It was 1958 when a twenty-four-year-old George Attla limped to the staring line of the Fur Rendezvous World Championships sled dog race in Anchorage, Alaska with a team of dogs borrowed from family and friends in his hometown of Huslia, Alaska. Three days later he won with a record-setting victory -- the first of many championships won by the man who would become the greatest spring dog "musher" of all time. An athabascan Indian from a tiny Koyukuk River village, Attla was diagnosed with crippling bone tuberculosis as a child, a disability that resulted in a permanently fused knee. Unable to work with his father on the family trap line (as Attla boys were expected to do), George began work training the family pups as a young boy. The dogs became his life, and "mushing" his life's work. Spirit Of The Wind: The Story Of Alaska's George Attla, Legendary Sled Dog Spring Champ is the inspiring biography of an unusual man who overcame all manner of obstacles and impediments to fulfill his life's dream, and in doing so, became a true and authentic champion!

This is a most amazing book about a most amazing woman. Mayer and DeArmond have been reasearching for more than 20 years, and many of us have been patiently awaiting the finished product. It was definitely worth the wait. They have patiently worked all the research, all the, newspaper articles, mentions in other books, census data, etc. into a well written and coherant narrative. The sum of Ms. Mulrooneys life adds up to so much more than the individual incidents. And the analysis by Mayer adds even more to our understanding of her as a person.

Andy Nault was my uncle, having left Montana to appreciate the aloneness and wilderness of Alaska. His vivid description of his encounters with nature, awesome cold, wild animals and hardships made me feel that I was a part of his adventures.

Written and illustrated by Amanda Hall, The Stolen Sun: A Story Of Native Alaska is a picturebook retelling of an ancient Native American fable about Raven who created the world with a song of life, yet became angry and sad when people's violence and greed drowned out his song. Disappointed in the people's hearts, he took the sun out of the sky and hid it, leaving people in darkness. It was up to Raven's son Little Darkness to bring light and Raven's Song back to the world, in this highly enjoyable, enthusiastically recommended picturebook tale brought to life with stunning, stylized artwork and vivid color.

Once I started reading Libby's STORM RUN, I could't put it down! Even though I've lived in Alaska for 33 years, Libby's dog mushing background and Iditerod experience kept me spellbound until the end.

I can't wait to read it to my second graders. It will be a terrific geography lesson as well as learning about dog mushing.

Libby definitely has 'true grit'.

Libby Riddles' Storm Run is a picturebook of the exciting true story of the first woman to win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. Storm Run is the story of fulfilling one's dream, daring freezing treasures and bonding with loyal sled dogs. Wonderfully illustrated by Shannon Cartwright with soft, full-color artwork, Storm Run is an especially recommended giftbook for young girls nurturing their own dreams.

An American Indian girl visits her grandmother in Alaska and learns about her place in her family and community. An introduction to both past and present Native Americans as real people - educational but not dry or didactic. Illustrated with lovely photos by D. Bambi Kraus, whose family this is.

I read this book and found it to be one of Lee Roddy's best. It was suspenseful and so intriguing that I couldn't put it down. It had lessons on friendship and survival and was definitely one of Lee Roddy's best.

This book presents the story of a most unusual place in Alaska. It tells about the beginnings and the development of a large town with a small population. I especially enjoyed the story of the tunnel digging and the problems with the timing and the elements that hindered the construction. It will most interesting to see the results of the new access by automobile that will be available. The pictures and maps were well thought out. The book sure makes you feel like you would like to visit there to see it for youself.

These stories are wonderful! Not only do they give you a feeling of the "Alaska experience", they address the broader issue facing each of us as to whether to pursue our dreams or chose the "safe" life of conforming security. I hope this is not Nancy Lord's last book of published fiction.