In 1978, Dick Mackey claimed the most dramatic victory ever in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, crossing the finish line in Nome a mere one second ahead of Rick Swenson after a two-week, 1,149 mile-run from Anchorage. Many years later Alaskans still shake their heads in amazement. In One Second to Glory, Mackey shares this and many other adventures: Making a home in the forntier state in the heady first day s of Statehood; Surviving the 1964 earthquake and helping rebuild Alaska; Mushing against "Doc" Lombard and George Attla in the heyday of sprint racing; Helping Joe Redington organize the Iditarod Trail SLed Dog Race; Experience 82 degrees below zero at Coldfoot, his famous Arctic Circle truck stop; Mackey's colorful stories are told in his own words in interviews with Lew Freedman, outdoor adventure writer for the Chicago Tribune and longtime former sports editor of the Anchorage Daily News. Freedman has written seventeen books about Alaska.
Lew Freedman is a former Alaska resident who spent 17 years at the Anchorage Daily News as sports editor and columnist. The author of 58 books, Freedman is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in journalism and he earned a Master’s degree from Alaska Pacific University. He currently resides in Indiana with his wife Debra. Among his Alaska titles are: the best-selling Iditarod Classics, More Iditarod Classics, Father of the Iditarod: The Life Of Joe Redington, Dangerous Steps, George Attla: The Legend of the Sled Dog Trail, Diamonds In The Rough, Iditarod Dreams, and Fishing For A Laugh. Freedman, who has also written for Alaska magazine and Alaska Newspapers, has won more than 250 journalism awards in his career and worked on the staffs of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Chicago Tribune, covering government, writing feature stories and sports stories. During his many years of living in Alaska, Freedman experienced numerous earthquakes, one as powerful as 7.2 on the Richter Scale. He considers Alaska to be as beautiful place as there is in the world and as special as when he first saw it in 1983. Freedman still makes regular visits to Alaska to fish, gaze at the mountains, and spend time with family.
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