Title

Author (Copyright Date)

Notes

Adventures of the Iditarod Air Force: True Stories About the Pilots Who Fly for Alaska’s Famous Sled Dog Race

Ted Mattson (1997)

Shares stories of the volunteer pilots’ stories about what happens above the trail.

Alaskan Sled Dog Tales

Helen Hegener (2018)

Shares the important stories of sled dogs and their mushers in Alaska.

All Alaska Sweepstakes: History of the Great Sled Dog Race 1908-2008

Helen Hegener (2013)

Tells the stories of the oldest distance sled dog race in the world.

Tells about Dallas Seavey’s journey to becoming the youngest person to win the Iditarod.

Barve completed more than 50,000 miles on a dog sled, and here provides tips on mushing, training a lead dog, and preparing for the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.

The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic

The story of the diphtheria epidemic of 1925 and the mushers and dogs who risked everything to save the town of Nome.

Twin sisters Miki and Julie are accomplished mushers who provide their expert counsel.

Photos that capture the personality of the Iditarod’s  K9 athletes. 

A photographic memoir of a year in the life of two mushers.

Jon Van Zyle and Jeff Schultz

With Text by:

Jona Van Zyle and Joan Schultz

(2020)

Fifty years of Iditarod history including race synopses, records, and biographies.

Seavey tells the story of the first Iditarod as only a trail-wise race veteran can! 

This book is available through the Iditarod store.

Stories collected from the 1973 Iditarod mushers. 

Athabaskan Native George Attla overcame many personal challenges to become Alaska’s top sprint racer and renowned trainer whose dogs and their descendants are found in kennels across the state.

Iditarod Classics and

More Iditarod Classics

Iditarod: The First Ten Years 

This book is a celebration of time and place, the first 10 years of the Iditarod.   More than 400 pages of the history of the Iditarod, told by those that were there, who experienced it from the get-go and those first 10 years.

This book is available through the Iditarod store.

Iditarod Glory

Photos: Jeff Schultz

Essay: Brian Patrick O’Donoghue (2005)

Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome

Bill Sherownit (2019)

Photographs Jeff Schultz

The official Iditarod 25th Anniversary commemorative book is written by Freedman and features the photographs by Schultz.

Jon Van Zyle’s Iditarod Memories:

25 Years of Poster Art

30 Years of Poster Art

40th Anniversary Edition

Chronicles the 1979 race which Tim Jones followed by prop plane. 

Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey shares all aspects of dog mushing in a humorous and truthful, realistic manner.

The Nome Kennel Club was established to sponsor races to decide who had the best dogs. This is a well-researched, photo-filled treasure trove of information about one of the best: Leonhard Seppala.

Newton Marshall’s story of running sled dog races in the cold, snowy north!

Provides information on training and racing sprint sled dogs.

Firth tells the story of one Quest in detail and then shares stories from all the races, and lists of finishers and results. 

Winning Strategies for Long-Distance Mushers

Title

Author (Copyright Date)

Notes

Jim Lanier first ran Iditarod in 1979, and his life has never been the same. Here is his story.

Chasing Dogs: My Adventures as the Official Photographer  Alaska’s Iditarod   

Cold Nights, Fast Trails: Reflections of a Modern Dog Musher

Epic Solitude: A Story of Survival and a Quest for Meaning in the Far North

Dog Man: Chronicles of an Iditarod Champion

The four-time champion, Martin Buser tells his journey from a childhood overseas to becoming a proud US Citizen and Iditarod champ.

Fast into the Night 

A memoir of Debbie’s 2003 and 2005 Iditarod races, her dogs, and their journey.

Burt Bomhoff (2015)

A behind the scenes look at what it’s like to live the life of a long distance musher.

Lew Freedman with

DeeDee Jonrowe (1995)

Kennel owner and dog racer DeeDee Jonrowe, who began mushing in 1979 and has completed many Iditarod races, reviews a typical year in the life of a top musher.

Lance Mackey (2010)

Four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey tells the story of his incredible mushing career

Joseph Robertia (2017)

Helen Hegener (2014)

Bill Jack (2020)

Brian Patrick O’Donoghue (1996)

O’Donoghue presents a down-to-earth look at his 1991 rookie run in the Iditarod, where he earned the Red Lantern for finishing dead last.

Rachael Scdoris (2007)

The inspirational story of a legally blind musher who competed in the 2005 Iditarod.

Libby Riddles and Tim Jones (1988)

This memoir chronicles Cook, her husband, three-year-old daughter, and 32 Siberian Huskies through the trials and rewards of pursuing their dream to compete in the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race.

Running with Champions: A Midlife Journey on the Iditarod Trail

Frederic chronicles her progression from Iditarod tourist to volunteer, to musher.

Shadows on the Koyukuk: An Alaskan Native’s Life

In his autobiography, elder Sidney Huntington recounts his adventures, including his time spent delivering mail by dog team.

Tale of Two Iditarods

Working with his uncle,  Martin Buser, C. Mark Chapoton finishes two Iditarods.

Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled: A Narrative of Winter Travel in Interior Alaska and

A Winter Circuit of Our Arctic Coast: A Narrative of a Journey with Dog Sleds

Hudson Stuck was a British native who became an Episcopal priest. This book recounts his circuit from Canada to Nome.

This Much Country

After a heartbreaking divorce, Pace moves to a cabin outside of Denali and becomes one of the few women to complete both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.

Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North

Blair tells her story of leaving home and moving to Norway to learn to drive sled dogs.

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod

Perhaps best known as an author of young adult books, Paulsen tells of the intensity, frustrations, humor, and ultimate satisfaction of preparing for and running the Iditarod in 1983.  

Title:

Author (Copyright Date):

Notes:

The story of a young boy growing up in South Central Alaska where his adoptive family lives a hand-to-mouth existence, until one day he learns about the great race from Anchorage to Nome, and his life changes.

A mystery set during the Iditarod sled dog race, as trooper Alex Jenson has a homicide investigation on his hands during the big race.