Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod

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Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod

by Gary Paulsen

4.19 · rating details · 1,410 ratings · 328 reviews

Paulsen and his team of dogs endured snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, and hallucinations in the relentless push to go on. Map and color photographs.

Paperback, 272 pages

Published February 17th 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published 1994)

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Jan 25, 2009

Karrie rated it

Shelves: alex-award, award-winning-books, my-favorites, young-adult-high-school, reluctant-readers

Award-winning children's author, Gary Paulsen, has another life besides just being a children's author. He draws on his experience as an avid outdoors man to write his amazing books, i.e., Hatchet, Brian's Winter.

Within the first couple pages of Winterdance, Paulsen is careening around in the Minnesota back woods on a sled that is being pulled by a pack of dogs. The book could end right then and there as he goes off the edge of a cliff, but he manages to survive and so do all his...moreAward-winning children's author, Gary Paulsen, has another life besides just being a children's author. He draws on his experience as an avid outdoors man to write his amazing books, i.e., Hatchet, Brian's Winter.

Within the first couple pages of Winterdance, Paulsen is careening around in the Minnesota back woods on a sled that is being pulled by a pack of dogs. The book could end right then and there as he goes off the edge of a cliff, but he manages to survive and so do all his dogs. That somehow inspired Paulsen to decide that he wanted to run the ultimate of dog sledding events -- The Iditarod. He titles his book, The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod because he knows how crazy this pursuit truly is. Yet he begins his preparation as his wife questions his sanity.

There begins a remarkable journey. He has to acquire the appropriate dogs to pull his sled, he has to train himself for the hundreds of hours of running, he has to prepare himself for the lack of sleep and a lack of food. While all this sounds like a trip through Hell, Paulsen tells his tale -- or tail -- in a hilarious and incredible voice. Laugh out loud as you read about him racing through the night woods and being sprayed by skunks so many times he can't even open his eyes by the time he pulls up to his house in the dawn-breaking hour. For awhile he's riding around in a VW bug as his dogs -- some of them as insane as he is -- are pulling him around as if he was in a Radio Flyer red wagon.

As the time draws near to the start of the Iditarod, Paulsen and his dogs are ready. His description of the beginning of the race is hilarious as he and his dogs run through people's backyards in an effort to find the course! The reader realizes how high the stakes are when he describes the possibility that he could be running along for hundreds of miles, only to discover that he's on an ice flow as he and his dogs pitch off the edge and into the ocean -- never to be heard from again. As he writes about the Burn, and all the other aspects of the race, you will feel all the ups and downs of actually running the Iditarod yourself. One minute you're laughing hysterically, the next minute you're on the edge of your seat trying to read fast enough to know whether he's going to die. Of course in a rational moment you know he doesn't die -- he's gone on to write dozens of books since he published Winterdance. But it's easy to forget that when you're in subzero temperatures, being pulled by 12 crazy running dogs and facing down an angry moose that is about to attack!

I was literally up until 2:00 in the morning last week -- on a weekday with work looming ahead of me in a few short hours, laughing. And this was the third time I've read this book!

It's no surprise to me that this book won an Alex Award years ago. Now, whenever someone asks me to recommend a good book for someone who doesn't like to read, I recommend this one! Given that I've read it three times and recommended to no less than 50 people, there has been plenty of time for me to hear back from all those reluctant readers and not one has come back to me to tell me that they didn't like it. In fact, everyone I've recommended it to has come back to tell me how much they loved it, especially the part about Paulsen eating the moose chili. Yep, that's the part I was laughing about at 2:00 a.m. Pick up this book and laugh out loud!(less)

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Nov 09, 2008

Kerri rated it

Recommends it for: Paulsen lovers

Recommended to Kerri by: Mike Stitt

Shelves: books-for-teaching-writing, boy-books

I am not one for reading the nonfiction genre, but I really got into this book. Not only did I learn so much about the things involved in running and preparing for the Iditarod, but I also found myself laughing outloud at the most inappropriate times! Paulsen's style of writing made me smile in one chapter and want to cry in the next one.

I found my "teacher" side coming out quite often as I read. There was more than one chapter that caught my eye for various reasons, b...more

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Mar 16, 2008

Erin rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: non-fiction fans, Iditarod fans, adventure fans, people who enjoy laughing while reading :)

Recommended to Erin by: found during Iditarod search at the library

I just finished this and it is great! First off, I love true stories of people, against all odds and common sense, doing the seemingly impossible and definitely improbable with a sense of humor. Winterdance is laugh out loud funny. I don't recommend reading this anywhere you will get sidelong glances for chuckling to yourself. I got this through the library, but I'll be searching for a copy of my own. Gary Paulsen's writing is gritty, witty and wonderfully real. I highly recommend Winterdance to...more

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Aug 20, 2007

Kyle rated it

The funniest book I have ever read.

