The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic

In 1925, a deadly diphtheria epidemic swept through icebound Nome, Alaska. The life-saving serum was a thousand miles away, and a blizzard was brewing. Airplanes could not fly in such conditions: only the dogs could do it. Racing against death, twenty dog teams relayed the serum across the Alaskan wilderness as newspapers nationwide headlined the drama, enthralling an entire generation. The heroic dash to Nome inspired the annual Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska and immortalized Balto, the lead dog whose arrival in Nome over a snow-blown trail was an American legend in the making. His bronze statue still stands in New York City's Central Park, in dedication to the Endurance, Fidelity and Intelligence of the dogs that saved Nome. This is their story, the greatest dog story never fully told, until now.

Author: Gay Salisbury, Laney Salisbury
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 06/17/2003
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.39lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.07d
ISBN13: 9780393019629
ISBN10: 0393019624
BISAC Categories:
- Medical | Forensic Medicine
- History | General