A review by saklarich
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen

4.0

At the beginning of this audiobook I was feeling a 2.5 star situation. Paulsen admits to the ridiculousness of choosing to run the Iditarod (generally, as well as) for the first time with minimal experience. Now that I’ve finished the book I think this works toward character development as well as speaking to the reader (and maybe some comedy). During this section , I was frustrated toward man’s (primarily) need for pride and difficulty for the sake of such when so many people deal with it for lack of choice, and when there are fruitful tasks needed of this world other than conquering nature or ... I haven’t changed how I feel about this. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the second half of the book, Paulsen’s retelling of his first Iditarod race - challenging, maddening, sorrowful, and in presence of buffalo games - and the focus on his connection with his dogs.