This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Old Stone Press was founded by John Clark in 2012. John Clark owned and operated a custom manufacturing and commercial printing company for 27 years. Midland Communications Packaging, Inc. was a national award-winning innovator in the presentation-packaging field. Midland designed, printed, and built custom loose-leaf ring binders, high-impact point-of-purchase retail packaging, and presentation packaging for business and industry.
Along with his partners, he introduced print on demand (POD) to the Louisville, Kentucky regional marketplace in the mid-1990s and served as a beta site for the then-innovative Indigo E-Print full-color digital printing technology now owned and marketed by Hewlett-Packard.
John’s civic work includes being involved with many nonprofit and for-profit boards in the Louisville area, including the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Louisville Visual Art Association (LVAA), and the new Kentucky College of Art & Design (KyCAD) and Bourbon Baroque—Louisville’s Period Instrument Ensemble. He is a member of Leadership Louisville and was a Bingham Fellow. He also was a long-time board member of the Binding Industries of America (BIA) and served as its President in 2001-02. The BIA is now an affiliate of The Printing Industries of America (PIA), headquartered outside of Pittsburgh, PA with offices in Washington, DC.
John has recently published Hazelet’s Journal, The Gold Rush saga of his great-grandfather, George Cheever Hazelet. For more information visit: HazeletsJournal.com
John is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a BA in Fine Arts. He and his wife Gretchen live in Louisville, Kentucky.
Reviewed by Patsy Glans for Readers' Favorite
Hazelet's Journal: A Riveting Alaska Gold Rush Saga is more than the adventure of one man; it is the adventure of a nation seeking something bigger and more than themselves, of people who were willing and able to try to make a new path. The editor of the actual journals, John H. Clark, is the great-grandson of George Cheever Hazelet. He made minimal edits, and the ones he did were to make it better for people to understand. These journals tell of forest fires, floods, gun fights, and back breaking work to move forward. There is also the beauty of nature and the determination of those who kept pushing themselves, mentally and physically. There are pictures throughout the book, which help readers understand the hardships of the people who went before to get us where we are today.
George Cheever Hazelet became a tycoon at the dawn of the industrial age with the help of the chicory-coffee market. When the bottom fell out because the markets crashed, George turned his sights to the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s. He was well aware of how dangerous and uncertain this trip would be, but there was no other choice; he had a family to feed and care for. He decided to write a daily journal about everything he did and saw, people he met, people he saw die, and it helped him get through the hardships he faced at every turn. The Cooper River Country was known as the last frontier and George was determined he was going to be the one who tamed it. George became a respected business and civic leader in Alaska, met several US presidents, was a driving force in the development of Valdez and Cordova, and became the first mayor of Cordova in 1909.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Normally I am not a fan of non-fiction, but this book hooked me in from the the first sentence. It was enjoyable because as you read the corresponding pictures came alive and I was there with George and his crew, experiencing all the pain, joy, sadness, and happiness they endured. I would love to see a documentary on this expedition. I highly recommend Hazelet's Journal to everyone who likes real live adventures and who enjoys history and the beauty of nature.
