Elizabeth M. Ricker

A decent autobiography (sort of) of Leonhard Seppala. A true hero and now legend of the early Alaskan 20th Century. Here he tells some of his life story to Ms. Elizabeth Ricker who edited the story for our consumption. A book that was easy to read, written as if he was sitting next to you telling you each part, adventure after adventure. While not a complete biography "Seppala" gives you enough of a picture to get an understanding of who he was and what kind of life he ended up living. I would have liked more in-depth information, the information given was just enough to give you an idea or just enough to convey the story and not much else. You can see how tough he was, how strong he had to be, and how much he relied on his dogs, as well as the love he had for Togo. But to figure this out you have to read between the lines. This story ends before Togo dies, when he is retired though Seppala lived on much longer. I'd give it a good three and a half stars, quite good just not great.… (altro)

I started off by reading "The Adventure of Balto" by Patricia Chargot who introduced me to Togo. Like many who just hear the basic story I hadn't chose to chase the history surrounding the 1925 diphtheria run while I was fascinated by the sad events that happened between the two famous dogs of the time - Togo and Balto.

Upon reaching the end of the previous book she made mention of "Togo's Fireside Reflections" while I was intrigued with wanting to get a hold of a copy so I could learn some more. Sadly this is a very rare and hard to find book so I ended up buying it as part of my collection but I cannot say that it was a loss to me.

The book starts off with a letter from the Game Commissioner that highlights the fact of Seppala giving his famous and most beloved dog to the author followed by a short Foreword by the author. And then the story starts....

The story takes place in the home of the author and at the onset of tea. Togo is asked to tell a story to the children of the author about his great father. From there the author ends up putting her children to bed then comes back down. She asks Togo for some more of his story so she can answer some of the questions that are plied to her.

The story is poetical and in beautiful rhythm throughout the majority of the book. This simplistic yet detailed story of the wild frontier of Alaska where dog teams rule the winter trails combined with various black and white stories taken from the life of Togo bring the last wintry frontier to the mind even after so many years have passed away from the actual events.

"Togo's Fireside Reflections" gives us an insight into the life of a sled dog, the dangers of the trails and the life of a Leonhard Seppala who is a Alaskan fable in is own right. He gently touches on various episodes of fame within his life but not too long to reach into detail and then finishes into bringing the courage of his owner into life while there is no mention of Balto at all within the story itself. And the story ends with the gentle whispering hope of being reunited with both his friend yet his leader coming home to him.

Definitely a beautiful piece of art while it is sad to know there aren't that many of them. If you get a chance to I would definitely recommend it to read for the emotional undertones will touch your heart.… (altro)