![]() ![]() She not only puts you in the saddle, she takes you back in time. Another reason for the success of this novel is her success at placing the events in their historical context. It's so visceral, she really puts you in the saddle, plus the prose is beautiful in and of itself. There is a section where she describes the jockeys' experience of riding in a race that is one of the best pieces of prose I have ever, and will ever, read. Hillenbrand has really explored her topic thoroughly and passes on all the details to us. It really does read like a novel, and yet it is so deep - Ms. Seabiscuit, I was happy to find, was a complete surprise. In fact, as one of those over-achieving students who always completed college reading assignments, I would have to say that many textbooks were actually better reads than the average non-fiction offering on store shelves. Despite my interest in the subject matter, the writing would drive me crazy - too technical, too boring, too text-book like. So many times I had picked up a non-fiction book on a topic that I was really curious about, and either put it down unfinished or forced myself to slog through it. I just couldn't believe that all the hype was real. ![]() That book was Seabiscuit.Įven though I have always loved horses, I had avoided reading Seabiscuit. In November 2003, a pioneering member of my book club was the first to choose a non-fiction book instead of a novel. Prior to November 2003, non-fiction only entered my reading choices on sporadic occasions. If you enjoy a good sports story, if you like stories about the underdog becoming the champion, or if you enjoy books with a good history lesson, it is definitely worth giving Seabiscuit a try! Luckily for me, I was enthralled with horse training and the finer points of horse racing much more that I ever thought I would be. If these things do not interest you, you may find some parts slow. While it did not bother me, there is an awful lot about horse racing and horse training. In the end, I can 99% guarantee you will be exhausted and satisfied. Humble beginnings, Scrappy, unlikely heroes, successes, adversity, failure, no hope, recovery, and final ultimate triumph - all these elements are here! You will be amazed, you will be moved, you will be yelling at each horse race retelling, cheering of Seabiscuit to succeed. The story of Seabiscuit reads like it was written for Hollywood and plays out like almost every emotional sports story ever. I was definitely satisfied with the experience! Because of all this, I figured I might be interested in the biography of one of history's most famous horses. Now I live within a couple of hours of close to a dozen horse tracks - including Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. I lived in Kentucky for about 10 years where horse racing is king. I have been known to bet a couple of bucks on a horse race or two. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon.Īuthor Laura Hillenbrand brilliantly re-creates a universal underdog story, one that proves life is a horse race. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. ![]() When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. ![]() Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes:Ĭharles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Urn:oclc:780553946 Scandate 20111125184410 Scanner was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. OL15828126W Page-progression lr Page_number_confidence 92.98 Pages 486 Ppi 643 Related-external-id urn:isbn:0449005615 Urn:lcp:seabiscuitameric2003hill:epub:eecd0d1e-1093-4264-823a-b36cdf3ce6ef Extramarc University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (PZ) Foldoutcount 0 Identifier seabiscuitameric2003hill Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t5cc21b8w Isbn 0345465083ĩ780345465085 Lccn 2001024922 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary_edition Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 22:22:24 Boxid IA112701 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York, N.Y. ![]()
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