Summary
What happens when a woman and her husband move their family from New Hampshire to Alaska to train a team of purebred Siberian Huskies for the world's toughest dogsled race, the Yukon Quest? They endure thousands of miles of lonely training in the Yukon trying to avoid thin ice, wolves, and rogue moose; they put up with the amused skepticism of Alaskan locals; and they pit themselves against the ultimate, fickle adversary--nature. RUNNING NORTH is the true story of how Ann Cook, her husband, George, and their young daughter, Kathleen, moved to Alaska and how their Siberians became the first team from the lower forty-eight states to finish the Yukon Quest. It tracks George on his horrific journey through the Yukon, recording the frostbite, the hallucinations that come with exhaustion, the wolves, and the nights out on the ice at minus ninety degrees Fahrenheit. This is the great story of man struggling against nature and surviving. But unlike most accounts of high adventure that center solely on the adventurer and the quest, RUNNING NORTH is also the story of Ann Cook, who drove the truck and carried the gear and kept the family together. In the tradition of MY OLD MAN AND THE SEA, she tells both stories in simple, elegant prose that reveals the tragedy, joy, and folly that lie on either side of the curtain separating the adventurer from the world left behind. They run up against crazy landlords, win over gruff neighbors, drive a broken-down truck that sucks oil like Alaskans suck coffee, listen to a radio show that keeps trappers in contact with the world, meet mysterious fishermen who appear without notice and disappear without a sign, fight with a young cousin who will betray them in the end, protect their young daughter from the dangers of their new wild world, and stare awestruck at the wide sweep of Alaskan landscape. RUNNING NORTH is the story of two very different adventures on the edge: one among the racers braving the Yukon and the other among the people they leave behind.
School Library Journal Review
YA-In 1991, Ann and George Cook, their 3-year-old daughter, and 22-year-old niece moved from New Hampshire to Alaska to train for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, an event even more grueling than the Iditarod. They took with them only the bare necessities in a truck and trailer that also held their 32 Siberian huskies. Alaska presented real culture shock: jerry-built houses, odd attitudes, a make-do culture, and a constant fight with the elements. The saving grace was that, like frontiersmen everywhere, people helped one another in the mutual need to survive in a hostile environment. The first half of the book is a fascinating look at the physical and cultural shift from L. L. Bean-land to one where ratty parkas were held together with duct tape. This part also tells of the dogs and the months of preparation for the race. The second half alternates between the race itself, as run by George, and the handler's side of it at the checkpoints as seen by Ann. George came in last, which they more or less anticipated, but simply finishing was a triumph. Despite the lack of a course map to orient readers, YAs who enjoyed Gary Paulsen's Winterdance (Harcourt, 1994) will find this tale exciting.-Judy McAloon, Potomac Library, Prince William County, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In the world of sled-dog racing only three long-distance courses count: the Iditarod, the Alpirod and the Yukon Quest. The last is dubbed "a thousand miles of Hell" for its 1000-mile course across moutainous Alaskan terrain, its requirement that mushers pack every necessity at the start and the fact that there are only six checkpoints in 16 days, leaving entrants alone and unaccounted for over vast stretches of wild, icy land. In 1992, amateur racer George Cook took on the Quest, with Ann Mariah, his childhood sweetheart and wife, serving as his handler. This is her fast-clipped account of their seven-month Alaskan sojourn, most of which was spent in a small town outside Fairbanks, Alaska, where they forged a home/training camp for their three-year-old daughter, a college graduate niece and the 32 Siberian huskies they brought with them. Considered inferior sled dogs by Alaskans, the huskies are among the book's most intriguing characters. Cook strikes a smart balance between reports of George's training with sketches of her own experiences as support staff. The book hits its stride when explaining their exacting logistical preparation. From frozen lamb cubes and salmon jerky to the best style of dog booties and clothing items like parkys and muklaks, the details are precise and absorbing. Cook doesn't bring the same vitality to her descriptions of, or reflections on, the Alaskan wilderness, but she successfully captures the social idiosyncrasies of her diverse cast. From Sten, a neighbor whose failed Quest attempt haunts him still, to Martha, an Alaskan who sews exquisite mitts and wastes nothing of her beaver pelts, the state's hale souls appear as particular as the untamed land they've claimed for home. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Another entry in the vast how-I-survived-an-Alaskan-winter literature. Cook and her husband, George, came to the bush on something of a whim: athletes with a fondness for books of adventure travel, they bought as a pet a Siberian husky, began to research the breeds contribution to polar exploration, and decided to take time off from their lives in the lower 48 to take their dogand 31 other huskies that theyd acquiredoff to do a little exploring of their own. Some of that exploring had to do with understanding the ways of the Alaskans they encountered when, for instance, trying to rent a house, an ordeal of which Cook writes with just a little too much self-pity; some of it had to do with learning to weatherproof their dwelling and vehicles, to dress for the often dreadful weather, to acclimate to loneliness and distance. The real adventure begins somewhat late in the narrative, when the Cooks enter their now well-trained team of dogs in the thousand-mile-long Yukon Quest, billed as the toughest dog-sled race in the world, far more grueling than the more famous Iditarod. Cooks account of the race is full of grumbling feuds between competing sled-drivers, full of minor misadventures (George heard the zipping sound of Velcro. Something flew past his face. His mittens!) and minor triumphswhich is, of course, the way real-life adventures take place. The upshot of the story is that the Cooks finished the race, the first non-Alaskan team to do so. That very real accomplishment is not quite enough to fuel this book, which lacks the punch of other recent adventure-travel titles set in the north country. (Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club selection)
Booklist Review
After years of competing in northeastern U.S. dogsled races, Cook and her husband loaded up their three-year-old daughter and their 33 purebred Siberian Huskies and drove north for a seven-month odyssey of first training for, then finally racing in, the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest. It is this race, not the Iditarod, that professional mushers consider their sport's ultimate challenge. With its lovable dogs, vital support players, and weather conditions that make standing outside dramatic, the Yukon Quest offers a plot to make authors drool. The trick is to stay out of the story's way, and Cook does so deftly. Before long we're hooked, no longer questioning premises like sled dogs' desire to be harnessed for pulling. Despite the cruelty, weakness, and insincerity Cook exposes, this remarkable chronicle of the grueling Yukon Quest remains a vivid illustration of the soaring potential of both human and canine character. --Dane Carr
Library Journal Review
Cook has written a captivating account of her family's participation in the grueling sled-dog race known as the Yukon Quest, which supposedly surpasses the better-known Iditarod in toughness and danger. Her account of watching her husband struggle to complete the race against overwhelming odds is compelling enough, but her book is much richer than that. Whether she is writing about their move from New Hampshire, their first tentative forays into Fairbanks "society," the training of their dogs, encounters with moose, or the often less-than-hospitable climate of Alaska, Cook presents her information in a flowing, highly readable style that takes the reader on a journey most will never attempt. Young adult readers will find Cook a worthy role model, while adults will appreciate the detail she brings to even the most mundane events. This suspenseful, humorous read will have readers anxiously awaiting more. Highly recommended for high school and public libraries.ÄJoseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base Lib., Lompoc, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.