The Race to Nome [Paperback]

Kenneth A. Ungermann (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Pr N Amer (March 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938271040
• ISBN-13: 978-0938271048
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,457,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Race to Nome, April 7, 2001

By 

navusabq "navusabq" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Race to Nome (Paperback)

I first read this book as a ten year old and it is an outstanding read. Any child could pick it up and find it fascinating. If your children have ever seen the cartoon movie Balto and want to find out the true story about all of the legendary mnushers and their dogs - such as Leonard Seppala and his lead dog Togo - you have to read this book. It is an inspring story of how man helped his fellow man (with the assistance of man's best friend the dog)to beat a Diptheria epedemic. Absolutely wonderful - hope this book is back in stock soon as I would love to re-reasd it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, April 17, 2011

By 

KL2BE - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Race to Nome (Paperback)

I read this book many many years ago when I was 16 and loved it; but that's not the point of this review.
The author (Ken Ungermann) was a neighbor and friend of the family while this book was being researched and written in 1960-61. We lived on a homestead on the Burma Road (a forest trail near Goose Bay Alaska named by Ken as a result of his WWII flying experience) . Ken, his wife Judy and their three young sons lived a couple miles from us.
Ken came to Alaska in 1959 to homestead in the wilderness and write. He looked a lot like Ernest Hemingway and had a similar history in the '30; driving an ambulance for the American Field Service aiding the Anti-Franco forces in the Spanish Civil War. When WWII started Ken joined the US Air Force and flew B-17s over Germany (bombing cities such as Cologne where his 1st cousins lived). After the war he stayed in Europe, worked as a reporter and married an English girl, Judy Punsanbee. Independently wealthy from a family meat-packing business, Ken's desire was to write about adventure.
It was while homesteading on the Burma Road that Ken hatched the idea of The Race To Nome since most of the original participants were then still living in Alaska and he could interview them first-hand. He bought a 3-place Piper Super Cruiser which he justified as necessary to fly all over the interior of Alaska running down the surviving participants.
I had the great privilege and pleasure of joining Ken on one trip into the vast Interior where he was chasing down one the the original mushers. I also accompanied him once to a local Wasilla bar (yes, that's the one-horse burg that Sarah Palin once ran into the ground for her two year stint as Mayor). I was only 14 at the time (I'm sure everyone assumed I was his son) but was intently interested in watching him get a subject just drunk enough to want to talk, but not too drunk to destroy his memory or credibility. I took notice of his interview style and learned many lessons that stayed with me through my latter carrier as an attorney in Alaska.
Kens interviewing for this book was meticulous. You can read this fascinating history of Frontier Alaska with the knowledge that it comes straight from the mouths of those who live this epic tale. Hopefully, your reading pleasure might be further enhanced by knowing what a colorful character the author was himself.
Sadly Ken died in St. Augustine, FL in 2006 at the age of 90 after a long life of many great adventures.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative, December 22, 2010

By 

JKF (MD) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Race to Nome (Paperback)

This book is very informative to the subject of the serum race to Nome. I was somewhat familar with the story of Balto. This account does justice by highlighting many of the other participants; like Togo, the other dog who did most of the work and sadly received none of the credit. This is a must read for anyone interested in the topic.