Rating: 
Summary: For everyone, not just horse-lovers
Review: I would give it 4.5, but I can't, and 5 is a special privelege i retain for truly phenomenal books. Seabiscuit was magnificent, page turning tribute to a great little horse and those around him - Red, George, Smith, Howard....sometimes I felt like it dragged, or was too detailed at some points, but nothing too serious. The ending was well done, with a sense of closure, but heartbreaking at the same time. I recommed this to everyone, even those without prior knowledge of horses, but horse lovers will treasure it even more
Rating: 
Summary: Best nonfiction book I've read in the past five years
Review: The true story of Seabiscuit reads better than ninety per cent of the novels published today. Thoroughly engrossing and often exhilarating, this book works from start to finish. I thought the recent movie, although a respectable effort, never rose to the levels of interest and excitement that Hillenbrand created in the book. If you aren't moved by Seabiscuit, I suggest you check for a pulse.
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinarily entertaining book
Review: It is difficult to over praise this exceptional retelling of the career of Seabiscuit, one of the more improbable sports heroes in American history. The book centers on four individuals: Charles Howard, who made a fortune in dominating the sales of Buicks in the Western half of the U.S. and who was the flamboyant owner of Seabiscuit; Tom Smith, laconic horseman and the trainer who salvaged the career of Seabiscuit after Howard purchased him; Johnny "Red" Pollard, the Shakespeare-quoting ex-boxer and also-ran jockey who managed to ascend briefly to the top of sport through his unique partnership with Seabiscuit; and Seabiscuit himself. Nearly as important as these primary players is George Woolf, who played a key role in some of Seabiscuit's greatest victories, including his defeat of War Admiral in the race that truly is considered perhaps the greatest race in the sport's history. In Hillenbrand's able hands, the story because what it truly was: the quintessential story of the underdog who makes good. And everyone knows American's love underdogs. She tells the story so well that the book is almost impossible to set down. I managed to read it in slightly more than a day and a half, despite Thanksgiving activities. I'm sure this is not an uncommon experience. The book also serves as a fantastic introduction to the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. Hillenbrand does a masterful job of explaining many aspects of the sport. If one knows nothing of the sport before reading this book, they will have a decent overview coming out. Especially entertaining was the sometimes-jarring chapter that explained the extremes to which jockeys in the thirties would go in maintaining their weight. But I really want to emphasize that an interest in racing either before or even after reading it really isn't necessary for a complete enjoyment of the book. It is fundamentally a great piece of story telling. The story of Seabiscuit is also the story of War Admiral, one of the great thoroughbreds in racing history. In fact, in most polls of sportswriters or racing authorities, War Admiral is usually rated more highly than Seabiscuit in the roster of the sport's greats. In part this is because of Seabiscuit's somewhat inconsistent career and War Admiral's consistent brilliance. He was, by any measure, a late bloomer, all his great achievements coming after the age at which War Admiral, a Triple Crown winner, retired. One important aspect of the story that Hillenbrand neglects to mention is that Seabiscuit truly needed a horse as great as War Admiral to establish his reputation. As an Eastern horse, War Admiral's stature would not have been especially enhanced by beating the Western Seabiscuit, while Seabiscuit needed the validation that beating War Admiral provided. One can understand the hesitancy of War Admiral's owner to pit his horse against Seabiscuit: he had almost nothing to gain by the race, while Seabiscuit had everything. If I have a complaint with the book, it is that it doesn't tie the reader into the specific era in which it takes place to the degree that it could have and should have. The story has of Seabiscuit possessed a social and historical significance that the book doesn't quite get at. Jane Leavy in her SANDY KOUFAX: A LEFTY'S LEGACY brings raises far better the greater significance of Koufax in his historical era than Hillenbrand does for Seabiscuit in his. And that is a shame, since few athletes--human or four-footed--has had a greater impact on his age as Seabiscuit. But this is nitpicking. Despite this minor lack, this is a brilliantly told and highly entertaining tale. The story is only in part a story of the successes of Seabiscuit. It is also very much the tale of the often extraordinary obstacles placed before Seabiscuit and especially Red Pollard in their achieving their successes.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just About the Horse
Review: Seabiscuit was an amazing horse, yes, but the book isn't entirely about him. There would not have been a glorious memory of Seabiscuit if it hadn't been for four very different men in his life. Charles Howard, Tom Smith, Red Pollard and George Woolf all have their stories to share, and Hillenbrand brings them to life in beautiful and lyrical prose. Each man had his own gift to share with this horse; lose just one of them from the story, and you lose the story. Hillenbrand's descriptions of the races put me directly in Seabiscuit's saddle, and I had to repeatedly remind myself "breathe" during each of his approaches to the wire. This is perhaps the best book I've read in the last 10 years, and I cannot wait to see what Ms. Hillenbrand has up her sleeve for an encore. She has given herself a tremendously hard act to follow.
Rating: 
Summary: Good yes, but great?
