Father of the Iditarod - by Lew Freedman (Paperback)

About the Book

In a place where respect is not easily earned, the name of this homesteader, pilot, and visionary dog-musher generates awe.

Book Synopsis

In a place where respect is not easily earned, the name of this homesteader, pilot, and visionary dog-musher generates awe. His is the classic image of an Alaska pioneer--rugged, independent, determined, hard-working. Meet Joe Redington, Father of the Iditarod, a man who found his destiny in Alaska. In an inspirational biography, Chicago Tribune sportswriter Lew Freedman chronicles Redington's birth on the Chisholm Trail and his boyhood in the Depression--homeless, motherless, roaming the country looking for work as a field hand. Alaska was his rebirth in 1948. Redington found the home he never had. On his own piece of dirt, a man could raise a family, hunt, fish, run dogs, and stand up for what he believed. Almost single-handedly, Redington rescued Alaska dog mushing from extinction. With ambition, an abiding love for sled dogs, and refusal to accept "it can't be done," Redington created a legacy in the thousand-mile race across Alaska that has thrilled the world for more than three decades, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

From the Back Cover

Fifty Years on a Dogsled. "No one embodies the spirit of the Iditarod like Joe Redington. His biography has all the energy and drive of a lead dog leaving the starting chute and is as crisp as a winter's night along the Iditarod Trail." --Tony Knowles, former Governor of Alaska. In a place where repect is not easily earned, the name of this homesteader, pilot, and visionary dog musher generates awe. His is the classic image of an Alaska pioneer --rugged, independent, determined, hard-working. Meet Joe Redington, Father of the Iditarod, a man who found his destiny in Alaska. In an inspriational biography, Lew Freedman chronicles Redington's birth on the Chisholm Trail and his boyhood in the Depression-homeless, motherless, roaming the country looking ofr work as a field hand. Alaska was his rebirth in 1948. Redington found the home he never had. On his own piece of dirt, a man could raise a family, hunt, fish, run dogs, and stand up for what he believed. Almsot single-handedly, Redington rescued Alaska dog mushing from extinction. With ambition, an abiding love for sled dogs, and refusal to accept "it can't be done," Redington created a legacy in a thousand-mile race across Aalaska that has thrilled the world for more than twenty-five years, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Review Quotes

"If you're looking for a delightful book to read, Father of the Iditarod is one! There are many humorous stories about Joe that had me laughing out loud."

--Alaska Women Speak magazine

"There's no one like Joe. He taught me... about what being an Alaskan is and how a true pioneer lives."

--Susan Butcher, Iditarod Champion 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990