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a.'s Reviews > Okrutny szlak
Okrutny szlak
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If you thought that Disney's "Togo" with Willem Dafoe was dramatic, read this book.
I'll just go ahead and say it: I only had a vague idea of what happened during the 1925 race against an epidemic in Nome, and most of it from the animated "Balto." But now that I've seen the new "Togo" I realized: how ignorant of me. Still, I thought Disney being Disney, they probably dramatized the movie to the extreme, and I needed some reliable source of knowledge.
We all know Balto. Thanks to the animated movie and to the statue. And personally, I've never even heard of Togo. I know, ignorant of me. But now I've seen the light. Of course, Balto was brave, but there were around 150 dogs in all during the "race." And yet, Togo was the real hero. I remember thinking that some of the most heart-stopping scenes in the movie had to be made up, but they weren't.
That being said, it's not your usual Iditarod-kind-of book. The actual race takes up only a couple of chapters. So it's a very different read to, say, Winterdance. I expected more about the race itself, more about Togo, and less about the airplanes (that was probably the only part of the book I wasn't thrilled about), but I also know that there probably wasn't enough material to fill a 300-page book. So there's also a lot of side stories, about mushing and mushers in general, about Alaska, about the Gold Rush, and about the traditional way of life. Still, I found it exciting... and terrifying. And so. Very. COLD.
I assume the book is likely to get more readers now that the movie came out; if so, the attention will be well-deserved. I mean... who doesn't love a good dog story?
I'll just go ahead and say it: I only had a vague idea of what happened during the 1925 race against an epidemic in Nome, and most of it from the animated "Balto." But now that I've seen the new "Togo" I realized: how ignorant of me. Still, I thought Disney being Disney, they probably dramatized the movie to the extreme, and I needed some reliable source of knowledge.
We all know Balto. Thanks to the animated movie and to the statue. And personally, I've never even heard of Togo. I know, ignorant of me. But now I've seen the light. Of course, Balto was brave, but there were around 150 dogs in all during the "race." And yet, Togo was the real hero. I remember thinking that some of the most heart-stopping scenes in the movie had to be made up, but they weren't.
That being said, it's not your usual Iditarod-kind-of book. The actual race takes up only a couple of chapters. So it's a very different read to, say, Winterdance. I expected more about the race itself, more about Togo, and less about the airplanes (that was probably the only part of the book I wasn't thrilled about), but I also know that there probably wasn't enough material to fill a 300-page book. So there's also a lot of side stories, about mushing and mushers in general, about Alaska, about the Gold Rush, and about the traditional way of life. Still, I found it exciting... and terrifying. And so. Very. COLD.
I assume the book is likely to get more readers now that the movie came out; if so, the attention will be well-deserved. I mean... who doesn't love a good dog story?
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Reading Progress
September 18, 2019
– Shelved
February 1, 2020
–
Started Reading
February 4, 2020
–
54.17%
"The authors are right, using wolves or wolfdogs in sled dog teams is not a good idea, and even Joe Laflamme, who managed just that, wouldn't win any race with such a team. It's a nice Jack Londonesque legend though, and I still remember seeing "Pod severnym siyaniyem" where a wolfdog, as I recall, was leading a sled dog team... and who hasn't seen "Balto"?"
page
182
February 4, 2020
–
Finished Reading
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Stephen
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 26, 2023 08:58AM
Nice review. There certainly was a lot more information in this book beyond the race. I especially felt for the dogs that were lost in the run, the ones who still took on the task even though it was under negative 40 degrees and not safe for dogs.
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