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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I am not into horses or horse racing, but I saw a clip of the Belmont Stakes on Twitter which led me down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos about Secretariat and now I have read this book.
I struggled to get into this one.
There is a ton of name dropping, and very little description of who they are. Some names do - inheritor of the Campbells Soup dynasty, etc, but a lot don't so it was difficult keeping everyone straight especially when it came to the syndication chapter. A full chapter on just names!
And it isn't just human names. You'll hear about Citation and Man O'War and Native Dancer and Nasrullah. If you aren't familiar to the world of racing this may be a bit of a shock.
But the races were so well done and done in so much detail that I found myself holding my breath while reading. I couldn't put it down. Unfortunately those don't really happen until the end of the book so you have a lot to slog through before you get there.
If someone is really interested in getting into the nitty gritty of Secretariat please read this book. You will learn everything you need to know to every race he lost, every race he won, every warm-up and even a history on his bloodlines.
If you are just interested in passing in Secretariat watch the movie! I enjoyed it immensely and it was well done. Keep in mind some things are exaggerated to keep it interesting, but for the most part it is pretty accurate.
There is a ton of name dropping, and very little description of who they are. Some names do - inheritor of the Campbells Soup dynasty, etc, but a lot don't so it was difficult keeping everyone straight especially when it came to the syndication chapter. A full chapter on just names!
And it isn't just human names. You'll hear about Citation and Man O'War and Native Dancer and Nasrullah. If you aren't familiar to the world of racing this may be a bit of a shock.
But the races were so well done and done in so much detail that I found myself holding my breath while reading. I couldn't put it down. Unfortunately those don't really happen until the end of the book so you have a lot to slog through before you get there.
If someone is really interested in getting into the nitty gritty of Secretariat please read this book. You will learn everything you need to know to every race he lost, every race he won, every warm-up and even a history on his bloodlines.
If you are just interested in passing in Secretariat watch the movie! I enjoyed it immensely and it was well done. Keep in mind some things are exaggerated to keep it interesting, but for the most part it is pretty accurate.
As an avid racing fan and a horse lover I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is incredibly well-written and is filled with facts. the beginning might be a little slow for some, with all the details of Secretariat's pedigree, but because Nack writes so well, I didn't find that to be a problem. I would recommend this to any racing fan.
Loved this book. A little bit of a slow start, going through the family history of breeders/owners, but the story picks up quickly. Highly recommend for any fans of history, racing, or just wonderful writing.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Once again I tried to read a nonfiction book and once again I failed. I hated this book and I liked the movie. I can sum up the first chapter in one sentence: The horse is born. Okay! Get over it! You don't have to drag us along!
I wouldn't tell you not to read this book if you like nonficton. I just don't, and this book didn't help me like nonfiction any better than I do now.
I wouldn't tell you not to read this book if you like nonficton. I just don't, and this book didn't help me like nonfiction any better than I do now.
I really enjoyed this book. I love horses and I was very glad this story had a happy ending. Also watched the movie which I enjoyed as well!
Am I the only person who doesn't adore this book?
It is written in lush, sweeping prose, like this:
"He is still galloping to the beat of twelve. Aglide, he turns for home in full flight. He opens twenty-one lengths. He increases that to twenty-two. He is running easily. Nor is the form deteriorating. There remains the pendulumlike stride of the forelegs and the drive of the hindlegs, the pumping of the shoulders and the neck, the rise and dip of the head. He makes sense of all the mystical pageant rites of blood through which he has evolved as distillate, a climactic act in a triumph of the breed, one horse combining all the noblest qualities of his species and his ancestry - of the unbeaten Nearco through Nasrullah and Bold Ruler, of the iron horse Discovery through Outdone and Miss Disco, of the dashing St. Simon through Prince Rose and Pricequillo, and of the staying Brown Bud through Imperatrice by way of Somethingroyal. He defines the blooded horse in his own terms." (400-401)
But the narrative is often, constantly, waylaid by unimportant and ultimately distracting asides about the life stories of random players in Secretariat's racing career. These stories are nice but not necessary, and I found them to detract from the power of Nack's narrative.
It is written in lush, sweeping prose, like this:
"He is still galloping to the beat of twelve. Aglide, he turns for home in full flight. He opens twenty-one lengths. He increases that to twenty-two. He is running easily. Nor is the form deteriorating. There remains the pendulumlike stride of the forelegs and the drive of the hindlegs, the pumping of the shoulders and the neck, the rise and dip of the head. He makes sense of all the mystical pageant rites of blood through which he has evolved as distillate, a climactic act in a triumph of the breed, one horse combining all the noblest qualities of his species and his ancestry - of the unbeaten Nearco through Nasrullah and Bold Ruler, of the iron horse Discovery through Outdone and Miss Disco, of the dashing St. Simon through Prince Rose and Pricequillo, and of the staying Brown Bud through Imperatrice by way of Somethingroyal. He defines the blooded horse in his own terms." (400-401)
But the narrative is often, constantly, waylaid by unimportant and ultimately distracting asides about the life stories of random players in Secretariat's racing career. These stories are nice but not necessary, and I found them to detract from the power of Nack's narrative.
Almost done. Not a book I would recommend unless you like sports history...which I don't. Mostly about the lines of various horses.