This stands among the rare books that will get you looks for laughing out loud in the middle of the airport. This is the true story of the author who, in "dangerous ignorance," just up and decides to run the Iditarod. Its a story of essentially self discovery, but really, its completely and totally insane. The adventures are hilarious, and the journey is amazing.

There is only one way for a story about a full team of Iditarod...more

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Mar 08, 2009

Margo Kelly rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a quick and enjoyable book.

While there were lots of things I liked about the book, there were three things I did NOT like about the book. Let me start with the things I did not like.

First, the author uses the harsher version of "Gosh-Darn" too much. I think I dislike that term more than the f-word, simply because the "g.d." phrase devalues God. I am religious and so the language did interrupt my enjoyment of the book. Which brings me to the s...moreThis was a quick and enjoyable book.

While there were lots of things I liked about the book, there were three things I did NOT like about the book. Let me start with the things I did not like.

First, the author uses the harsher version of "Gosh-Darn" too much. I think I dislike that term more than the f-word, simply because the "g.d." phrase devalues God. I am religious and so the language did interrupt my enjoyment of the book. Which brings me to the second thing I did not like about the book.

In the first half of the book, the author attributes blessings, miracles, and divine intervention to LUCK. He does not appreciate the fact that God loves him enough to help him out in a bind. On page 175, he says, "I am not religious..." and I thought to my self, "DUH." But, one of the things I DID like was during the second half of the book there were many moments when he did - or almost did - acknowledge the beauty and power of God. I think our society today is too quick to attribute miracles and the hand of God to mere luck and/or coincidence - or even hallucinations.

Third, I did not like the ending of the book. The author spent many pages leading up to the Iditarod, and many pages during the Iditarod, but then he did not bring us back down after the Iditarod. He simply gave us a disjointed and abrupt final chapter. I could have read more of what happened with him and his family after the race was over.

Finally, there were many things I did like about this book. I laughed out loud several times at the idiocy of the author's attempts to train for the Iditarod. I kept chuckling, thinking how can this guy possibly survive the race? I wanted to read faster to find out what lunacy could happen next. I enjoyed reading about the beauty of Alaska and the harshness of the climate. I enjoyed reading about the relationship of the author with his dogs, however, I kept thinking, "Doesn't this guy have a family? I thought I read about one in the beginning?" His wife was very patient with him. I don't know if I would have been that patient.

It was a good read, and I would recommend it. The language was not great, there is some violence towards dogs at one point, and there was no sex - well no sex between humans, hah, there was some between the dogs.(less)

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Jan 11, 2012

Charley Rose rated it

If I am asked which is my favourite funny book of all time I immediately answer ‘Three Men in a Boat’. After numerous readings I still laugh out loud at the hilarious situations that arise during the intrepid trio’s (TSNOTD) boating expedition. ‘Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod’, takes second place in my very short list of hold-your-sides, laugh-out-loud humour. Gary Paulsen has the ability, with his writing style, to enable his readers to ‘see’– in the same manner as Jer...more

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Aug 03, 2011

James Korsmo added it

In Winterdance, author Gary Paulsen (known especially for his juvenile fiction, with stories like Hatchet), chronicles his experience of running a team in the Iditarod dogsled race across Alaska. Paulsen begins the tale with his discovery of the joys (and trials) of running a sled team. He is captured by the idea of running dogs in the famous Alaska race, even though he has little experience, and none in a race of that type with a team of that size. So he sets off to make it work, pushing ahead ...more

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Jul 24, 2011

Jeanine rated it

I laughed and cried while reading this book. The Iditarod is a raw, grueling race and Paulsen doesn't pull any punches, either during the race or during his training. The training (first half) is a wonderful, laugh out loud funny look at a man with a dream who gets info from all the wrong people. The mistakes he made, his wonderful wife standing by laughing and shaking her head, I loved all of it; there were times I couldn't see the page because I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
...more

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Jun 26, 2011

Shaun rated it

This was an amazing book about the experience that Gary Paulsen had running the Iditarod in Alaska. He has written several fun books about fictional adventures in the outdoors, of a boy who gets lost in the wilderness and learns to adapt and to embrace his new surroundings. This book was amazing because it was Gary's true experiences on this treacherous adventure where one crosses the better part of Alaska on a sled pulled by dogs.

