Emily's Reviews > The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic

"Science made the antitoxin that is in Nome today, but science could not get it there. All the mechanical transportation marvels of modern times faltered in the presence of the elements... Other engines might freeze and choke, but that oldest of all motors, the heart, whose fuel is blood and whose spark is courage, never stalls but once." I didn't think I could love dogsledding more, but this book was a testament to not only the dogs' "indomitable spirit," but to their emotions, struggles, loyalty, and sacrifice. I was amazed at the human emotion and intellect - maybe superior to those of humans in fact - of these dogs in order to achieve what was necessary, not just desirable. It's a shame we give so much attention to other "heroes" in this survivalist space who at time put others at serious risk for their own personal gain. Every musher and dog on the 1925 serum run was wholly selfless, and they are the true heroes. The Iditarod stands as a beautiful tribute to their courage. I love me some dogsledding.