Shipping in the far-northern Pacific ca. 1850-1950

[Sawpatin]

I'd like to find some reading material on non-fishing/whaling related shipping around the far-northern reaches of the Pacific any time ca. 1850-1950: British Columbia, Alaska and the Aleutians, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kurils, etc.



This one looks interesting:Aleutian Freighter: A History of Shipping in the Aleutian Islands


The region certainly wasn't a dead-zone for shipping. Possible topics of interest include (and are not limited to) the vessels used to move people and goods during the Klondike Gold Rush, Japanese supply ships in the Kurils pre-WW2, coastal shipping between ports of the Russian Far East, or shipping links between Alaska and the lower 48.


Anyone have sources to share?

[Augustus111]

You could check out 'Williwaw' by Gore Vidal. I've got the Kindle version, and it's not a bad story - considering it was Vidal's first novel. Though a fictional story it is based on his time in WW2, so the descriptions and locations may well be acurate.

Here's the blurb from Amizon:
'Williwaw first published in 1946, is the notable first novel of a young Gore Vidal, who during World War II was a first mate of a supply ship stationed in the Aleutian Islands. The story revolves around the small ship and her crew as they battle both the elements in the Bering Sea and the mounting tensions between some of the crew members. An intense wind—williwaw—strikes the ship, damaging the craft as she struggles to make her way back to port.'

[R58484957]

Greetings Augustus111 and Sawpatin welcome to SH. Bon voyage.