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Welcome to Aunt Phil’s Trunk where Alaska history comes alive!
Four Alaska history books are currently available, and a fifth is in the works – slated for release in May 2011.
 "Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 1," released in 2006, is flying off bookstore shelves in Alaska. The 344-page soft-cover book, which retails for $19.95, features stories about Alaska’s rich history and was written by late Alaska historian Phyllis Downing Carlson and her niece, Laurel Downing Bill.
Filled with close to 300 historical photographs, this volume showcases a spectacular photo essay following the harrowing routes rugged prospectors traveled to get to the Klondike, including the all-water route from Seattle to St. Michael and on to Dawson, as well as the Stikine, White Pass and Chilkoot Pass trails.
Volume 1 features other fascinating stories, too, including how nuns mingled with rough and tumble adventurers on the banks of Nome, how the last shot of the Civil War boomed in the Bering Sea and how the scoundrel Soapy Smith served as an angel of mercy before he became the undisputed king of crime in Skagway.
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 "Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 2," is hot off the press as of May 2007. The book, which also retails for $19.95, picks up where Volume 1 leaves off, right around the Klondike Gold Rush.
It includes stories about Alaska’s early lawmen – and the criminals they pursued – along with its pioneering postmen and rugged adventurers who challenged the Great Land’s highest peaks. This 376-page treasure is filled with more than 350 historical photographs that complement the vivid storytelling and colorful history of the state.
Books purchased from this site are new and autographed by Laurel Downing Bill. They also can be personalized with a message to the buyer or as a gift from the buyer. Orders will be shipped via media mail within seven days of receipt of payment.
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 Laurel Downing Bill continues to bring Alaska history alive with the release of Volume 3 in her series, "Aunt Phil's Trunk."
Released in May 2008, this volume spans 1912-1935 and highlights the pioneering spirit of early Alaskans as they enter a new era as a territory of the United States.
Following in the tradition of the earlier volumes, "Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 3" sells for $19.95 and features more than 300 historical photographs to complement vivid stories about Alaska's history. This book showcases stories about early Anchorage and the Alaska railroad, epidemics and rescues in the Far North and the daring flyboys of the 1920s.
It also shares how Alaska's Native people fought for recognition, follows colonists into the Matanuska Valley and tells of the fatal crash of Wiley Post and Will Rogers in Barrow.
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Following in the fast-paced and entertaining footsteps of the previous three volumes, "Aunt Phil's Trunk: Volume 4" captures the essence of life in Alaska between 1935 and 1960. Its vivid stories and more-than 350 historical photographs highlight major events of World War II, the Cold War era and Alaska's struggle for statehood.
While World War II brought big defense dollars north, it also brought a secret Russian mission to Fairbanks, interment of Aleut people in the foreign landscape of Southeast Alaska and the proliferation of tuberculosis.
As the Cold War era saw an increase of money and people into the Last Frontier, it also generated stories of heroic Alaska Airlines flights for freedom, Alaska Natives battles against discrimination and how Anchorage blossomed into a jewel on the tundra.
The last section of this volume features the 91-year struggle for statehood. It's filled with tales of tenacity, hope and determination, and showcases the movers and shakers of days gone by, Alaska's first elected governor and the discovery of crude that tipped the balance.
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