Iditarod Dreams: A Year in the Life of Alaskan Sled Dog Racer Deedee Jonrowe

by Lew Freedman, Deedee Jonrowe

Overview

DeeDee Jonrowe loves dogs, and her consuming passion is the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Winter and summer, virtually day and night (even in her dreams!), Jonrowe and her huskies prepare for the thousand-mile race across Alaska. Jonrowe is the world's leading woman musher. Through 2009, she had finished the Iditarod race twenty-six times, including a dozen finishes in the top ten. She has won numerous awards recognizing her high standard of care for her dogs. Iditarod Dreams is an absorbing, personal account of a year in the life of this remarkable woman living on the edge of the wilderness with her husband, Mike, and enough howling huskies to populate a small town. It is about the special bond between a woman and her dogs, and about the astonishing measure of skill and stamina needed to compete in the Iditarod.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780945397298
Publisher:	Epicenter Press (WA)
Publication date:	01/01/1995
Pages:	194
Product dimensions:	5.74(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Lew Freedman is a former Alaska resident who spent 17 years at the Anchorage Daily News as sports editor and columnist. The author of 58 books, Freedman is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in journalism and he earned a Master's degree from Alaska Pacific University. He currently resides in Indiana with his wife Debra.

Editorial Reviews

The Iditarod is Alaska's answer to the lower 48 states' Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby. This dogsled race lasts ten or 11 days and covers 1100 miles. In her first-person narrative, Jonrowe describes her year preparing for the racing season and living the sledder's life. The book begins with the 1993 Iditarod, in which Jonrowe placed second, and ends with the 1994 race. The authors cover dog training, the raising of pups for future teams, other races such as the Alpinrod in Europe, and the politics of the Iditarod. Defending the race against animal rights groups' objections that the race and racers are cruel to the dogs, Jonrowe talks about motivation, love for the land, and never giving up. The chapters are a bit choppy, but overall the book is very readable. Recommended for large sports collections.-Lisa J. Cochenet, Winfield P.L., Ill.

Library Journal