Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Legend Lives
I read Seabiscuit: An American Legend and found it very thorough and a wonderful piece of history about a time when horse racing played a very different role in American sports than it does today. As a child I'd read Moody's Come On Seabiscuit and loved it (still have my copy), and this book, though more scholarly in nature, cites that book often. Just as Hillenbrand's cover picture shows more of the people than of the horse, so does her text extensively pursue the humans involved as well as the spirit of this great horse. She retells some stories from earlier books and articles, in many cases adding more details, frequently insights from eyewitnesses. It's interesting that some phrases appear here as in other racing books. I don't know who first wrote that when a fast horse had a good workout "the trees swayed" - the first time I remember seeing it was when Red Smith wrote about Majestic Prince's sire, Raise a Native, and I think the whole phrase may have been "the trees on the backstretch swayed" - it certainly sounds like something Smith could create - a tremendous image that appears again here describing another horse. Seabiscuit's story is a great one of spirit and persistence and more than a little bit of luck, and, in the end, despite all the problems along the way, his luck was good and history was made.
Rating: - Unbelievably heartwarming
I'm not typically one to read autobiographies or true stories, but having heard so much good "buzz" about "Seabiscuit" I put it on my birthday list and wasn't sure how excited to be when I actually received a copy. After leaving it on the shelf for a couple of months, I finally dragged it down ... wondering how long it would take me to read (it's a hefty book, and the print is by no means large!).The answer? Under a week -- reading in bed, in the car, ANYWHERE where I could continue to devour the pages of this amazingly well-written, well-researched book. Laura Hillenbrand has taken the true tale of a scrawny, behaviorally-challenged Thoroughbred colt who energized the nation with each comeback he made and turned it into a gripping, page-turning read. Having picked it up for the "horsey" aspects alone, I was stunned to find myself enthralled by the background stories of the owner, trainer, and jockey who came together quite by chance to bring this horse to his full potential. I actually laughed out loud when reading some of the descriptive passages relating to Seabiscuit's personality traits and behavior quirks, I rooted for him to win races that are long since past, and I cried for this horse who has long since left the earth. Please read this beautiful story and let it take you back to a time when even a nation plunged into financial despair could garner real pleasure and joy from watching a true athlete do what he was born to do.
Rating: - Five Stars and Counting
It's hard to determine the true hero of this book. Is it the taciturn trainer, Tom Smith, who took a colt the worlds leading trainer (the still-revered Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons) couldn't truly fathom and turn the reject into a champion racehorse? Is it Charles Howard, the car salesman turned millionaire who devoted so much of his time, money and energy to his beloved horse, never second-guessing his trainer and remaining ever steadfast in every adversity, including the death of his son? Is it Seabiscuit himself, the reluctant claimer who went on to a superstardom that matched or superseded anything later achieved by Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods? Perhaps it is Johnny (Red) Pollard, the jockey who emerged from depths about as low as any human being can go to the winner's circle in America's most prestigious races? All of these would be strong candidates, but my Eclipse Award goes to Laura Hillenbrand, for rising up out of her sickbed often enough and long enough to accomplish something just as miraculous as the feats that Seabiscuit and team pulled off. Take it from someone who spent six years of his life as an observer and worker at backstretches all around this country. I have held jobs from hot walker to trainer, at venues such as Belmont Park, Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Bowie, The Fairgrounds, Monmouth Park, etc. I also had a chance to observe some excellent horsemen for whom I worked, including Frank Whitely, Elliot Burch, Woody Stephens, and others. I had the pleasure to meet and talk with Alfred Vanderbilt, one of the characters in this story, as he was an owner of one of the trainers for whom I groomed horses. I?ve seen most of what the backstretch has to offer, from the lowliest stable-hand at a rickety bullring track in New Mexico, to the richest owner in the world purchasing horses at the Keeneland Yearling Sale. So perhaps I feel myself qualified, though it is hardly necessary, to say that Laura Hillenbrand has written the book I wish I had had the talent and fortitude to write. Her book, more than any other I have ever read, captures life on the backstretch as it is, was, and ever shall be. She has gotten to the essence of horse-racing, capturing perfectly the allure, the dreams, the utter exhilaration and despair that unfolds day in and day out behind the scenes at racetracks the world over. She has done this despite severe physical infirmities that would have stopped us lesser humans in our tracks. Reading this book left me feeling as though I had just won the pick-four at Hollywood Park. Hats off and thrown high into the air to Laura Hillenbrand for an accomplishment that will be next to impossible to match.
|
