Disappearnce

The loss of a colleague whose Cessna 340A disappeared between Yakutat and Juneau (an area known as Alaska's Bermuda Triangle) prompted the author to examine other disappearances in that vast state. A former editor of Alaska's Wildlife, poet Nickerson reaches back to early frontier Alaska, to the Russians, American missionaries, Sir John Franklin and subsequent polar expeditions, including those of Captain Bob Bartlett and Vilhjalmur Stefansson. She also meditates on another kind of loss--the disappearance of the shamans, language and culture of the natives and of the land's natural resources. Nickerson follows recent disappearances of hikers, climbers, tourists and adventurers (in 1991, the Coast Guard launched 1192 rescues, with 45 reported fatalities). These gripping stories of death and loss are deftly interwoven with reflections on the author's life in Alaska. Beautifully written, Disappearances gives us a sense of place not found in ordinary maps. Author tour. (Feb.)