Fired by Jack London's stories of Alaska and newspaper headlines about a gold strike, Tony Dimond gave up a good teaching job in New York State for a life of adventure in the unsettled regions of the far north. His own personal adventures were more grim and dangerous than anything London had ever written.

For it was Alaska's trouble that men went there to grab and get out; only a handful stayed after their chances for gold had dimmed. Tony Dimond was one of those who remained. He decided to take up law and enter politics to battle for the rights of his adopted country.

In 1913 he was appointed United States Commissioner to handle the recording of claims at Chisana, scene of a new gold strike. Later he was appointed attorney for the new Alaska Northern Railroad, running from Seward up to Fairbanks.

Tony Dimond's reputation for integrity, generosity and kindness spread far and wide. During his forty years of public service he became, in turn, Assistant District Attorney for the Floating Court to the Aleutian Islands, Mayor of Valdez and Delegate to the Alaska Territorial Senate. Here he pleaded for unified action to rescue Alaska from an indifferent Congress, and a new cry for statehood arose.

In 1932 Anthony J. Dimond became Alaska's sole Delegate to the United States Congress, where he continued his fight for Alaska's independence. He was the first man to give repeated warnings of Japan's intrusion into Alaskan waters, which finally led to the installation of airfields and naval bases by the United States. And at his insistence the Alcan Highway, linking the United States, Canada and Alaska, was built.

During his many years as a champion for the land he loved, Tony Dimond saw Alaska grow from a raw pioneer country into a thriving territory that has become one of America's strongholds against aggression in the far north.

From the dust jacket