Ernest Gruening: Alaska's Greatest Governor

Remembered as one of the few U.S. Senators to oppose the Vietnam War, Ernest Gruening came to the Senate after a long political career, which included an extensive tenure as the appointed governor of territorial Alaska. After a brief profile of Gruening's pre-Alaska career, Naske (history, U. of Alaska Fairbanks) spends the bulk of his narrative on Gruening's governorship. Beginning in 1939, his tenure involved issues of war in the Pacific, taxes, native rights, and statehood. Gruening's Senate career also receives significant attention, including discussion of his campaigns, battles over conservation, and Vietnam. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR