“The North Face of Summer: An Alaskan Novel”

By Russell Tabbert; Cirque Press, 2025; 504 pages; $20.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter, under powers granted by the Antiquities Act, declared National Monument status for 56 million acres of federal land in Alaska. His act triggered massive protests across the still-young state, and pitted resource interests against preservationist organizations in a bitter struggle over what the term “public lands” means and how such territories should be managed.

One of the regions fought over most fiercely was the Kantishna Mining District, adjacent to the eastern border of what was then Mount McKinley National Park. Home to several active mines that had been worked for 75 years, it became a flashpoint in the battle between those who had long earned their living from the ground itself, and the emerging environmentalist viewpoint that public lands belong to all Americans and should not be used for private gain.

A firestorm resulted in Alaska and raged throughout the summer of 1979, particularly in the Interior, where mining had long been an economic mainstay. Carter was burned in effigy, and opponents of his move quickly began defying federal laws on the newly preserved regions. For proponents of resource development, the lands had been locked up. For those who supported leaving the lands untouched by industrialism, they were locked open.

It’s into these contentious events that Russell Tabbert steps in his recent novel “The North Face of Summer.” In this story, mostly set in Kantishna, Tabbert explores the conflict through richly drawn characters, presenting this history from several sides, seeking not to pit good against evil, but instead to find how basically decent human beings with widely divergent views can, through the complexities of their own histories and experiences, come to near blows when their individual values run head-on into each other.

The book opens on an airliner bound for Alaska where Natalie Thorsen, fresh out of high school, is being sent north from Illinois by her overbearing mother to spend the summer with her miner uncle Bill Dunham. Beset by a drunken roughneck, she receives aid from Kent McDonald, born and raised in Fairbanks and on his way home from college.

McDonald, we quickly learn, has been hired by the Wilderness Forever Coalition to spend the summer in Denali covertly photographing mines in Kantishna, looking for violations that can be used against their operators.

One of those mine claimants is Bill, who collects Natalie in Fairbanks and takes her south to stay for the season.

Also key to the story, which has far too many critical characters to list in a brief review, are Lars Peterson and his wife, Elvira, who have a nearby claim to Bill’s. Bill and Lars, longtime friends, are taking separate approaches to the arrival of National Park Service overseers of their operations. Bill is opting to cooperate with Park Service and work as best he can within its mandates. Lars, along with most miners in the district, chooses to defy the government and continue business as usual.

From there the primary drama in the book plays out. Slowly but steadily, officials with Park Service begin asserting themselves, seeking to enforce federal regulations. Each step is matched by an equally steady increase in reaction from Lars and others who want none of it.

Caught in the middle are Bill and Natalie.

Bill, willing to bend to whatever extent allows him to keep working his claim, understands the resentment of his fellow miners, but is willing to adapt to new circumstances.

Stuck in an even deeper bind is Natalie, who genuinely adores Bill and Elvira, while at the same time is falling into a summer romance with Kent. Both she and Bill can see the good in others found on both sides of the conflict, and both want to find some middle ground that will prevent things from taking a turn toward violence.

The standoff does turn physical in the book’s central scene, set at a Fourth of July picnic at one of the tourist lodges in Kantishna, where tensions between the two sides come to a head and Kent runs into trouble. From there, any hope for common ground is all but lost.

Tabbert has done something here that a lot of authors would fail to accomplish. He’s crafted characters across the spectrum that readers will sympathize with and come to like quite quickly.

Those who have read the novels of Edward Abbey, who explored similar themes, will recall that he created straw men out of miners and others drawing their livelihood from the land, leaving damage in their wake. And though often an uproariously funny writer, Abbey failed to ascribe much humanity to his villains.

For Tabbert, the miners aren’t villains. This is most poignantly illustrated by Lars, who emerges as the most fascinating and conflicted character in the book. Well into their 60s, he and Elvira have lost a son in Vietnam, while their daughter, a lesbian, is estranged from her father and living in San Francisco with her partner. Add the sectioning off of a mine claim he’s worked for decades, and we find an aging man living far from a rapidly changing American culture, yet feeling assailed by it. Tabbert doesn’t endorse Lars’s sometimes bigoted views, but he does thoughtfully lead readers into understanding how the man became who he is. No easy task, but the author pulls it off.

With each chapter, Tabbert shifts viewpoints from one character to the next, exploring their inner narratives and thus, instead of hectoring readers toward one conclusion, forcing them to understand the events of 1979 as a human drama in which lines of judgement aren’t to be simply drawn.

History tells us where this story will end beyond the book’s closure. But what “The North Face of Summer” offers is a compassionate look at the people inescapably pulled into what happened. It’s an unusually mature book for such a fraught topic, but by choosing the difficult path of broadmindedly exploring a volatile time still contentiously fought over, Tabbert serves a monumental piece of Alaska’s history well.

[Book review: Homer author Naomi Klouda has produced her best work yet with ‘The Octopus Murders’]

[Book review: Mary Jacobs takes the helm as both fisherman and writer, with daring and perseverance]

[Alaska author underscores the value of science and history by highlighting individual experiences]

The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Saturday, May 2, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers

25-37-42-52-65, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning The Pick numbers

22-25-30-31-34-44

Check The Pick payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers

0-1-7

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

10-11-12-15-22

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

06-20-28-29-38-39

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

For the next week or so, in homes all over California, ballots will be arriving for the June 2 primary.

Since 2020, a ballot has been mailed to every active registered voter in the state — more than 23 million, by last count. The time to choose is drawing nigh.

In addition to the race for governor, Californians will vote in contests for seven other statewide offices, the Board of Equalization — which oversees the property tax system — and a great many congressional, legislative and local races, including the primary for Los Angeles mayor.

What’s a voter to do?

If you’ve waited your entire life for a candidate like Republican Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff running for governor, or you’ve been jonesing to cast a gubernatorial ballot for Democrat Katie Porter from the moment she whipped out her famous whiteboard, the choice is easy. Fill out that ballot and toss it in the mail, stat! No postage needed.

“Don’t mess around,” said Paul Maslin, a veteran Democratic campaign strategist. (His candidate for governor, Betty Yee, quit the race late last month, so he’s a neutral observer at this point.)

“If you have pretty good inkling what you want to do,” Maslin urged, “vote.”

But if, like many, you’re not wed to a particular candidate, what then? If you’re worried about mailing in your ballot and then having some awful, Eric Swalwell-like revelations surface, or if you fret about wasting your vote by supporting someone who drops out before June 2, then what?

There are no do-overs in a California election. Once you’ve cast your ballot, you’ve made your choice. That’s it, however sorry you may be.

Which is why Republican strategist Rob Stutzman, who’s worked in California politics for decades, urged voters not to mail their ballot too soon. Like Maslin, he’s unaffiliated with any of the gubernatorial campaigns.

“It’s a slow-developing race,” Stutzman said of the contest for governor, the marquee attraction on the June ballot. “These are still relatively little-known candidates. There’s going to be a lot more campaigning to go in the weeks ahead. [So] unless you feel really strongly about somebody, I’d hang on to that ballot and see what happens over the next several weeks.”

Then again, with all the talk of clamping down on mail-in ballots and concerns about processing delays by a stretched-thin Postal Service, is there a danger of waiting too long to vote? What if your ballot arrives past the deadline to be tallied?

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court strongly signaled a likelihood it would require mail ballots to be received by election day if they are to be counted as legal. As it stands, California accepts mail-in ballots that were cast before the end of election day, so long as they arrive no later than seven days after.

The court seems unlikely to issue its ruling before the June primary — but that’s not guaranteed.

So is there a sweet spot, somewhere between voting in haste and having your ballot go to waste?

The Official Voter Information Guide, produced by California’s secretary of state, urges those voting by mail to “return your ballot … as soon as you receive it.”

But Kim Alexander, head of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, falls into the wait-a-bit camp. “Don’t vote too early,” she counseled, “because this is a very dynamic election.”

Once you’ve made up your mind, her best advice is to mail your ballot at least a full week before election day, which is May 26, to ensure it arrives on time to be processed and counted. If someone wants to drop their ballot off in person, either at a vote center or secure drop box, Alexander suggests doing so by May 30, which is three days before the election.

“The good news,” she said, “is that under a new state law … all county election offices will be open at least six hours on Saturday, May 30, for voters to come vote in person or to turn in their vote-by-mail ballots.”

Voting in person is an option right up until 8 p.m. on election day, even if you received a ballot in the mail. That applies everywhere in California, save for three sparsely populated, rural counties — Alpine, Plumas and Sierra — which conduct their elections entirely by mail. Bring your unused vote-by-mail ballot to your local polling place and swap it for a polling-place ballot you can use instead.

For procrastinators or those wanting to wait until election day to mail their ballot, they run the risk that it won’t be postmarked until after June 2. That means it won’t be counted, regardless of when it arrives at their county elections office.

“Voters who want to hold out as long as possible … ought to be planning to turn their ballot into a drop box or a voting site and not use the mail at all,” Alexander said.

Having spent decades working to make voting easier and elections safer and smoother, Alexander knows that voting by mail has made many people miss “the election day experience.” (Things like bringing the kiddos into the voting booth, or posing for selfies with an “I Voted” sticker.)

Her suggestion is to find other ways to mark the occasion.

“Help somebody else go and vote,” Alexander suggested, “or volunteer to help with an organization” running a get-out-the-vote operation.

“If you want to help election officials get ahead on the vote count” — a source of repeated upset as the country awaits California’s lagging results — “you can be part of the solution by getting your own ballot in just a little bit earlier.”

All of which sound like fine ideas. That way you can celebrate election day and make sure your ballot isn’t cast for naught.