The critically acclaimed "Aunt Phil's Trunk" Alaska history series by Laurel Downing Bill is noted for its easy-to-read short stories and hundreds of historical photographs that complement the entertaining nonfiction writing. Suitable for ages 9 to 99, the first book in the series shares stories from early Alaska up to about 1900.

Volume 1 kicks off the series by showcasing the arrival of Alaska Natives thousands of years ago. Anthropologists believe the Natives traveled from Asia across the Bering Sea Land Bridge and settled in various parts of Alaska. Stories in this section include those of mighty shaman, mysterious petroglyphs and fierce battles against Russian fur traders, who arrived in the mid-1700s.

After Alaska became a possession of the United States in 1867, Americans began streaming into the Last Frontier. Explorers, businessmen, miners and crooks came north and changed Alaska forever. The discovery of gold brought even more people.

This book highlights the gold rushes of Juneau-Douglas, Cook Inlet and the famous Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. A photo essay of the various routes the gold-crazed stampeders forged to get to the gold fields is truly amazing.

Other stories in this volume include how Catholic nuns mingled with rough-and-tumble adventurers on the banks of Nome, how the last shot of the Civil War boomed in the Bering Sea and how infamous conman Soapy Smith served as an angel of mercy before he became the undisputed king of crime in Skagway.

This volume is a treasure trove of short stories about Alaska's colorful past and is filled with close to 350 rare historical photographs!