|
In 1967, Redington came up with the idea of a two-day race to commemorate the dog-sled delivery of diphtheria serum to Nome to combat the epidemic of 1925. By the early 1970s, the idea started to expand dramatically. The race is now an 1150-mile, 10-to-17-day trek from Anchorage to Nome over rugged Alaskan territory. Called the "Last Great Race on Earth", about 75 teams of dogs plus their mushers run each Spring. Redington, known as the "Father of the Iditarod", will be buried in a dogsled basket. He died June 24 of esophageal cancer at home in Knik, Alaska. He was 82. From This is True for 20 June 1999 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Gary Paulsen List Price: $15.00 Amazon Price: $10.20 Editorial Review: Fueled by a passion for running dogs, Gary Paulsen entered the Iditarod--the 1150-mile winter sled-dog race between Anchorage and Nome-- in dangerous ignorance and with a fierce determination. Winterdance is his account of this seventeen-day battle against Nature's worst elements and his own frailty. Paulsen and his team of dogs endured snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, and hallucinations in the relentless push to go on. Map and color photographs.  By: Jeff King List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $24.95 Editorial Review: Known as the Winningest Musher in the World, Jeff King remains one of the top mushers in the history of sled dog sports. Since his first race in 1979, King and his well-trained teams of Alaska huskies have racked up many thousands of training miles and trail hours. The result: win after win after win, crossing the finish line first in more than a dozen major races, including the two internationally known giants: the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. In the process, King has also racked up thirty years of first-person stories that offer a glimpse into the heart of a champion, the rugged Alaskan lifestyle, and the charismatic world of dogs.  By: Sue Henry List Price: $7.99 Amazon Price: $7.99 Editorial Review: The winner of Alaska's world-famous Iditarod -- a grueling, eleven-hundred-mile dog sled race across a frigid Arctic wilderness---takes home a $250,000 purse. But this year, the prize is survival. Only the toughest and the most able come to compete in this annual torturous test of endurance, skill, and courage. Now, suddenly and inexplicably, the top Iditarod contestants are dying one by one in bizarre and gruesome ways. Jessie Arnold, Alaska's premier female "musher," fears she may be the next intended victim, but nothing is going to prevent her from aggressively pursuing the glory and the rewards that victory brings. Dedicated State Trooper Alex Jensen is determined to track down the murderer before more innocent blood stains the pristine Alaskan snow. But Jensen's hunt is leading him into the frozen heart of the perilous wild that Jessie Arnold knows so well -- a merciless place far from any vestige of civilization, where nature can kill as fast as a bullet...and only the Arctic night can hear your final screams.  By: Libby RiddlesTim Jones List Price: $19.95 Amazon Price: $13.37  By: June Price List Price: $16.95 Amazon Price: $15.26 Editorial Review: BACKSTAGE IDITAROD is for the fan who wants more than to just watch a team take off from the start line. A collection of stories both new and old, it's a guide for those who yearn to know what it's really like on 4th Avenue; what they would see, hear and touch. It's for those who want to volunteer at Race Headquarters or maybe bid to be an Idita-Rider. It's for the dreamers who wonder what goes on at the musher banquets, both in Anchorage and in Nome. It's for arm chair mushers who simply want to immerse themselves in everything Iditarod. "All (Iditarod books) are interesting, but none focus on an overall view of the activities that go on before, during and after the race to make it happen. None break down the cost of running this race for you. None take you to Iditarod HQ to watch organized chaos as race preparations evolve. None follow the logistics involved in preparing checkpoint drop bags. None agonize over vet checks and deciding a final team. And none put you in the middle of the action at the start line in Anchorage and the restart, wherever it may be." Donna Quante, producer of video "Pretty Sled Dogs" "You're in for a real treat with this book! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and by the time I was finished proofing the pages I had a lump in my throat and was practically wishing for snow on the ground! I'll be going into the '08 race with a whole new understanding of how things work, because June's book truly is the equivalent of a backstage pass to the whole awesome show!" --Helen Hegener, author/publisher/editor and present at some of the initial organizational meetings for the Iditarod when it was still known as "Joe's race". |
About the HUs
About This is True
Prev: Bookstore magnate Christina Foyle Next: Last AP telegrapher Aubrey Keel |