Beyond Ophir: Confessions of an Iditarod Musher, An Alaska Odyssey - Softcover

Jim Lanier

3.78

37 ratings by Goodreads

9781594333545: Beyond Ophir: Confessions of an Iditarod Musher, An Alaska Odyssey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594333548 ISBN 13: 9781594333545

Publisher: Publication Consultants, 2013

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Jim Lanier had a good life going: a great family, a successful pathologist, a sometimes singer. Then he went to the dogs, ran the Iditarod in 1979, and has never recovered. With that ‘79 race as the book’s backbone, Jim tells its tale—entertaining, exciting, occasionally informative, and mostly the truth. From the bustle of metropolitan Anchorage to Front Street in Nome, it’s no how to do. If anything, it’s a how not to—how not to prepare, how not to train, how not to run. On the other hand, it’s how not to give in to the urge to quit when the going gets tough, in life and in this metaphorical Iditarod.

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About the Author:

Born the year 1940 in Washington, DC and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, Jim Lanier has been an Alaskan since 1967. He was first brought north by the U. S. Public Health Service and for two years was a medical doctor at Anchorage's Alaska Native Medical Center. Then, after four years of specialty training at the Mayo Clinic, Jim practiced pathology for 33 years at Providence Hospital in Anchorage. Bit by the mushing bug in the 70s, he ran his first Iditarod Sled Dog Race in 1979. Over the years since he has entered and completed numerous other races and 15 more Iditarods (as of 2013), and the end is not in sight.

Review:

It is fantastic that Jim's one-of-a-kind humor has actually come out in his penmanship. To hear Jim's stories first hand, while on the trail, has always been a special part of running the Iditarod. When I need a good smile, I try to find Jim. But, now, I don't even have to get on the sled runners this season--I could just sit in my comfy Lazy Boy, open up this book, and be entertained without all the cold weather and fuss! --Aliy Zirkle, Competitive Iditarod Veteran and 2000 Yukon Quest Champion

Like my grandfather and as mentioned in Beyond Ophir, Jim drinks hot Tang on the trail. It's great to travel with him, and his book should give lots of people an idea of how wild and crazy, and fun, a sled dog trip to Nome can be. --Ray Redington, Jr., Competitive Iditarod Veteran and Grandson of Joe Redington, Sr., Father of the Iditarod

Beyond Ophir is a true to life Iditarod tale that will entertain the reader to the very end. Jim's witty wanderings, told campfire style, take the reader on Jim's first Iditarod Race in 1979, weaving in other Iditarod races and experiences. His humor, descriptive trail adventures, and tidbits of Alaska's history give wonderful, living insights into the mind of a truly determined, engaging, Alaskan Iditarod musher. --Katie Mangelsdorf, author of Champion of Alaskan Huskies: Joe Redington Sr. Father of the Iditarod

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