Seabiscuit, An American Legend

by Laura Hillenbrand
Category: "Sports"
Pages:290
Year of Publication:2001
Date Added:07/11/2003
Notes:Added by Linda. from AMAZON: He didn't look like much. With his smallish stature, knobby knees, and slightly crooked forelegs, he looked more like a cow pony than a thoroughbred. But looks aren't everything; his quality, an admirer once wrote, "was mostly in his heart." Seabiscuit rose to prominence with the help of an unlikely triumvirate: owner Charles Howard, an automobile baron who once declared that "the day of the horse is past"; trainer Tom Smith, a man who "had cultivated an almost mystical communication with horses"; and jockey Red Pollard, who was down on his luck when he charmed a then-surly horse with his calm demeanor and a sugar cube. Hillenbrand details the ups and downs of "team Seabiscuit," from early training sessions to record-breaking victories, and from serious injury to "Horse of the Year" — as well as the Biscuit's fabled rivalry with War Admiral. She also describes the world of horseracing in the 1930s, from the snobbery of Eastern journalists regarding Western horses and public fascination with the great thoroughbreds to the jockeys' torturous weight-loss regimens, including saunas in rubber suits, strong purgatives, even tapeworms.
My Rating: 9

Reviews for Seabiscuit, An American Legend

Review - Seabiscuit, An American Legend

A fascinating book from cover to cover. Hillenbrand's descriptions of Seabiscuit's races were dramatic, but the horse was more important as the common link that brought together the fascinating people who worked with him. The book brings to life the romance of horse racing while not skirting the uglier aspects. I saw the movie halfway through the book and thought it was equally excellent.

Reviewed by Roger on 2003-08-09 19:44:28

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