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THE CRUELEST MILES relates the history of the diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska in 1925. Nome, Alaska was practically abandoned every winter. A large number of the population left on boats to return in the spring. This exodus occurred for numerous reasons but the primary reason was that the town was almost completely isolated once the snows began. Dr. Curtis Welch is Nome's local physician. He begins to see a string of sore throat cases and reluctantly realizes that the town is now in a diphtheria epidemic. Unfortunately, the only vaccine he has is six years old and is not enough to protect the entire town. He sends out an urgent request for vaccine, but there is no way to get the vaccine there. Air travel had not advanced far enough to allow the medicine to be flown in; hence, they had to rely on dog sleds. The race is on. Will Welch get the vaccine he desperately needs or will the harsh Alaskan winter triumph over the dog teams? Margot Dionne reads the audio version, of THE CRUELEST MILES. She has the most amazing diction. Every word is perfectly annunciated and each word rolls smoothly from her mouth. Although some of the different voices she uses seemed slightly unusual, her eloquence helped disguise the strangeness and keeps the listener hooked. THE CRUELEST MILES also provides information that all that not crucial to the story explain the characters and actions taken in more depth. The book discusses the Gold Rush that hit the area shortly before the epidemic. Although it was not proven to be the direct cause of the epidemic, the connection is undeniable. In addition, the book provides a lot of information about previous epidemics, such as influenza, the native peoples and the basic history of each of the primary players in the book. The only possible flaw that the book has would be something that will hurt animal lovers. This flaw is not the fault of the authors, since the book is a work of nonfiction; however, it is still painful. Without giving anything away, it is obvious that dog sleds pushing themselves through the middle of an Alaskan winter will have some injuries and or fatalities. THE CRUELEST MILES does an excellent job of explaining life on the frontier and of the terror an epidemic can cause. It also shows the spirit of compassion that occurs in people during crisis.
Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, August 2003
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