Although the cover promises the story to be about Alaska's 1973 Iditarod, the story of the first race fills only the last half the book. The first half is about the Seavey family, how they came to be in Alaska, came to be mushers, and came to be a dynasty family in Alaska sled dog racing.
Walking through the colorful family history, filled with endearing asides and photos that are sure to bring a smile - if not a chuckle, it is easy to understand how Dan and Shirley have raised the bar on how to raise children that don't just embrace an Alaskan stereotype - they define it.
Dan stays in the weeds, exploring the subtle nuances of being a beginning musher without a mentor. The Seavey's came to Seward in the 1960s, the only musher they were familiar with in Moose Pass - a gentleman who dispatched his team as soon as he lost the mail contract. Not exactly an enthusiast.
Building up his knowledge base via good old fashioned experience, we walk with Dan through the notes he kept in his dog journal. Even those who find no interest in dogs or mushing will find the slice-of-Alaskan life stories entertaining. You just can't make this stuff up.
The second half settles in the tale of the greatest buddy camping trip ever concocted. Weeks on the trail, in good company, without all the organized assistance that the current Iditarod offers.
Acknowledgments to those in small communities sprinkled along the trail, a glimpse of what life may have been like before the television cameras showed up to cover the event. This section is filled with historic photographs, Alaskan history, and salty characters.
Dan Seavey is a master storyteller whose warm humor heats up the remembrance of a lifetime of dreams lived, promises kept, and adventures taken. Dan was inducted into the Iditarod hall of Fame as one of the father's of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He is a strong advocate of the historic trail, finisher of five Iditarods, and patriarch of a racing dynasty that has provided Alaska with generations of first place Iditarod finishers.
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