Father of the Iditarod

<p>In a place where respect is not easily earned the name of this homesteader pilot and visionary dog-musher generates awe. His is the classic image of an Alaska pioneer--rugged independent determined hard-working. Meet Joe Redington Father of the Iditarod a man who found his destiny in Alaska. In an inspirational biography Chicago Tribune sportswriter Lew Freedman chronicles Redington's birth on the Chisholm Trail and his boyhood in the Depression--homeless motherless roaming the country looking for work as a field hand. Alaska was his rebirth in 1948. Redington found the home he never had. On his own piece of dirt a man could raise a family hunt fish run dogs and stand up for what he believed. Almost single-handedly Redington rescued Alaska dog mushing from extinction. With ambition an abiding love for sled dogs and refusal to accept "it can't be done" Redington created a legacy in the thousand-mile race across Alaska that has thrilled the world for more than three decades the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.</p>