Review: Laura Hillenbrand's "New Yorker" article this year, about her bout with chronic fatigue syndrome, was sheer brilliance -- one of the best pieces I have ever read in that magazine. Half way through the article I learned that she had penned "Seabiscuit," which was then the rage among non-fiction readers (while the movie was doing brisk business in theaters). So I picked up "Seabiscuit" and was treated to prose that was compelling, yes, but not as concise (obviously) as her NYer article, and not as painstakingly edited. It's a good book, an entertaining book, a book you can learn a bit from. But I gave up after reading half of it -- it just felt like more of the same. I prefer the structure of novels, I guess. And maybe I'm a bit jealous that so many readers eschew literary fiction (which I write) for more easily digested non-fiction like this (which I do not write). So please don't read "Seabiscuit" because it's hot, a bestseller. Please don't read it so that you can have an opinion to share at cocktail parties. Do read it for Hillenbrand's quality prose, which is truly capable of putting you in the saddle. And when you're finished, pick up a nice novel.
Rating:
Summary: Never Expected
Review: I never expected this book to be so good. It is so well written that I became incased in this wonderful truth telling book about this beautiful horse. i am a fan of anything that has to do with truth telling Non Fiction work and this ranks very high. A well recommended book. Also along the lines of Non Fiction you might want to read Nightmares Echo and Secret Life Of Bees.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This is such a well crafted book - well researched - and well told. I really enjoyed this one.
Rating:
Summary: Simply outstanding will take you on a rollercoaster ride
Review: This was an amazing book to read whether you are horse racing fan or not you have to read this book it was definitely a fast p
aced it took all little more then a day to read. Starst with history of the man who would buy seabiscuit Charles Howard.Mr. Howard came to san francisco with just 21 cents to his name and opens a bicycle repair shop which would end up being a wise decision being that around this time horseless carriages were coming out and they had nobody to fix them in the frico area so they came to mr. howard's shop and he tinkered with them and become very good at fixing them which led to howard getting the first buick dealership in the west.Mr. howard proved to be a shrewd business man which made him very wealthy. One thing i found really interesting about the automobile was that at that time they would do a grand total of 7 and half miles an hour with a little work they got up to 65 miles this of course racing but they had to stop the racing because of all the deaths from the wrecks.
Mr. Howards was developing his love for horseracing it brought him together with Tom Smith and he eventually would bring seabiscuit to the attention of Mr.Howard . Tom had a different and it seemed unorthodox way of training horses but it brought closer to them and it proved a winning way.
With the riding of the jockey red pollard the training of tom smith and the draw of charles howard seabiscuit mania took of around the country and thw world. The things the jockeys put themselves through to make weight should make you shudder like swallowing a tapeworm laxatives and basically living on 600 calories a day.
With descriptions about seabiscuit the way he raced other horses blowing the field away only to let them back in the race to blow them away again like he was taunting and then breaking their heart and spirit.
The love affair the nation had with seabiscuit with examples were at a track expecting 15000 and get 40 or 50000 they would have trains just for seabiscuit fans.
This book brought many different emotions but it was page turnerespecially when they were trying to set up the match race with war admiral and then when finally happened i could not read the pages fast enough to find out what happens.
DEFINITELY READ THIS BOOK THEN TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO READ IT TOO
Rating:
Summary: Hurray for the underdogs!
Review: This book is a gripping read and an inspiring story, albeit at times a bit too melodramatic. I'm not sure if the actual events themselves were such a soap opera or if Hillenbrand's interpretation and style of writing make them come across that way. Whichever it is, it makes for exciting, entertaining reading, but it will also make even mildly cynical readers roll their eyes when Seabiscuit, for the umpteenth time, overcomes life-threatening injuries and insurmountable odds to achieve heroic victories. This is certainly a fascinating story, especially if you like to cheer for underdogs. There is something magical about how these four characters, three men and a horse, all started out with few advantages and rose to the top through hard work and believing in themselves and each other. The relationships that develop, both among the men and between man and horse, are quite touching. And Seabiscuit himself is a remarkable character, filled with personality and idiosyncrasies and charm. The writing is fluid and the story is well constructed. Hillenbrand has a gift for building suspense. I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat as I read the passage about the challenge race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. The energy and excitement in the prose made me feel as if I were there watching the actual race. That's the definition of good writing. My only complaint is that I had this feeling throughout the book that Hillenbrand was playing with the readers' emotions, building us up for a big victory when she knew that disaster loomed around the corner, and preparing us for the worst in order to make Seabiscuit's successes seem that much more noteworthy. I lost count of the times that Seabiscuit or his jockey had some career-ending injury, only to race again days or weeks later. I also got tired of how Hillenbrand over-dramatized the amount of weight that Seabiscuit was required to carry in comparison to his competitors. The first time he carried 130 pounds was certainly a milestone, since no horse had done it before, but after he did it a dozen times and won more often than not, I think it was safe to say that the weight was fair.
Rating:
Summary: SEABISCUIT one of the best books i ever read
Review: Amazing book! I whould give it a million stars* if I could!! The races in the book are so discriptive especilly the "Seabiscuit vs.War Admiral" race it was almost like you were there! Laura Hillenbrand did an amazing job on this book! I hope she will makes more books on famous horses in the next few years I know they'd be as amazing as Seabiscuit was.
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