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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Such a great read. Not a horse racing fan but it does not matter. She pulls you in with these characters and you are just routing for everyone.
It's a bit of a switch from my usual fiction to something like Seabiscuit, which had a definite "documentary" type feel. I'm not a fan of horses or horse racing, but this was still interesting to me. I saw the movie at some point, but couldn't really remember many of the facts. I'm not sure if I'll remember all the facts this book presented, there were a LOT!
There were three Parts, and the first part (six chapters) were more of an introduction to the era, and to Charles Howard (who would become Seabiscuit's owner), but it was quite a while before the titular horse even made an appearance. Lots of interesting information, about the first cars/replacing the horse and buggy, the earthquake of 1906, the stock market crash/depression ... all part of Charles Howard's history.
I love that nonfiction tends to have chapter headings ... and that's something I can look back over and often get some memory nudges as to what was in which chapter. PART I 1. The Day of the Horse Is Past 2. The Lone Plainsman 3. Mean, Restive, and Ragged 4. The Cougar and the Iceman 5. A Boot on One Foot, a Toe Tag on the Other 6. Light and Shadow PART II 7. Learn Your Horse 8. Fifteen Strides 9. Gravity 10. War Admiral 11. No Pollard, No Seabiscuit 12. All I Need Is Luck 13. Hardball 14. The Wise We Boys 15. Fortune’s Fool 16. I Know My Horse 17. The Dingbustingest Contest You Ever Clapped an Eye On 18. Deal 19. The Second Civil War PART III 20. “All Four of His Legs Are Broken” 21. A Long, Hard Pull 22. Four Good Legs Between Us 23. One Hundred Grand
I had to look up "obstreperousness" as that was used to describe Seabiscuit more than once. Also, "cerise" colored flags (is that really needed, red doesn't work?)
When it's non-fiction, one can't fault the "characters" or the "story arc" ... but this kept my interest regardless.
One instance of proFanity (a quote).
I went with the audiobook, but I had the Kindle copy borrowed from the library as well, and I'd picked up a copy of the physical book too (for #LFL182597 ... I love putting in books I've actually read). There were quite a few things in the text copies that weren't in the audio. Pictures (obviously) but also a "conversation with the author" and discussion questions, acknowledgements and a full reference section. There's a slightly different feel reading and seeing the notations/reference info (numbers) and knowing something was a direct quote, or from a source. In the physical book, these notations would be at the end of the chapter. In Kindle, there were numbered links in the text. In audio ... you (at least I) felt that I figured some things were direct quotes with references, but didn't know for sure.
Now I want to watch the movie again ;)
I also really liked the summary on the book jacket of the physical hardcover, which did a great job of giving a quick recap of the contents (and what to expect).
There were three Parts, and the first part (six chapters) were more of an introduction to the era, and to Charles Howard (who would become Seabiscuit's owner), but it was quite a while before the titular horse even made an appearance. Lots of interesting information, about the first cars/replacing the horse and buggy, the earthquake of 1906, the stock market crash/depression ... all part of Charles Howard's history.
I love that nonfiction tends to have chapter headings ... and that's something I can look back over and often get some memory nudges as to what was in which chapter. PART I 1. The Day of the Horse Is Past 2. The Lone Plainsman 3. Mean, Restive, and Ragged 4. The Cougar and the Iceman 5. A Boot on One Foot, a Toe Tag on the Other 6. Light and Shadow PART II 7. Learn Your Horse 8. Fifteen Strides 9. Gravity 10. War Admiral 11. No Pollard, No Seabiscuit 12. All I Need Is Luck 13. Hardball 14. The Wise We Boys 15. Fortune’s Fool 16. I Know My Horse 17. The Dingbustingest Contest You Ever Clapped an Eye On 18. Deal 19. The Second Civil War PART III 20. “All Four of His Legs Are Broken” 21. A Long, Hard Pull 22. Four Good Legs Between Us 23. One Hundred Grand
I had to look up "obstreperousness" as that was used to describe Seabiscuit more than once. Also, "cerise" colored flags (is that really needed, red doesn't work?)
When it's non-fiction, one can't fault the "characters" or the "story arc" ... but this kept my interest regardless.
One instance of proFanity (a quote).
I went with the audiobook, but I had the Kindle copy borrowed from the library as well, and I'd picked up a copy of the physical book too (for #LFL182597 ... I love putting in books I've actually read). There were quite a few things in the text copies that weren't in the audio. Pictures (obviously) but also a "conversation with the author" and discussion questions, acknowledgements and a full reference section. There's a slightly different feel reading and seeing the notations/reference info (numbers) and knowing something was a direct quote, or from a source. In the physical book, these notations would be at the end of the chapter. In Kindle, there were numbered links in the text. In audio ... you (at least I) felt that I figured some things were direct quotes with references, but didn't know for sure.
Now I want to watch the movie again ;)
I also really liked the summary on the book jacket of the physical hardcover, which did a great job of giving a quick recap of the contents (and what to expect).
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
So well written that I literally fell in love with a horse. The descriptions of all of the races are so good that I’m literally on the edge of my seat trying to read faster to find out who wins. Highly recommend, now it's time to watch the movie!
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
As a person who is allergic to horses and not a fan of animal racing, this was a pretty interesting tale.
I will concede to these things: Jockey's are a very underrated group of athletes, not all owners and trainers are trash (but some do super suck), and animals thrive when they have a purpose.
I'm excited to talk with my nonfiction book club. I'm not excited enough to watch the movie.
I will concede to these things: Jockey's are a very underrated group of athletes, not all owners and trainers are trash (but some do super suck), and animals thrive when they have a purpose.
I'm excited to talk with my nonfiction book club. I'm not excited enough to watch the movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Before I traveled to Washington DC last week for Independence Day, I googled - “books to read if you’re going to Washington DC”. Seabiscuit popped up because the author, Laura Hillenbrand,
is from Washington DC.
I enjoyed this biography of Seabiscuit immensely. The personalities shined through - owner Charles Howard (rags to riches), trainer Tom Smith (taciturn horse whisperer but dude knew his stuff!), primary jockey Red Pollard, and secondary jockey George Woolf.
I learned a lot about the sport of horse racing and how technical and precise it is. The descriptions reminded me of formula 1 auto racing - the demands are so intense the best trainers and jockeys practically have horse racing down to a science.
The horse Seabiscuit was not perfect and he had a lot of ups and downs but his racing career was impressive. Seabiscuit beat Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, in a one-on-one race at Pimlico race course by 4 lengths! Seabiscuit’s primary asset was his longevity and he almost seemed to get better with age which is almost unheard of in the sport.
5 stars for Seabiscuit. A great summer read.
is from Washington DC.
I enjoyed this biography of Seabiscuit immensely. The personalities shined through - owner Charles Howard (rags to riches), trainer Tom Smith (taciturn horse whisperer but dude knew his stuff!), primary jockey Red Pollard, and secondary jockey George Woolf.
I learned a lot about the sport of horse racing and how technical and precise it is. The descriptions reminded me of formula 1 auto racing - the demands are so intense the best trainers and jockeys practically have horse racing down to a science.
The horse Seabiscuit was not perfect and he had a lot of ups and downs but his racing career was impressive. Seabiscuit beat Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, in a one-on-one race at Pimlico race course by 4 lengths! Seabiscuit’s primary asset was his longevity and he almost seemed to get better with age which is almost unheard of in the sport.
5 stars for Seabiscuit. A great summer read.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Chefs kiss