I quote his final statement to a reporter upon finish...more

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Oct 15, 2010

Cody Rye added it

Gary Paulsen/Winter dance
It’s a book that’s got funny moments in it but, then again it has many many moments that involve danger, lots of adventures, and many thrilling unbelievable moments that will blow your mind. It goes from the dogs biting to the ice in the big sea cracking and winds blowing all the way up to ninety miles per hour and unbearable cold moments that not many humans or dogs could stand.

The story begins in this nice place but, cold...more Gary Paulsen/Winter dance
It’s a book that’s got funny moments in it but, then again it has many many moments that involve danger, lots of adventures, and many thrilling unbelievable moments that will blow your mind. It goes from the dogs biting to the ice in the big sea cracking and winds blowing all the way up to ninety miles per hour and unbearable cold moments that not many humans or dogs could stand.

The story begins in this nice place but, colder then it is here, Minnesota where Paulsen’s liking/loving of dogs and liking/loving of the woods becomes so outrageously amazing to him that he does not care about anyone or anything else as long as he can have the opportunity of running the dogs that he loves dearly. He becomes really acquainted with the dogs he loves dearly. He becomes really acquainted with the dogs he loves so much and it almost seems as if it is a uncontrollable habit/obsession because, he lives with them, eats with them, sleeps with them, sleeps with them and really believes that he has to be with at all times no matter what(twenty four seven.) Paulsen runs the dogs for hundreds and hundreds of as it may seem never ending miles before the Iditarod starts to take the shape and incredible form as a serious thought in his mind. His friends and all of the other people involved come along with him and gave him different amounts of money and lots a gear as in sleds for the dogs and jackets and all kinds of stuff like that.(For the long journey he is going on.) There was even one amazing really nice incredible person that had the courtesy to give him a ride all the way to Alaska.(For the big race.) That his is taking all this valuable time out of his life to get to because, his amazing incredible unbelievable love for the great dogs he has and the love of the racing and thrill it gives him and he just can’t pull away from it. I would say that the book winter dance/ by Gary Paulsen is a good good good book and if you like books that have tons of adventurous moments and tons of action I would really prefer that you read this book because, you would most likely love this book. Especially if you are a dog lover and you love the thought of racing them and maybe it is a dream of yours or just something you may already do and if you like cold weather and many other things because, it involves all of them throughout the story, so I would really say that you go and get the book if you like all of them things and some other books by him are Brian winter which is another great book about a boy getting stuck in the woods because, his plane had wrecked there and he has to find wood and all kinds of stuff so that he can live.
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Nov 06, 2011

Charlotte Analise rated it

I started to read this book when I saw it on my boyfriend’s bedside table; I got another one out of the library because I found it so amazing. This book is about Paulsen he had a small team of five dogs that he used to work his trap lines. Over time he became more and more entranced with mushing (running dogs on a sled), until he eventually realized that wanted to, run the Iditarod - the 1,100+ mile dogsled race stretching across the state of Alaska. The first half of the book deals with his pre...more

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Mar 18, 2011

Ambrosia rated it

In a slightly different world, I might have found this book completely incomprehensible.

Of those who know me, I doubt a single person would describe me as "outdoorsy". I certainly don't mind a walk down a well-worn scenic path now and then, but a general dislike of dirt and mess combined with a very specific fear of getting lost pretty much preclude camping, hiking, or breaking trail of any sort. My strengths lie far more in the "city" environment - urbane manners...moreIn a slightly different world, I might have found this book completely incomprehensible.

Of those who know me, I doubt a single person would describe me as "outdoorsy". I certainly don't mind a walk down a well-worn scenic path now and then, but a general dislike of dirt and mess combined with a very specific fear of getting lost pretty much preclude camping, hiking, or breaking trail of any sort. My strengths lie far more in the "city" environment - urbane manners, snarky wit, discerning judgment of food, drink, movies, plays, and other entertainments.

So the fact that I was this emotionally affected by a book that's entirely about a man finding joy in some of the harshest outdoor environments and one of the most unpredictable sports in the world, a man who becomes further and further estranged from "civilization" as the story goes on, would seem a bit odd at first glance. Where's the attraction? Why would reading this be such an emotional experience for someone whose passions are more along the lines of mixing drinks and analyzing stories?

