Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Cold as ice JeffersonHI I reread this book after my initial read several years ago, and it was just as enjoyable as my first. Ms. Hillenbrand's extremely well-researched story puts you right in the saddle alongside Seabiscuit jockeys Red Pollard and George Woolf. My Uncle Nori owned several thoroughbred race horses - most of them Claimers - and told me something that I had always taken as a trainer's unfounded superstition when he said, "you can tell if a horse is ready to run by feeling his ankles." We were in a stable at Caliente Race Track at the time, and I was just 10 years old. Uncle Nori knelt beside his horse, Toro Tuck, and wrapped his h. "An all time favorite book, just great!" according to Tacky 1An all time favorite book, just great! Great book about about a fairytale horse who stole the hearts of America. I'm 70 and can remember Seabiscuit appearing in cartoons we'd watch on Saturday mornings in the 50's. I'd always wonder about those cameos and why they were there. This book explains why: Seabiscuit was a national phenomenon.The book tells the story of the horse and the exceptional team of owner, trainer and jockeys that combined to create that phenomenon. At the same time the details behind and within the 2 minutes of a horse race. The book is totally fascinating and I read it once every few years for both the content and excellent story telling of . . Great book about about a fairytale horse who stole the hearts of America. I'm 70 and can remember Seabiscuit appearing in cartoons we'd watch on Saturday mornings in the 50's. I'd always wonder about those cameos and why they were there. This book explains why: Seabiscuit was a national phenomenon.The book tells the story of the horse and the exceptional team of owner, trainer and jockeys that combined to create that phenomenon. At the same time the details behind and within the 2 minutes of a horse race. The book is totally fascinating and I read it once every few years for both the content and excellent story telling of . Pierre Groussac said Readable, Believable, and Lovable. A wonderful piece of writing. Laura Hillenbrand has a talent for gathering material from diverse sources and weaving it into a story that's readable, believable, and lovable. It's good literature and at the same time, good history. I just wish she would take on the story of Goldsmith Maid, a racemare who was literally hell on wheels, conquering both stud horses and other mares on her way to new world records. Compared to Seabisquit, there's a paucity of first hand resources here cause the mare is all but forgotten, but Laura might appreciate the challenge.Oh well. Anyone interested in depression era horse racing or simply

Seabiscuit 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. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. 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. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Author 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. Three men changed Seabiscuit's fortunes:Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire