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Rating: 
Summary: Useful on at least two levels
Review: I think this book is good on two levels. As a primer for getting to know what the X-Factor is and how take advantage of it when breeding horses, I think book is essential. It also contains an absolute wealth of information that is incredibly valuable and interesting to breeders and pedigree researchers alike. On the other hand, I found a number of ommisions & contradictions in Mrs. Haun's logic and quite a few problems or errors in the book itself. There are points where the serious researcher will have to make leaps of faith with Mrs. Haun and other points where you'll be left scratching your head wondering what's she's talking about. I found of typos (horse names spelled incorrectly in the book AIR FORBES ONE, ISINGLAS, etc) and the general impression I got was that her work hadn't been checked thoroughly for errors or was rushed to print before it was ready. At one point she mentions that Bend Or and Gainsborough trace their X-Factor genes to the mare Pocahontas which is flat wrong. I could find no such link and was left scratching my head. While Marianna documents the Princequillo and War Admiral lines fairly well, it seems that there's a lack of documentation of the Mahmoud and Blue Larkspur lines. Whether this is because the author doesn't know the complete story with these lines or not is hard to tell. There also appear to be Omaha and Citation lines which she treats differently than the other lines. Unless you are an astute reader, you'll miss some of information Marianna has to share about these specific lines. Overall, I found the book great. I was able to replicate and validate most of the connections she made and in many cases extend them by locating additional double copy mares which aren't included in the book. I look forward to an update of this book with a list of additional X-Factor sires and more complete documentation.
Rating: 
Summary: A starting point
Review: Marianna Haun's X-Factor is a starting point of information regarding the subject of the X chromosome, however, I felt the format of text hard to digest because the author's writing style is very broken up. The she wanders and comes back to the subject matter pages, and some times chapters, later. There is at least one pedigree error. Page 105 states Milan Mill is a daughter of Princequillo and the pedigree on page 106, shows her out of Caruso. Also, pedigrees of all listed DC mares would have been extremly informing and the index does not list all horses mentioned in the text. Myself being a researcher, would have liked to have had a bibliography included so I could varify the information presented. My general opinion of this work is that Ms. Haun compiled information from research work that has been done on this subject without a complete understanding of the subject matter herself.
Rating: 
Summary: Researching the Large Heart x Factor In Thoroughbred Horses
Review: The findings of a genetic link to a specific characteristic found in superior race horses is nothing less than spectacular, both in terms of significance to the Thoroughbred industry, and in the sheer volume of information that had to be researched in order to achieve these findings. In a time of genetic emphasis and the biotechnical explosion that is to come in the near future, it is amazing to pinpoint a genetic link that is recessive, yet has found it's way down the gene trail for over 200 years. I applaude Marianna Haun, as I applauded the greatest racehorse ever with the largest heart in history: Secretariat.
Rating:
Summary: A starting point
Review: This is a good initial work on large heart genetics. The concepts are easy to understand with enough anecdotal text to ad interest. I was a little disappointed in the format of the index. The contents were good overall but, from my standpoint, I would have loved to have 4 or 5 generation pedigrees on all the Double Copy Mares as well as their produce information as an aid to tracing the Large Heart X-Factor into the pedigrees of my own horses. There are also several mares missing from the double copy list (notably daughters of La Troienne) who are full sisters to DC mares on the list or are by stallions who produced DC mares and by extrapolation are DC mares themselves. This book is a great starting point but I only rated it above average because there is so much more information that, if included, would have resulted in a superior text for the serious breeder. Hope Marianna Haun is writing an additional book to expound on this first work.
Rating:
Summary: Good Primer on Large Heart Genetics
Review: This is a good initial work on large heart genetics. The concepts are easy to understand with enough anecdotal text to ad interest. I was a little disappointed in the format of the index. The contents were good overall but, from my standpoint, I would have loved to have 4 or 5 generation pedigrees on all the Double Copy Mares as well as their produce information as an aid to tracing the Large Heart X-Factor into the pedigrees of my own horses. There are also several mares missing from the double copy list (notably daughters of La Troienne) who are full sisters to DC mares on the list or are by stallions who produced DC mares and by extrapolation are DC mares themselves. This book is a great starting point but I only rated it above average because there is so much more information that, if included, would have resulted in a superior text for the serious breeder. Hope Marianna Haun is writing an additional book to expound on this first work.
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