Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod

This is a humorous and dramatic book about the author's preparation and participation in the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska. It is a very entertaining, interesting book I highly recommend.

Gary Paulsen, at midlife, becomes interested in dogsled racing. His interest intensifies as he becomes fascinated with his dogs and their behavior, to the point that he finds himself swept into a close relationship with them, and subsequently towards participation in the Iditarod. He acknowledges and tells very funny, vivid stories of novice mistakes during his chaotic self-instruction as he trains himself and his team. He goes on to give a wonderful account of the humor, adventure, danger, wonder, and wildness of the Iditerod race in a highly engaging way.

Paulsen's writing style is very creative. He takes a degree of license that I find very much in line with the wildness of his story. He tells his stories very effectively, using creative, interesting methods to make points and paint pictures. His style is as appealing as the amazing story he tells.

This book is going on my top shelf.

For anyone interested in the Iditarod, this is an amazing read. It is amazing, horrifying, beautifull, and terrifying. This is such a hard book to put into words, but reading it is an unforgetable experience!

Anyone who ever loved dogs will relate as Paulson shares the events leading up to his decision to run the Iditarod. He graphically takes us on the trek with his team, describing how he came to be "one of them," no longer a human leading his team but a member of the pack. Anyone who ever entered a high profile, competitive event as a novice, wholly unprepared for what they were about to experience, will relate as Paulson experiences one surprise and set-back after another upon registering for his first competition. This is a truly gripping first-hand account of what it is to take on this most famous of races.

Alex Foster
Saturday 5th, 2006
English Section B

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod By: Gary Paulsen

What is an Iditarod? Well, his is an autobiography of Gary Paulsen ruthlessness to run the Iditarod sled dong race in Alaska. He goes through many troubles from going from a Minnesotan citizen who runs a dog sled for setting trap lines, to a courageous Iditarod racer. He must first find a strong dog team to train. After he has trained in Minnesota he goes up to Alaska for the real thing. Running the race becomes another struggle. Can he finish this demanding race? You will have to find out.
Gary Paulsen has a unique writing skill; he can keep you constantly guessing. You can't help yourself; you just naturally want to guess what is going to happen. He displays this skill every time his sled dog team runs into a wild animal. Some animals are friendly and some are not. He constantly keeps you intrigued, when you are reading. This isn't the kind of book that you constantly want to read, but when you start reading you can't put it down.
I found this book to be very humbling. If you think your life is, pick up this book to ground yourself. This book would appeal to anyone that loves to read. Dog lovers would also enjoy it. I do not think this is a great pick for an independent reading book if you are a slow reader. I think anyone with time should read it.

Excelent read, easy to follow, lots of humor, I shared with non mushers to and they loved it. Shows people things most will never know or experience. Great book, you won't be able to put it down!!!