Part of it is the writing. Paulsen is excellent at the sort of spare, elegant prose that nonetheless sticks in your mind. Even if you have no remotely comparable experience with which to identify with his story, he makes the world of his rookie Iditarod run - stumbling through completely unfamiliar terrain, hallucinating from lack of sleep, nearly dying of cold despite wearing every stitch of clothing he owns, being dragged on his face almost more often than standing upright on the runners - real and surprisingly sympathetic. The story is insane - he, by his own admission, is completely insane - and yet you have to root for him because he and his dogs want this so badly.

But another part of it is likely also my background. I grew up in Anchorage (in fact, I was born the year the race he describes took place), during the transitional time when it was really changing from being a large Alaskan town to a small city, more similar to the rest of the US than Alaska. (The joke these days is that Anchorage is "near Alaska".) In my teens, I moved to a small town in the Arctic, one of the coldest and most desolate places in the world. I've also lived in the Interior, and in Juneau; I've experienced, to a smaller degree, many of the utterly extreme and breathtakingly beautiful scenarios Paulsen talks about.

Something about those experiences, about the place, sticks with you. I may be a self-avowed city girl, far more interested in intellectual pursuits than the primal pitting of the human spirit against nature's fury, but as I've lived and traveled here in the "Lower '48" I've become more and more appreciative of exactly how unique and rare Alaska is in this age of near-overpopulation. And for all my youthful desperation to leave it in pursuit of a place more appropriate to my interests, some part of me is glad - no, some part of me is overjoyed - to be reminded that it's still there; to know that folks like Gary Paulsen can do truly stupid and ridiculous things like run a team of dogs over more than 1,100 miles of wilderness in the midst of some of the harshest weather on this planet, and be better people for it. Who knows - I may even feel the call to return myself, someday.(less)

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Mar 30, 2009

Patricia rated it

WOW. I just finished this book. What a wonderful writer......AND I'M NOT A DOG LOVER...... but this is an absolutely fascinating and entertaining depiction about how one man lives out his dream of running in the Iditarod sled-dog race. I loved his optimism, his observations, and his relationship with his dogs kept me glued to the pages of this book. Paulsen's personal account is easy reading in that he does not dwell in complex literary style, use large words or go overboard in describing deep ...more

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Apr 16, 2009

Ron rated it

This was a fun read. A great non-fiction read about a man from Minnesota who grew obsessed with dog sledding. The story follows fascinating tale of a man developing a close and primordial relationship with pack of sled dogs that are closer to wolves than pets. The book has lots of humorous moments when the dogs remind Gary that he is not really in control of this hardy dog sled team. The book describes the beginnings of his love of dog sledding, then the serious training, and finally the act...more

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Nov 16, 2011

Elizabeth rated it

Shelves: pets, favorites, borrowed

A really easy read but there is so much packed into his words that any more would just be superfluous. At risk of sounding cliche, this book is about so much more than just a dog sled team. It is about finding something within yourself that has been hidden beneath, becoming something more than what you were. The bond with the dogs is more than a man and his dogs, and more than just a race. The dogs help bring out what is within all of us but our modern lives squash and bury. The race was th...more

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Jan 12, 2011

Bethany Miller rated it

Shelves: ms-miller-s-book-list

3.5 stars

Imagine yourself in the Alaskan wilderness – just you, a team of dogs and a sled. The temperature drops far below zero every night and you are so sleep deprived that you are starting to have hallucinations. The path that you must follow is filled with danger – hair pin turns that could send you over the edge of a cliff with the slightest error and seemingly frozen lakes that could crack open beneath you at any moment. Men and women have been killed following this same rou...more

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Mar 29, 2010

Chris rated it

Shelves: animals

I was motivated to read this after a colleague suggested it when I was telling her about my new puppy, a Siberian Husky, who is unlike any dog I've ever owned-we've nicknamed her "The Beast" and "The Destroyer." After reading about the dogs in this book I consider myself lucky. My dog is a model of good behavior in comparison to Gary's brood. The actual race though arduous really takes a back seat to the story of the preparation and training for the race. I haven't laughed so...more

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Jul 14, 2011

Christina Mowers rated it

4.5 stars

So far I really like this book - started it on Monday. Picture a man behind a sled with fifteen dogs running through the Northern Minnesota woods at night...with skunks! The chapter entitled Major Wrecks was hilarious! I've just reached the portion of the book where he's arrived in Alaska for his first race, so it should be getting good. Very thrilling, wild and funny all at the same time.

