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

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

The diphtheria serum is 674 miles away. Without it, the people of Nome will not survive. Nome, Alaska, sits on the edge of the Bering Sea two degrees below the Arctic Circle, and there are few more forbidding places on earth, especially in winter. Dr. Curtis Welch knew the signs of diphtheria, knew that his patients—many of them children—would die without a shipment of fresh serum. The port was icebound and the nearest railhead was almost 700 miles away across mountains, rivers, and the treacherous ice of Norton Sound. A blizzard was brewing, and airplanes, in 1925, could not fly in such conditions. Only the dogs could do it. A relay was set up, and the drivers, many of them Native Alaskans, set off into the night, set out at 60 degrees below zero, often trusting their lead dogs to find the trail under feet of driven snow. The legendary heroism and endurance of the men and dogs in the Serum Run need no enhancement. Here, for the first time, their story is told in full. "Men and dogs crossing immense distances in the Arctic winter to save dying children – there could hardly be a more inspiring topic. Fortunately, the Salisburys’ writing is as straightforward and honest as the men they are describing. This is a moving story, superbly researched and deftly told.” – Sebastian Junger, author of "The Perfect Storm".