THE CRUELEST MILES (2008)

In 1925, a diphtheria epidemic hit icebound Nome, Alaska, killing several children and threatening the entire population. Stranded without the proper serum, the residents of the former gold-rush settlement sat under quarantine while, for five days, some 20 dogsledders made a treacherous 674-mile relay to deliver a fragile shipment of antitoxin. The drama captured the American imagination--songs and poems celebrated the event, while newspapers breathlessly followed the race--but has since been relegated to children's-book tales of unlikely lead dog Balto. Here, the first-cousin authors vividly resurrect the mushers' humanitarian feat in a scrupulously researched, cleanly written account that makes for a rollicking good adventure.