Write It When I'm Gone...

Since I haven't yet developed the skills required to write a good book review, I'll simply provide a link to the amazon.com review of this book, and you can read the official review there. Heck, you can order the book while you're there, too.

I also recommend you read the customer reviews on this book. They've done a very nice job of saying everything I would say about this book. Although one reviewer read the book in a day, I spread it out over two days. But the book really is that interesting that you want to keep reading.

Gerald Ford was an important part of this country's history and our culture. He was intelligent, likeable, and respected by most. If you only have one book about Gerald Ford, this is the book to have.

Winterdance - Gary Paulsen

My friend Sandy recommended this book. She's made several reading recommendations, and while I initially had doubts about some of her suggestions, they've all turned out to be good reads. I'll let the publisher's comments and a handful of reviews tell you about the book. I definitely suggest checking this one out.

Publisher Comments:

Winterdance is an unforgettable account of Gary Paulsen's most ambitious quest: to know a world beyond his knowing, to train for and run the Iditarod. Fueled by an all-consuming passion for running dogs, Paulsen entered the grueling 1,180-mile race across Alaska in dangerous ignorance and with fierce determination. For seventeen days, Paulsen and his team of fifteen dogs ran through breathtaking and treacherous Arctic terrain. They crossed the barren, moonlike landscape of the Alaskan interior and witnessed sunrises that cast a golden blaze over the vast waters of the Bering Sea. They endured blinding wind, snowstorms, frostbite, dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, hallucinations — and the relentless push to go on. He crossed the finish line, but it wasn't enough: Paulsen was obsessed and wanted to race again. Though the dangers of the Iditarod were legion, more frightening still was the knowledge that he could not stop racing dogs of his own free will.

Review:

"There are only a handful of indispensable dog books...Winterdance belongs among [those] classics." Washington Post

Review:

"In the tradition of Jack London...[Paulsen's] prose is spare and physical; at its best, it has the fluid simplicity of Hemingway." Booklist

Review:

"A breathtaking, heart-stopping, roller coaster ride that depicts the brutal reality of the Iditarod, the magnificent beauty of Alaska, and the unique, if not surreal, relationship that develops between man and dog." Nevada Weekly

Review:

"In a style reminiscent of fellow nature writer Farley Mowat, Paulsen deftly examines careening on a precarious edge." Library Journal