Friday, May 2, 2008

Book Review: Tisha by Anne Hobbs Purdy and Richard Specht

Thanks to my mom for loaning me this book for the long drive in the moving truck! I would have devoured it, but forced myself to slow down just to make it last.

The book is written as the autobiography by Anne Hobbs, but on the cover, credit is given solely to Richard Specht, so I am not sure how many of the words are Anne's, and how many are the co-author's. Also, interesting to note, that we are promised a sequel which never happened. Rather disappointing.

Anne Hobbs is Tisha (teacher), a 19-year-old girl who teaches the village school in the remote Alaskan village of Chicken in the 1920s. A side note: Chicken (so the story goes) was named so because the early settlers could not spell "ptarmigan". I wonder why they would name a town after a bird, but I suppose worse has been done.

The book deals alot with the racial differences in the village. I was interested to learn that their were not only the prejudices from the whites to the natives, but also from the natives who had intermarried with the whites, who looked down on the other native Alaskans and the "half-breeds".

My grandfather was raised in an Alaskan village during the era when this story took place. I wish he was still alive, as I would question him as to how it was for him. Tisha made me think alot about him and how his upbringing must have been.

10 comments:

  1. Now that you have intrigued many a reader with your cleverness I really wish you would post more frequently. I llok forward to reading your Blog and check it several times a week.

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  2. Is there a sequal to the book Tisha and what is it's title?

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  3. The author is Robert Specht. My wife and I passed through Chicken last week, and she bought and read the book. She quite enjoyed it.

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  4. There isn't a sequel to Tisha, unfortunately. I just finished reading the book last night and absolutely loved it. One of my favorites by far. I wish there was a sequel because I'm really interested to know what the rest of her life was like.

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  5. Ann Hobbs Tisha Purdy wrote another book with her credited as the author. Many news stories have been done of her over the years up until her death. Her house is open to stop by anytime in Chicken, and if her daughter Lynn is there she will give you a tour.
    There is a book being written now about the history of Chicken, AK. Being a Purdy, I grew up with the stories and now the tales are being collected for everybody to enjoy.

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    1. I'd love to see the house.. is it a big yellow house at the end of a road as she said ? I would love to pics of it online! You area Purdy yourself??

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  6. A little belated, but I have read it twice this year because I just love this book! All the right elements, suspense, adventure, beauty, romance, and a fulfilling cause that is worth fighting for.

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  7. A little belated, but I have read it twice this year because I just love this book! All the right elements, suspense, adventure, beauty, romance, and a fulfilling cause that is worth fighting for.

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  8. A little belated, but I have read it twice this year because I just love this book! All the right elements, suspense, adventure, beauty, romance, and a fulfilling cause that is worth fighting for.

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  9. My mother gave me an old Readers Digest so I thought I'd 'give it a go' and Tisha was the first story. Needless to say now I have to read the real book, as the condensed version just teased me. I wish there was a sequel. What a wonderful lady she was, an inspiration to us all. I read a lot of books and this one is one of the best if not the best I've read .. ever. Would have loved to know Anne Hobbs Purdy and makes me want to be a better person myself. What a wonderful life she lived!

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