Libby Riddles

I have followed and have read a good number of books about the Iditarod since I first became interested around 1989, and went up to watch in 1995. This is certainly one the very best first-person accounts, and gives a flavor for how incredibly difficult this race is. Although Libby Riddle was the first woman to win the Iditarod she is very humble in her writing, and tells stories about her dogs and about the challenges faced with temperatures at -60 degree F (-51 C). Self-transplanted from Wisconsin, she has come to embody the Alaskan spirit, and her love of the wilderness is apparent. Because it is organized as she travels from checkpoint to checkpoint, one gets the feeling of traveling along with her, and of getting to know the people who help maintain the checkpoints and trail. All in all an excellent book if you want to have a better understanding of the Iditarod, or of the nature of people in Alaska.… (mehr)

2. Storm run By Libby Riddles, illustrated by Shannon Cartwright and published by Sasquatch Books is an inspirational Informative and autobiographical book about Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. This is an incredible book that took me on an adventure through the Alaska wilderness. The book includes both illustrations and photos along with gripping details of the race.
The book includes both pictures and photography from actual sled dog races. By themselves the illustrations are ok; they are more like little visual vignettes, however combined with the actual pictures they took me into the story giving me details of the adventure. The best picture is on page 29. In this picture we see Libby with her team on the way to Unalakleet, snow, some trees, and nothing else. This picture gives a great feel of the isolation that Libby writes about. It also helps me to come to terms with how final the race can be. If she succumbs to hypothermia, bear, or other danger in the wilderness help is hours, sometimes days, away. My favorite illustration is on the previous page, 28. This shows the race route overlapping a map of Alaska. This illustration gave me a great visualization of how far the race really is. Another illustration I really like is on pages 12-13. This illustration details what is in the sled of an Iditarod racer and what gear the dogs have. Some items included are: headlamp with batteries, camp axe, smoked salmon, dog booties (shoes), and sleeping bag. The amount of items that goes into the sled gave me a vast appreciation of how much planning goes into this race.
The Iditarod is a grueling 1,131 mile race that teams human and dogs together. As a team they must traverse through subzero temperatures, face wild animals, watch out for thin ice, and encounter other obstacles. “Storm Run” does a great job of explaining the intricate details of the race while presenting the information in a way that children can comprehend. The author does a great job of explaining how the checkpoints are operated. She explains that a veterinarian examines the dogs while a doctor looks at the humans to see if they can continue the race. Afterwards the team eats and rests to get ready for the rest of the race.
Exploring the world, endurance, and a role model are all central themes in this story. Libby constantly is exploring the world of Alaska in this book. She must muster up the courage and the endurance to finish this race. She is also a role model to young girls across the world. She showed them that anyone, man or woman, can win such a race as grueling as the Iditarod.… (mehr)

First of all, I'm not the Tim Jones who co-wrote this book - though I would have enjoyed co-writing it, because it's a fascinating story of courage, endurance and bravery. Those three qualities apply to everyone who takes part in this dog-sled race of over 1000 miles through the late Alaskan winter, but in particular, in this retelling of Libby Riddles' 1985 race victory, it applies to her decision to press on towards the finish line in a storm that kept every other competitor hunkered down. It could have all gone horribly wrong - but it didn't, thanks to Libby Riddles' preparation and her superb dog team.

The one thing that disappointed me about the book is that, while it does a great job of covering the race itself, there is little coverage of the lead-up to it and no coverage at all of the aftermath, in which Riddles, as the first woman to win the race, shot to fame. I would loved to have heard what effect this had on her life, but there are only the barest hints in this book. Still, as a record of one of the world's most demanding sporting events, this ranks very highly.… (mehr)