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Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman: Travels with Sled Dogs in Canada's Frozen North
 
 
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Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman: Travels with Sled Dogs in Canada's Frozen North [Paperback]

Polly Evans (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 27, 2009
Polly Evans had a mission: to learn everything possible about the howling, tail-wagging world of sled dogs. Fool’s errand? Or the adventure of a lifetime? The intrepid world traveler was about to find out.

In the dead of winter, Polly Evans ventured to Canada’s far northwest, where temperatures plunge to minus forty and the sun rises for just a few hours each day. But though she was prepared for the cold, she never anticipated how profoundly she’d be affected by that blissful and austere place. In a pristine landscape patrolled by wolves and caribou, the wannabe musher was soon learning the ropes of arctic dogsledding, careening across the silent tundra with her own team of yapping, leaping canines.

Shivering but undaunted, Polly follows the tracks of the legendary Yukon Quest, a dogsledding race more arduous than the Iditarod, witnessing a life-and-death spectacle she’ll never forget. Along the way she makes a stop at the Santa Clause house in North Pole, Alaska (where the post office delivers unstamped mail), and witnesses the astonishing northern lights weaving green and red across the sky. And before the snows melt in spring, Polly will have discovered a deep affection for the loving, mischievous huskies whose courage and enthusiasm escort her through the delights and dangers of living life at the extreme—in one of the most forbidding places on earth.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Evans excels at “stranger in a strange land” travel writing, and readers looking for a light version of Bill Bryson will enjoy her intimate look at the inner workings of one of the most professional sled-dog kennels in the sport. She spent 11 weeks with Yukon Quest winner Frank Turner as his son entered the annual race between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Canada, for the first time. Evans does everything from cleaning up after the dogs to joining the support crew for Saul Turner’s team. She gamely drives her own sled and camps out in extreme temperatures. Her vivid account is peppered with brief histories of the towns she visits and the locals she meeets, most notably in historic Dawson City. Alaskans will find her dismissive comments about their state condescending, however, and her suggestion that there is no accessible grocery store in Fairbanks borders on the bizarre. Otherwise, armchair explorers will find much of interest, from striking descriptions of howling dogs to Frank Turner’s expertise. --Colleen Mondor

Review

“Unlike that terrifying breed of die-hard travel writers, Polly Evans is one of us.…Refreshing.” Sunday Times Travel, UK

“Evans excels at ‘stranger in a strange land’ travel writing ... armchair explorers will find much of interest.” —Booklist

Product Details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Delta (January 27, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385341113
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385341110
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,198,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Kinda of boring..., July 28, 2009
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This review is from: Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman: Travels with Sled Dogs in Canada's Frozen North (Paperback)
Polly Evans ventured to Canada, and some parts of Alaska, prepared to learn about dog sledding. Not only does she learn about dog sledding, but she even helps in the legendary Yukon Quest. The cold, the dogs, the snow, all things she had to learn to deal with, one day at a time.
Not really very interesting. She seems as helpless as ever, which is kind of sad. For example, in Fairbanks she can't even find a piece of fruit and a bag of tea. Yet she was at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks. The Westmark Hotel has one of those tourist shops. They have bananas! And I am sure they have a pile of tea of all kinds. I know, I was there in MAY! Saying Fairbanks did not have a grocery store is like saying that the ocean does not have sharks because none of them attacked you the last time you took a dip.
But besides insulting the State of Alaska, and talking a lot about dog poop and complaining about how cold she was, the book is a tad boring. True, she does add a lot of the history but that could have been found in any history books of the cold, icy north. In the end, it feels like she was tired and didn't really wish to write this book. Just not as interesting as her book on China. Maybe being a useless tourist is only funny the first time? I hope her book on Spain is better.
Oh, and I have no problem with her getting mad at the people who run the borders - I have problems with them too.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as her other books..., October 22, 2011
This review is from: Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman: Travels with Sled Dogs in Canada's Frozen North (Paperback)
Prior to this book, I read several of Polly Evans' other books, and they were quite entertaining. I just didn't get the same feeling from this one. It seemed like most of the book was about mundane things repeated over and over. "I scooped dog poop." "I fell off my sled for the 10th time." "It was REALLY cold." And the part of the book where she actually follows the Yukon Quest was definitely a let-down. I'm sure Alaska and the Yukon are very beautiful and interesting places, but I just didn't get the attraction of the area from what Polly has written.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Funny, March 19, 2009
By 
Andrew Charig (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman: Travels with Sled Dogs in Canada's Frozen North (Paperback)
The title of Polly Evans's book is, of course, a twist on the Noel Coward song "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" (they "go out in the midday sun"). In Polly's memoire, mad dogs and an English WOMAN go out in the midNIGHT sun.

And the Northern Lights, and endless snowfields and forests, and iced roads and thawing rivers, and weird and wonderful people and DOGS, all of which she describes with grace and generosity and, occasionally, outright eloquence, in just those spots where it's called for.

Generally, when I review a non-fiction book, I address things like bibliographies, indices, and charts. This personal memoire doesn't call for them, but it does need a better map of the area. The tracing of the Quest dogsled race route gives no idea how the author got from point to point on it by road: we need roads to follow the routes vehicles took and trailmaps to follow the snowmobiles, and there are many features she cites that are not located.

But her story is terribly trenchant. I was born in England and raised in Montreal, and experienced the kind of culture (or climate) shock Canada presents to the unititiated; in Evans's book, you can experience it too.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sled bag, snow hook, dog truck, bush trails, dog drop, dogsled race
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Yukon Quest, Pelly Farm, Eagle Summit, First Nations, Scroggie Creek, White Pass, Fish Lake, Dawson City, North Pole, Lance Mackey, Front Street, Arctic Ocean, Bay Company, Mackenzie Delta, Circle City, Alaska Highway, Dick North, Beaver Creek, Klondike Highway, Robert Service, Frank Turner, Mackenzie River, Bonanza Gold Motel, The Mackey, Environment Yukon
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