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Book Reviews of The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic

The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic
The Cruelest Miles The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic
Author: Gay Salisbury, Laney Salisbury
ISBN-13: 9780393019629
ISBN-10: 0393019624
Publication Date: 6/2003
Pages: 317
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 18

3.9 stars, based on 18 ratings
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

6 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book.
reviewed The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic on
Helpful Score: 1
Wow,
This is one of the first Audeo Bookes I tried. I couldn't turn it off. I suggested it to a friend and he read it in one weekend because he just couldn't but it down.
hardtack avatar reviewed The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic on + 2563 more book reviews
A fantastic story of an Alaskan event which held the entire nation spellbound for weeks. The author also includes a lot of interesting background on the drivers, the dogs, breeding the sled dogs, and early air travel in Alaska.

Many of the men and dogs who participated, especially the native Alaskans, didn't received the credit they deserved until much later in their lives. And despite the horrific conditions of the "race to Nome," it's apparent some guiding hand was helping the drivers.

Balto, the dog which brought the serum into Nome, received much of the credit. However, Togo was the lead dog for the longest, and possibility the most dangerous, stretch of the race.

The final pages list what happened to the men and the most prominent dogs as they lived out their lives. Some of it was distressing, as, for example, what happened to Balto and the other dogs in his team. They ended their tour of the U.S. in a sideshow, where some died due to poor care. They were rescued by a man who stumbled upon them and bought them, the money being raised by children and others in Cleveland. The team lived out the rest of their lives in comfort at the Cleveland Zoo.
badmom5 avatar reviewed The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic on + 39 more book reviews
I almost kept this book for my keeper shelf. WOW, what a great story. I thought it would be the true tale behind one of my favorite movies, Balto, but it was so much more than that. The story of the serum run had me cheering, crying and holding my breath. Even though I knew the outcome I still worried. And on top of that story the book weaves in the history of Alaska, its people and its dogs. Fabulous story!
keywestlori avatar reviewed The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic on + 33 more book reviews
A great story of courage and determination, learned a lot about the desolation and isolation of Alaska in the late 1880's to the 1920's.
SouthWestZippy avatar reviewed The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic on + 265 more book reviews
Taken from the back of the book. " When a deadly diphtheria epidemic swept through Nome, Alaska, in 1925, the local doctor knew that without a fresh batch of antitoxin, his patients would die."
This is the story about how the antitoxin was delivered across the Alaskan wilderness to Nome. What a fascinating account of this sad yet inspiring story. I have only one issue, it started and stoped a couple story lines and then restarted it in another part of the book, found that to be very annoying.