Thursday - finished. I feel like I've taken an amazing trip through the Al...more

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Sep 25, 2010

Danielle rated it

Holy crap, mushers are insane. Paulsen tells his story of being a noob at the Iditarod race with a lot of hapless, Dave Barry-esque humor and amazingly detailed nature description.

Paulsen does an amazing job of giving you an inside look at a world completely different than the civilized one you and I live in. He doesn't just give you a look, he takes you there, and helps you get a taste of why it's so attractive and mysterious and awe-inspiring.

I might have given this...more

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Feb 08, 2009

karrie's corner rated it

Shelves: alex-award-high-school, grades-6-8, grades-9-12, non-fiction, stories-adventure, stories-drama, stories-humorous, stories-suspense

Advanced 7th and 8th graders/high school. Award-winning children's author, Gary Paulsen, has another life besides just being a children's author. He draws on his experience as an avid outdoors man to write his amazing books, i.e., Hatchet, Brian's Winter.

Within the first couple pages of Winterdance, Paulsen is careening around in the Minnesota back woods on a sled that is being pulled by a pack of dogs. The book could end right then and there as he goes off the edge of a cliff, but h...moreAdvanced 7th and 8th graders/high school. Award-winning children's author, Gary Paulsen, has another life besides just being a children's author. He draws on his experience as an avid outdoors man to write his amazing books, i.e., Hatchet, Brian's Winter.

Within the first couple pages of Winterdance, Paulsen is careening around in the Minnesota back woods on a sled that is being pulled by a pack of dogs. The book could end right then and there as he goes off the edge of a cliff, but he manages to survive and so do all his dogs. That somehow inspired Paulsen to decide that he wanted to run the ultimate of dog sledding events -- The Iditarod. He titles his book, The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod because he knows how crazy this pursuit truly is. Yet he begins his preparation as his wife questions his sanity.

There begins a remarkable journey. He has to acquire the appropriate dogs to pull his sled, he has to train himself for the hundreds of hours of running, he has to prepare himself for the lack of sleep and a lack of food. While all this sounds like a trip through Hell, Paulsen tells his tale -- or tail -- in a hilarious and incredible voice. Laugh out loud as you read about him racing through the night woods and being sprayed by skunks so many times he can't even open his eyes by the time he pulls up to his house in the dawn-breaking hour. For awhile he's riding around in a VW bug as his dogs -- some of them as insane as he is -- are pulling him around as if he was in a Radio Flyer red wagon.

As the time draws near to the start of the Iditarod, Paulsen and his dogs are ready. His description of the beginning of the race is hilarious as he and his dogs run through people's backyards in an effort to find the course! The reader realizes how high the stakes are when he describes the possibility that he could be running along for hundreds of miles, only to discover that he's on an ice flow as he and his dogs pitch off the edge and into the ocean -- never to be heard from again. As he writes about the Burn, and all the other aspects of the race, you will feel all the ups and downs of actually running the Iditarod yourself. One minute you're laughing hysterically, the next minute you're on the edge of your seat trying to read fast enough to know whether he's going to die. Of course in a rational moment you know he doesn't die -- he's gone on to write dozens of books since he published Winterdance. But it's easy to forget that when you're in subzero temperatures, being pulled by 12 crazy running dogs and facing down an angry moose that is about to attack!

I was literally up until 2:00 in the morning last week -- on a weekday with work looming ahead of me in a few short hours, laughing. And this was the third time I've read this book!

It's no surprise to me that this book won an Alex Award years ago. Now, whenever someone asks me to recommend a good book for someone who doesn't like to read, I recommend this one! Given that I've read it three times and recommended to no less than 50 people, there has been plenty of time for me to hear back from all those reluctant readers and not one has come back to me to tell me that they didn't like it. In fact, everyone I've recommended it to has come back to tell me how much they loved it, especially the part about Paulsen eating the moose chili. Yep, that's the part I was laughing about at 2:00 a.m. Pick up this book and laugh out loud!
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Jul 21, 2010

Kirsten rated it

This is one of the few books that I would actually give 5 starts to. It basically tells the story of Paulson's first running of the Iditerod. Yes, this is the same Gary Paulson who wrote Hatchet and all those other books, but this is a memoir--and totally different in tone from his other books. Most of the story is actually really funny; he knows nothing about running dogs or the race or Alaska itself. But there are also some incredibly sad parts, so beware of that. All told, it took me abo...more

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Jan 16, 2012

Andrea rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, read-2012

I loved this book. Paulson has this wonderful, conversational tone that draws you in while also painting a detailed, vivid picture. Each stage in his training for and running of the Iditarod dogsled race is clear and fascinating, explaining the ins and outs of an obscure pastime (sport?) in a relateable way; it just totally gripped me. I was also surprised by how many times I actually laughed while reading.

