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Summary: A Truly American Story...
Review: Americans love stories of underdogs who rise to claim their place in history. Most of us grew up hearing such stories, and always thinking 'only in America'. Seabiscuit overcame tremendous adversity with the help of Howard, Smith and Pollard. I became captivated with the manner in which Seabiscuit would 'compete' with other horses, and the way he literally 'fed' on the experiences he both endured and triumphed over. I am a prolific non-fiction reader (WWII, American Civil War, and other history), and without exception, have never re-read an entire book once read. This is my single exception...it is that satisfying. You will miss an important moment in your life if you do not read this book...it is that good.Also recommended: 'John Adams'; 'Nothing Like It In The World'; 'Hitler-2 volumes' by Ian Kershaw.
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Summary: Great book about horses, and a great underdog story
Review: This is one of the best books I've read in years. It is a great come-from-behind story, and what a structure! As a writer, I admire it enormously.
Seabiscuit and his trainer Tom Smith and jockey Red Pollard are so interesting and they come to typify the American spirit and the spirit of horseracing so much.
The races described in this book are every competitor's dream.
No wonder Seabiscuit captured the heart of America in the late 30s. No sports figure today comes close, I don't think. I recommend this book highly. I liked it so much that after I return my library copy, I'm going to buy a copy to keep.
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Summary: Great story, great read!
Review: Our bookclub (all women) just read this book. It's the first in a long time that everyone loved! One of the comments was that it could be called "Friends of Seabiscuit" because it's about the wonderful group that saw the potential and made it possible for him to become the best. This story is a slice of the times - depression, life of a jockey, horse racing, a self made millionaire, media and development of an icon. It was researched impeccably! For almost 400 pages, it reads in a few afternoons. Laura is a wonderful writer!
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Summary: Simply wonderful
Review: One of the most compelling and beautifully written books
that I have ever read. Laura Hillenbrand is a brilliant
composer of words and has an exquisite talent for storystelling. Anne - Milwaukee, WI
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Summary: Great Book
Review: Makes you think you can do the impossible when you read the story of such unlikely characters creating the greatest horse in history. You just can't make stuff like this up!!
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Summary: A book you don't want to stop reading
Review: I love this book. A true story of a horse that always seemed to beat the odds. It is not just about the horse but the people in the horse's life. It has a lot of human emotions that I think everyone can relate to. There is love,sorrow, victory, defeat, and so many more. After reading this book you feel like that you were there with all characters.
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Summary: A masterful, whirlwind tale of a legendary steed!
Review: Hillenbrand has done her homework, as the documentation at the end of the book demonstrates. She is both a thorough researcher and a spellbinding storyteller! The reader is literally swept along; at times it seems as if the racedays' "play-by-plays" pull us along at breakneck speeds, the tension building until one wants to scream "Just tell me who won!" There are episodes where we root for Seabiscuit because he is to horses what underdogs are to boxing and other sports. The reader so badly wants him to win that there is genuine disappointment, mounting excitement, crestfallen emotions, heart-pounding wins, teeth-grinding almost wins, horrifying accidents and finally, tears when the champion is just the older "Pops". One of the other facets of this straightforwardly told, multi-dimensioned saga covering the lives and idiosyncrasies of owners, jockeys and trainers, is the abuse of the jockeys. Their masterful and intuitive, akin-to-racedriver skills, are absolutely essential to the wins. And wealthy owners require impressive, record-breaking wins to boost both their own worth, as well as to further the reputation of their steeds. The horses are far more pampered, at least during the historical period of Seabiscuit's era, than the jockeys. The jockeys, were often young, poor and poorly educated youths who were sparsely paid. They had no health insurance, considering the catastrophes that could easily befall them and often did, and these boys...if they survived to have longer careers...indulged in self starvation and other eyebrow raising methods to maintain ultra-low weights (especially for males) during their racing seasons. There's cause to raise eyebrows even further when considering the horses. "Imposts" were raised as a horse got to be a seasoned winner, supposedly to even the stakes a little for the other horses running the races with them. As Seabiscuit became a recognized marvel, increasing weight was added to his raceday load. Because horses are natural-born runners, the expectation is that he would run his heart out nonetheless. But money, prestige, and not a little insider politics cum bias were the driving forces behind the practice. There's more than one temptation to skip ahead and see if our hero, Seabiscuit, will win various races especially the Santa Anita, but the tension and suspense in the storytelling are so good that the details are worth every word! What a story; what a horse! He may have been less beautiful than others, less well built and looking more like a "cow pony" but he was a champion. What a book!
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Summary: Excellent book! Run, don't walk!
Review: Okay, I admit it. I was stubborn. I watched this book on the shelves of my local bookstore for a year, but refused to pick it up and read it because I didn't want to be disappointed. I have been a great fan of horse racing ever since I was seven years old and sat inches away from my grandmother's television set to watch Secretariat win the Belmont Stakes. In the past, I have picked up other books that involved this subject matter and have always been let down, either because the facts weren't exactly right, or the author spent too much time anthropomorphizing.
I decided to break down and read the book when I read a blurb in the newspaper that USA Today had chosen this title as it's Book of the Month, quite a feat for anything to do with horse racing in a world of football, baseball and basketball. I purchased 'Seabiscuit' along with three other books, started reading another one first, picked this one up just to browse through it, and I was hooked!!!
To say that Hillenbrand does a wonderful job of telling this story doesn't do her justice. She focuses not only on the horse, but the amazing and sometimes sad stories of the people involved with Seabiscuit. Just what the jockeys had to struggle through alone is enough to make you want to turn your eyes away. She didn't fall back on the cop out of trying to make the horse have overly human emotions and thoughts, and yet tells a historical 'biography' that entertains like a novel. In addition, having struggled through the rigors of a graduate degee in history myself, I have an enormous amount of respect for the depth of research and investigation Hillenbrand has covered in this book.
Her work represents an enormous effort that requires the tenacity of a bulldog while the whole process can be like giving birth - long, hard, and you just want it to be over with. (And then to take into consideration the physical issues she herself confronts.)
I thought I would be too tough on this book, but now I have been won over in spades! Do yourself a favor and don't be as stubborn as I was. Read this book and I am certain you will enjoy the ride.
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Summary: READ THIS BOOK!
Review: Read this book, even if you have minimal interest in horses or horse racing. I am not knowledgable about either, and yet I found this MASTERPIECE to be a true page-turner! It is so well-written and so thrilling that it keeps you up late into the night to discover more of the story of Seabiscuit, his visionary owner, his preturnaturally sensitive trainer, and his exquisitely attuned jockey! A book that really evokes another time and another way of life.
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Summary: --Don't miss this one!--
Review: This book was chosen to be read by my book club and I dragged my feet until the last minute because I thought that I'd be bored with the subject. Once I got into the story, I had a wonderful surprise. Laura Hillenbrand has written a detailed account of Seabiscuit, and managed to made it incredibly interesting and very exciting. The author starts by giving the biographies of the fascinating men that had the most to do with Seabiscuit's rise to fame. They were Charles Howard, Tom Smith, Red Pollard and George Woolf. Each of these men contributed to the greatness of the famed horse. Seabiscuit himself was not the most beautiful of horses and, in fact was a pretty difficult animal to deal with. Trainer Tom Smith saw something in the horse that he knew was worth tapping and encouraged Charles Howard to purchase Seabiscuit. Red Pollard and George Woolf were the jockeys who rode him into fame. By the time I was reading about the races, I couldn't put the book down until I found out which horse won that particular race. This is a great American story!
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