC Versus DC
Chapter 18 Idealism Verus Iconoclasm
VIII The Turning of Adversities to Opportunities
Chapter 19 The Aftermath
Chapter 20 A Waving of Flags
Chapter 21 The Anatomy of a Decision
Chapter 22 A Switch in Plan
Epilogue: What Happened Afterwards
A Final Salute to the Heroes
Appendix A: Inflation Rates, 1900 to 1990
Appendix B: Military Branch Enrollments
Appendix C: Aerial Photographs of Fairbanks Campus
“But there’s more: this history reads like a novel. Davis writes with a gentle sense of humor, obvious respect, even awe, for the people involved, and his love of his subject. No one else could have written this magnificent book. I strongly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Alaska in general or Alaska’s university in particular.” —ARCTIC, Vol. 48, No. 1, 1995.
Excerpts from Published Reviews
“…well crafted….[Davis writes] exceedingly well…[Chronicles] is surely in a distinct class….Americans ever more inclined to the news bites of CNN and USA Today may flinch at the size of Chronicles. Relax, Davis’s prose is fun as well as frank—for example his description of three Fairbanks faculty members as ‘among the strongest vertebrae in the campus’ relatively weak spine.’….Virtually anyone researching twentieth-century Alaska can find choice bits and pieces of Alaska history scattered throughout the Chronicles. Its abundant illustrations, the author’s personal/professional identification with prominent Alaskans, and, above all, his sympathetic treatment of people inside and outside Alaska recommend this engrossing read.”
Chapter 1 College Hill
