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Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail
Describes the annual dog sled race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, and the life of the woman who was the first person to win it for three consecutive years.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
112 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 18, 2021
I have long been an admirer of Susan Butcher. She was
* 1 of only 2 women to ever win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in its 48-year history (as of Jan. 2021)
* 1 of only 7 people who have won it at least 4 times (only 1 person—Rick Swenson—has won it 5 times)
* a woman of great determination and independence who lived alone in the Alaskan wilderness while building a cabin and starting her own dog team
* an outstanding athlete and compassionate dog trainer/kennel owner
* an inspiration to women and men alike—truly a legend in her own time
* a beloved wife and mother who fought cancer for many years before finally dying of it in 2006 at the age of 51.
I wish there were a full biography of her life and accomplishments written for an adult audience.
Short of that, I was grateful to find this 100+ page book, even with its limitations. Written for a young-adult audience, this book combines info about Susan‘s life through 1993 (when the book was first published) with a history of the Iditarod serum run, trail, and race. I appreciated the info that was in this book about Susan, but it left me wanting a fuller biography of her fascinating life and endeavors.
This book is a bit of a hodgepodge. It starts mid-race, 1982, with Susan and her team crashing into a tree trunk—before introducing even briefly who Susan is or what the Iditarod race is about. I can understand the need to start with a thrill to pull in young readers, but this seems a bit unnecessarily in medias res. The book then segues quickly into Iditarod Trail history, where it stays for several chapters before working its way back to a more chronological approach to Susan’s life.
I was disappointed that, although the book does at least take us through Susan’s four Iditarod wins (1986, ‘87, ‘88, ‘90), info on those races is pretty skimpy. Since this book was written almost 20 years ago, some of the information on the race is necessarily dated, but it was interesting to note how the race has changed over the years. (For example, describing the racing sleds made of wood, which was standard in the first decades of the race versus now when so many of the racing sleds are made of plastic and aluminum or other metals).
An embarrassing error occurs in Appendix I, which is supposed to detail mileage between the differing checkpoints on the northern and southern routes of the race but which mistakenly prints the same checkpoint/mileage info in both places (the southern route info is printed for both routes). This content snafu is particularly surprising given that the book was updated before a printing in 1996, evidenced by the addition of info on races in 1994 and ‘95 (which occurred after the book was originally published) provided in Appendix III.
* 1 of only 2 women to ever win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in its 48-year history (as of Jan. 2021)
* 1 of only 7 people who have won it at least 4 times (only 1 person—Rick Swenson—has won it 5 times)
* a woman of great determination and independence who lived alone in the Alaskan wilderness while building a cabin and starting her own dog team
* an outstanding athlete and compassionate dog trainer/kennel owner
* an inspiration to women and men alike—truly a legend in her own time
* a beloved wife and mother who fought cancer for many years before finally dying of it in 2006 at the age of 51.
I wish there were a full biography of her life and accomplishments written for an adult audience.
Short of that, I was grateful to find this 100+ page book, even with its limitations. Written for a young-adult audience, this book combines info about Susan‘s life through 1993 (when the book was first published) with a history of the Iditarod serum run, trail, and race. I appreciated the info that was in this book about Susan, but it left me wanting a fuller biography of her fascinating life and endeavors.
This book is a bit of a hodgepodge. It starts mid-race, 1982, with Susan and her team crashing into a tree trunk—before introducing even briefly who Susan is or what the Iditarod race is about. I can understand the need to start with a thrill to pull in young readers, but this seems a bit unnecessarily in medias res. The book then segues quickly into Iditarod Trail history, where it stays for several chapters before working its way back to a more chronological approach to Susan’s life.
I was disappointed that, although the book does at least take us through Susan’s four Iditarod wins (1986, ‘87, ‘88, ‘90), info on those races is pretty skimpy. Since this book was written almost 20 years ago, some of the information on the race is necessarily dated, but it was interesting to note how the race has changed over the years. (For example, describing the racing sleds made of wood, which was standard in the first decades of the race versus now when so many of the racing sleds are made of plastic and aluminum or other metals).
An embarrassing error occurs in Appendix I, which is supposed to detail mileage between the differing checkpoints on the northern and southern routes of the race but which mistakenly prints the same checkpoint/mileage info in both places (the southern route info is printed for both routes). This content snafu is particularly surprising given that the book was updated before a printing in 1996, evidenced by the addition of info on races in 1994 and ‘95 (which occurred after the book was originally published) provided in Appendix III.
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May 21, 2019Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail by Ellen M. Dolan is about Susan Butcher and her unbelievable dogs "Susan passed team after team"(Dolan1), which they do unremarkable things like wining not one Iditarod Trail race but four races which is unremarkable and people even say it "Susan Butcher is the most famous dog sled musher in the world"(Dolan90), Susan had .That is a general summer of the novel Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail by Ellen M. Dolan.
My opinion of the novel Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail by Ellen M. Dollan, is that this book was very intriguing to me because I like dogs nut I'm not similar with this type of sport or event and it was cool to learn about how the sled racing worked, and find out how big of an impact Susan Butcher had on sled racing. I would highly recommend you go and read this book because it won't disappoint.
My opinion of the novel Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail by Ellen M. Dollan, is that this book was very intriguing to me because I like dogs nut I'm not similar with this type of sport or event and it was cool to learn about how the sled racing worked, and find out how big of an impact Susan Butcher had on sled racing. I would highly recommend you go and read this book because it won't disappoint.
April 24, 2023
4.5 stars rounded down because the author gets some of the information wrong when talking about the background/1925 race of mercy. Otherwise and excellent account of Butcher to that point; makes me so sad to read knowing what she would ultimately suffer just a few years on.
October 31, 2019
A swift read of the legacy for the second woman to win the Iditarod race in 1986.
January 8, 2022
This woman was incredible! Every child needs this book in their hands at a young age so they know what hard work can accomplish.
July 29, 2016
A wonderful history of the Iditarod dog sled race and the most famous female musher. A great way to introduce girls to non-fiction.
July 12, 2012
it was fine, she has since died. found it at hcb
November 28, 2014
Quick and easy read. Good history of dog sledding, the Iditarod, and Susan Butcher.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews