Jack Roderick's story of oil and politics in Alaska reads like a novel as he tells of the risky, expensive, and mostly frustrating search for oil across the Northland.
Oil companies watch one another jealously.
Small independents and the new state struggle to share in the action dominated by huge multi-national oil companies. Gov. Bill Egan, the shy grocer from Valdez, stands up to the industry, seeking the largest possible share of oil revenues for Alaskans. This sharply written book wonderfully evokes the exciting and colorful history of the oil industry in Alaska. It's a real page-turner that describes how oil happened to Alaska over decades of intrigue, punctured dreams, and bonanza. Jack Roderick, former mayor of Anchorage, has lived for four decades in Alaska where he remains active in the oil industry, public affairs, and politics.