Author and former field engineer, editor, actor, migrant farm worker, farmer, trapper, truck d...

Author and former field engineer, editor, actor, migrant farm worker, farmer, trapper, truck driver and sailor GARY PAULSEN. PAULSEN has authored books for adults, young adults and children. His latest book for adult readers is "Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" (Harcourt Brace and Company). The Iditarod has been called "the last great race on earth." It is the grueling 1,180 mile dogsled race over the Arctic terrain from Anchorage to Nome. PAULSEN ran it twice. During training for the race, PAULSEN almost lost his dogs and his own life. Relying on a combination of luck and brute will, he saved himself and his team. After that, he understood he would never be able to stop running dogs of his own free will. He is driven to write too. He has said "I can't not write. . . . I love doing it, putting the bloody skins on and dancing around the fire."