Arctic Homestead

The True Story of One Family's Survival and Courage in the Alaskan Wilds

De: Norma Cobb, Charles W. Sasser

Narrado por: Emily Beresford

In 1973, Norma Cobb, her husband Lester, and their five children pulled up stakes in the lower 48 and headed north to Alaska to follow a pioneer dream of claiming land under the Homestead Act. The only land available lay north of Fairbanks near the Arctic Circle where grizzlies outnumbered humans 20 to one.

In addition to fierce winters and predatory animals, the Alaskan frontier drew the more unsavory elements of society's fringes. From the beginning, the Cobbs found themselves pitted in a life or death feud with unscrupulous neighbors who would rob from new settlers, attempt to burn them out, shoot them, and jump their claim.

The Cobbs were chechakos, tenderfeet, in a lost land that consumed even toughened settlers. Everything, including their "civilized" past, conspired to defeat them. They constructed a cabin and the first snow collapsed the roof. They built too close to the creek and spring breakup threatened to flood them out. Bears prowled the nearby woods, stalking the children, and Lester Cobb would leave for months at a time in search of work. But through it all, they survived on the strength of Norma Cobb - a woman whose love for her family knew no bounds and whose courage in the face of mortal danger is an inspiration to us all. Arctic Homestead is her story.

©2000 Norma Cobb and Charles Sasser (P)2018 Tantor

Narration was hard to take

The story was good and worthy, but would have been far better reading it than listening to it. There was so much emphatic drama on almost every word and I kept thinking how it was way too much. There was a lot of events happening continuously, but I can’t imagine the author putting that kind of drama into each sentence.

Good book highly recommend it .

I loved the story all the details of life in the wild Alaska the families struggles and strengths. Narration could of been better but you did get use to it

Great story! If you love the outdoors and adventure, you’re in for a treat.

This story was terrific. If you’re into all the outdoorsy, wilderness adventure stuff, hunting, survival, overcoming adversity, this will be great for you!

Good story about real Alaskan pioneers

Good story about real Alaskan pioneers, how much effort they needed to survive in wilderness, and finally to get successful in gold mining.

Great story

What a great story about something I always wanted to do. Excellent detail. Thank you for the intriguing story

Great Story

Loved the story. Only think I didn't like was the last 5 minutes where she talks about how everyone raises their kids wrong because they aren't raised like she raised hers.

Fantastic. Narration

The story was so well written and narrated that I felt every minute of the struggle danger and heart ache

Good Story; bad narration

Warning: the narration of this decent story renders it almost unlistenable. There were some intermittent tones and cadence that I wish there had been more of. But the hard nasal drive in the narrator’s style was uncomfortable to listen to and distracted from the story.

I learn a lot it was a good story will writing out

wow the writer made the people came alive with wow they did things and how the story play out

WOW Norma, just wow!

Such an amazing story of the last pioneers! What incredibly strong and resilient people, you weren't wrong about the sad direction or country has gone in. You are an inspiration, we may not be able to homestead like that these days, but we can learn to be self sufficient and live off grid. You guys are just... awesome. Thanks for sharing your story.