As I was reading Winterdance I knew that I was really enjoying it, but then I r...more

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Sep 19, 2009

Sharon rated it

I thought of this book recently while I was talking with a new friend, so I decided to add it to my Goodreads lists.
This is an amazing book, written by an author known for his children's and young adult books. Don't let that fact dissuade you from picking it up. Gary Paulson is a powerful writer--one of the best when it comes to capturing the brutal beauty of nature. His writing reminds me of Jack London at his best. Winterdance is the true story of the author's passion, honestly and...more

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Sep 16, 2011

Roxy Smith rated it

This book is about the trifling experience that a man goes through as he dares to compete in one of the most dangerous and challenging dog sled races, “The Iditarod.” Winterdance, based on Paulsen’s experience, takes place in Alaska. The Iditarod starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, making the race about 1150 miles long. This book had me laughing, had me on the edge of my seat and had me wanting to cry. Paulsen’s take on nature and its many beautiful creatures makes for an entertaining read and...more

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Nov 17, 2009

Sarah rated it

Recommended to Sarah by: Scott and Sean

Shelves: non-fiction-memoir

"The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" sums up this book perfectly. You really do have to be mad to run such a race. When Gary Paulsen wrote about his experience, he mentioned there were about 70 teams racing. 70. 70 mad men and women who subject themselves and a team of dogs to brutal conditions that I cringed reading about. I laughed out loud reading about Paulsen's training methods (the skunk runs were particularly hilarious) and buried myself deeper in my comforter reading...more

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Aug 12, 2010

Ali Miller rated it

Even someone with zero interest in the subject matter of this book would have to work hard not to be captivated by Gary Paulsen's writing. I was so impressed on every page by how effortless it is, and how wholly it involved me in each scene, conversation, and event. The journey this book documents is not just insane, it is often unbelievable. I don't understand how human beings can live through some of the conditions and catastrophic events that are commonplace on the Iditarod trail. It is a wor...more

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Jan 02, 2009

Karen rated it

Paulsen did a great job of creating a roller coaster ride through the training and running of the Iditarod - the high highs and the low lows. I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Paulsen and his dogs, especially the differences between the appropriately named Devil and Cookie. The events in the Iditarod are simply incredible... that all of the events happened in one race is unreal. At some points in the book Paulsen simply tries to reiterate in various ways how beyond words the ex...more

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Sep 22, 2011

Jeannette rated it

I picked this up because a friend recently described it as the funniest book ever written. I'm not sure it's THE funniest ever. The first chapter and the entire description of Paulsen's first Iditerod run are more thrilling, incredible, amazing than comedic. But the chapters describing his early attempts to prepare for the race do rank on my short list of ultimate hilarity. I wouldn't want to try reading them on an airplane; I'd embarrass myself.

Overall, it provided me with deep an...more

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Dec 09, 2010

Samantha rated it

Adventure/Iditarod/Dog Sleds/Non-Fiction
Gary Paulsen, Non-Fiction/Informational*

Having already read "Hatchet" I decided to choose a different book for Paulsen. This book is Paulsen living out his dream of running the Iditarod, and it is hilarious, cringe-invoking, and inspiring. The first half of the book is an account of his training and preparations. His descriptions about his summer training with a bicycle and a car body leave you laughing out loud and in wonder ab...more

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Jan 31, 2011

Tara rated it

"Winterdance" is a grand example of a writer taking their life experiences and translating them into a fictional story enjoyable to any reader. My first impression of the book was that it would be boring and uninteresting, but it's the exact opposite. Gary Paulsen's down-to-earth attitude and humor is reflected in his writing style, along with captivating imagery and figurative language in describing the horrors and struggles of running the Iditarod. I learned a great deal about this e...more

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The Book Nook: Winterdance: The Fine Madness Of Running The Iditarod Part 2 (Sept 2011)	136	18	Oct 02, 2011 10:32am
The Book Nook: Winterdance: The Fine Madness Of Running The Iditarod Part 1 (Sept 2011)	177	17	Oct 01, 2011 06:15am

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About Gary Paulsen

Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read--along with his own library card--he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another.

Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a ta...more

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title link	preview: Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
avg rating	preview: Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod Goodreads rating: 4.19 (1410 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2923.Winterdance?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161737215m/2923.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2923.Winterdance?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen[/url]

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod

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