Head, Tail, & Guts Included

This is a humorously presented account of attending college in Alaska, California, and Iowa during the 1950s, when many students worked at part- or full-time jobs and hence were able to graduate free of debt. Illustrated with nearly one-hundred quality photographs, this enjoyable story deals not so much with classroom education as with related work activities, especially in Alaska. The author provides interesting descriptions of his involvement in early observations of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, operation of Alaska s International Geophysical Year 1957-58 field stations, an extensive project to measure the electrical conductivity of Alaska s soils using low-flying aircraft, and field investigations of two major earthquakes occurring in 1958. One was the great Lituya Bay event which created the world s largest splash wave (1740 feet above sea level). An underlying theme running through the book is the extent to which teachers, students and others influence each other s lives.