Arctic Homestead

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

By: Norma Cobb, Charles W. Sasser

Narrated by: Emily Beresford

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

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

Loved it!

Absolutely loved the book, loved the story, loved the narration. Once it was over I wanted to know so much more about the family.

Great Book

When I started this I wasn't so sure I was hoping to make it through and I wasn't so sure about the narrator. I'm glad I stuck with it. This book is entertaining and compelling and the narrator turns out to be a good voice for Norms Cobb. I felt like a member of the Cobb family by the story's end. Highly recommend.

Its Ok.

Good story but the author pats herself on the back a bit to often and is loathing of anyone who she decides is less apt in the wilderness than her, which is alot. Also bigfoot.

I love this book

This book is amazing, I haven't finished yet but it represents everything I long for in life!!

cabin feverish

kind of slow, repetitive. didn't appreciate her obvious conservative bent. irritating narration. don't bother with this.

Awesome

this was one of the best books I've ever read!!! Felt like you were in Alaska with them!

Cobbs

I love survival stories, and what this family went through is an amazing tale. From the far fetched to exactly how many pounds of flour it takes to survive in the wild for an Alaskan winter was very interesting and I'll think back to this story a lot. Narration was tough in the beginning but you get used to it.

Narrator performance

The narrator’s performance was substandard, as she tried to act out the different voices of the family members. She was a bit over the top with the way she exaggerated certain scenes in the book. It is also apparent that she is unfamiliar with Alaska in general as many of the place names were mispronounced.

Glad I stuck with it

At first I thought the narrator's voice was going to be irritating but turns out the narrator was perfect for the voice of Norma Cobb. The writing was wonderful but was made even more exciting by the narrator. This is an excellent read for anyone looking for a true tale of family life in Alaska.

Boring

No surprises. The preface told of everything that was going to happen. The story line was good.