Winterdance (Paulsen)

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
Gary Paulsen, 1994
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780156001458


Summary 
Fueled by a passion for running dogs, Gary Paulsen entered the Iditarod—the 1,180 sled-dog race through the Alaskan wilderness—in dangerous ignorance and with a fierce determination. For 17 days, he and his team of 15 dogs endured blinding wind, snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, hallucinations—and the relentless push to go on.

They crossed the barren, moonlike landscape of the Alaskan interior and witnessed sunrises that cast a golden blaze over the vast waters of the Bering Sea. They crossed the finish line, but it wasn't enough: Paulsen was obsessed and wanted to race again.

Though the dangers of the Iditarod were legion, more frightening still was the knowledge that he could not stop racing dogs of his own free will. (From the publisher.)