| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xx, 309 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [293]-305). |
| Contents |
Pt. 1. Pilgrim's Trail. The road to McCarthy ; History's shadow ; The Bollard Wars ; Sunlight and firefly ; Motorheads ; The Rainbow Cross ; Hostile territory ; Holy Bob and the wild west ; God vs. the park service ; The Pilgrim's Progress -- pt. 2. The farthest-out place. Hillbilly heaven ; Flight of the angels ; The Pilgrim Family Minstrels -- pt. 3. Out of the wilderness. A quiet year ; The Wanigan ; Exodus ; Pilgrim's last stand ; The man in the iron cage. |
| Summary |
This strong work of reportage starts in 2002, when Papa Pilgrim, his wife, and 14 kids buy a 420-acre mining claim embedded in Alaska?s Wrangell?St. Elias National Park. Papa bulldozes a 13-mile road through the park to tiny McCarthy, and land-rights groups stick with the Pilgrims even when it is revealed that Papa is Robert Hale, born and raised in upper-class Fort Worth. Hale was the only witness when his pregnant high-school girlfriend, daughter of future governor John Connally, shot herself in the back of the head with a fingerprint-free shotgun. Hale?s life brimmed with bizarre murkiness?named in an FBI file on JFK; his mother helping Lee Harvey Oswald get work; squatting for 20 years on Jack Nicholson?s New Mexico ranch; and hints of a dinner with Charles Manson. In Alaska, it turns out that for decades Hale has used physical, mental, and sexual abuse to brainwash his whole family. His intriguing past crumbles in comparison to his excruciating cruelty and to the inspiring grace and strength of his children. |
| Subject |
Hale, Robert (Robert Allen), 1941-2008.
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Hale, Robert (Robert Allen), 1941-2008 -- Family.
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Pioneers -- Alaska -- McCarthy -- Biography.
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Fundamentalists -- Alaska -- McCarthy -- Biography.
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Criminals -- Alaska -- McCarthy -- Biography.
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Abusive men -- Alaska -- McCarthy -- Biography.
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McCarthy (Alaska) -- Biography.
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Dysfunctional families -- Alaska -- McCarthy.
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Incest -- Alaska -- McCarthy.
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Cults -- Alaska -- McCarthy.
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| ISBN |
9780307587824 hardback |
|
0307587827 hardback |
|
9780307587848 ebook |
|
0307587843 ebook |
|
