The author is clearly passionate about the innate beauty that permeates Sitka, that much is clear. The choice to write this account in the style of a pseudo-diary, however, delegitimizes the descriptions of Sitka's more "romantic" qualities. The language choice sets the stage for cheesy and unintentionally funny accounts, as opposed to the author's (likely) intention of describing a vivid, sublime experience.

Even though this was published in 1930, it was very difficult to keep moral relativity at bay, especially given the author's inherently biased accounts of historical events. More humanity is allotted to the descriptions of Tlingit material culture than to the actual people, which made certain passages especially irksome.

Segments I did enjoy included the descriptions of the eccentric "Father of Pictures" (aka: Merrill) and some of the accounts that included documentation and photographs.

In conclusion: meh narrative, cool pictures. I would still recommend this book to people who live or have lived in Sitka. You'll definitely have an opinion about it, and the library has a couple copies.