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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
Funny, moving, awe-inspiring.
On this re-read, I most enjoyed the parts that have always been stuck in my head - the incredible pulling power of a large, well-conditioned dog team and Paulsen's hilarious underestimations (which led to things like him getting dragged face-first so fast a box of matches in his jeans pocket caught fire while his wife, watching, was convulsed with laughter), the night of the skunks, and his story about how a jar of medicine kept under every layer of his clothes froze solid during his crossing of the Yukon (a leg of the Iditarod).
Cookie and Devil. <3
The last lines of the epilogue absolutely broke my heart.
Now I want to find a book about Susan Butcher.
On this re-read, I most enjoyed the parts that have always been stuck in my head - the incredible pulling power of a large, well-conditioned dog team and Paulsen's hilarious underestimations (which led to things like him getting dragged face-first so fast a box of matches in his jeans pocket caught fire while his wife, watching, was convulsed with laughter), the night of the skunks, and his story about how a jar of medicine kept under every layer of his clothes froze solid during his crossing of the Yukon (a leg of the Iditarod).
Cookie and Devil. <3
The last lines of the epilogue absolutely broke my heart.
Now I want to find a book about Susan Butcher.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
This book is well written and makes me laugh out loud (not many books do)!
This book was given by me by my boss years ago (around 2006) when I had been on a five-day dog-sledding trip in the Arctic Circle in Finland. To date it is still the best thing I have ever done. It was tough, but standing on that sleigh in -30 celcius day after day being pulled by my four dogs, and sitting in a snow chair at night watching the northern lights dance in the sky still make for magical memories.
So the subject of this book is rather close to my heart. I loved reading about this quest to participate in the Iditarod, a crazy 1000+ dog sled race across the wilds of Alaska. I remember loving it the first time I read it all those years ago and this time it was no different. In fact, I loved it even more. No, the writing is not outstanding, but it is written with wit and warmth and passion. I kept turning the pages, wanting to know what happened next in this weird and wonderful adventure as they battle moose, cold, wind and sleep deprevation in order to finish the craziest race I have ever read about.
This is such a good read and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in adventure stories or animals. This is such an entertaining one!
So the subject of this book is rather close to my heart. I loved reading about this quest to participate in the Iditarod, a crazy 1000+ dog sled race across the wilds of Alaska. I remember loving it the first time I read it all those years ago and this time it was no different. In fact, I loved it even more. No, the writing is not outstanding, but it is written with wit and warmth and passion. I kept turning the pages, wanting to know what happened next in this weird and wonderful adventure as they battle moose, cold, wind and sleep deprevation in order to finish the craziest race I have ever read about.
This is such a good read and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in adventure stories or animals. This is such an entertaining one!
What an excellent book, it is well written and shows the shocking cold and adventure that the Iditarod offers to the brave and crazy. Now I want to run the Iditarod...but not till global warming kicks in.
Gary Paulsen is such a good writer. This tells of the time in his life when he fell in love with dogs. Not just any dogs but sled dogs, and specifically Iditarod sled dogs. He decides to prepare to enter the Iditarod, and the parts of him training his team in the Minnesota summer on dry trails is some of the funniest writing I have possibly ever read. Most of the book is deadly serious and when he gets to the Iditarod he writes so well you are really there with him. I know quite a lot about the Iditarod having followed it passionately for several years, while not being in the least a ‘dog’ person. He is careful to name few names but I would have liked to know which mushers he was actually writing about at times. The Last Great Race on Earth as it is sometimes called has to be possibly the toughest individual race there is, across 1080 miles of frozen snow ice and sea, and with some of the most dangerous and inaccessible terrain to be covered. Paulsen has adventures aplenty in this book as I am sure every musher who even starts this race must. The Burn, Rainy Pass, Norton Sound are all possible contenders for the worst section and with Paulsen you are along for the ride on every one of them.
I have to give this one five stars because I think pretty much everyone would enjoy this. I do not have the character to do anything remotely this challenging. When Paulsen is describing training for the Iditarod there are some quite funny moments. When describing being in the race it amazes me that anyone survives! Easy, quick read.
Wow! What a rush! Man (and dogs) vs. nature - the Alaskan wilderness - the Iditarod in the '80s. I felt like I "was there" ... this book made me snicker and made me feel sad by turns. Most importantly, it filled me with an exhilaration and joy and gratitude for life, for the small things ... for dogs.
An interesting perspective of raising the Iditarod....good writer, some funny moments, and OMG how unprepared was he to do this...