Gary Paulsen, three-time Newbery Honor author, is no stranger to adventure. He has flown off the back of a dogsled and down a frozen waterfall to near disaster, and waited for a giant bear to seal his fate with one slap of a claw. He has led a team of sled dogs toward the Alaskan Mountain Range in an Iditarod — the grueling*, 1,180-mile dogsled race — hallucinating* from lack of sleep, but determined to finish.

    Here, in vivid detail, Paulsen recounts several of the remarkable experiences that shaped his life and inspired his award-winning writing.

    It is a relatively short book and is divided into two sections. The first section is a bit about his personal history and how his growing-up years really revolved around nature and engaging in outdoor activities. He also explains how he moved from being a very active hunter to someone who has decided he will never hunt another living creature again.

    As he got older, he developed a fascination with dogs and was intrigued by dog sledding and started dabbling* a bit in the sport.

    The second half of the book is a day-by-day account of his first Iditarod run. Each day is about two or three pages long and talks about what happened that day and what misadventures* occurred.

    It’s well worth a read for fans of Paulsen and well worth a read for anyone interested in dog sledding.

    The book is available at online bookstores like jd.com.

    (SD-Agencies)