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

A diphtheria epidemic was starting in Nome, Alaska in 1925 and antitoxin was desperately needed. Nome, located close to the Arctic Circle, was no longer accessible by boat since the Bering Sea was already frozen. Some serum was transported from Anchorage to Nenana by train. Then a relay of twenty dog sled teams ran day and night for 674 miles to bring the lifesaving serum to Nome. The heroic men and their dogs traveled through blizzards and exceptionally frigid conditions--down to minus 60 degrees.

The authors provided lots of interesting background material about diphtheria, Nome, the Gold Rush, and the Native Alaskans. They also discussed the dog sled teams, especially the lead dogs, and the responsibilities of the drivers. The second half of the book was especially exciting as the teams made the harrowing journey. Exceptionally intelligent lead dogs, such as Togo from Leonhard Seppala's team, pulled them out of potentially deadly situations. The two authors, cousins Gal Salisbury and Laney Salisbury, wrote a book that is both informative and full of human (and canine) drama.