Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Very well written and very well researched! She can really convey the excitement behind the momentous races and this great little horse.
Why did I almost tear up at the end?? These types of books always get me.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
A knobby-kneed horse with a noble lineage, a translucent trainer, a tall, red-headed jockey, and two owners who yearned to achieve the impossible formed a close-knit family. They were fiercely protective of Seabiscuit. This small group of individuals and the unwavering horse managed to provide a temporary respite from the country’s pressing issues and a glimmer of hope during the Great Depression. Reading books by Laura Hillenbrand is akin to reading any other story; it feels like fiction but is, in fact, nonfiction. Readers will be on the edge of their seats while immersed in the thrilling world of horse racing.
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
According to the Kindle progress bar, it took me more than halfway through before I got into it but by the time the narrative reached the long-awaited match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, I was hooked. Based on the Times magazine article on Hillebrand, I expected to be dazzled by her writing style so with those high expectations, I was somewhat let down. But the story itself was so much more fascinating than I expected from a "horse story" that it was certainly a worthwhile read. Though admittedly the only other book I can recall reading about a horse was National Velvet in elementary school. Give me a unicorn over a horse, any day.
I have always had the latent horse girl gene, lying in wait to be activated (usually by rewatching Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). This was a fantastically well-written narrative, which I should have realized was written by an actual turf reporter. I genuinely think it's so sweet that we domesticated these huge, neurotic, beautiful animals that were built to do nothing but run, and bred the shit out of them until they could run as fast as probably genetically possible. I'm literally halfway out the door to go grab a book on Secretariat next. I love you horses!!!
(Also this book is very funny I couldn't pick a more general quote, so I hope you enjoy this little peek into how human sports audiences really never change:)
"War Admiral's scratch appeared on the jockey board in the infield. Most of the reporters, and much of the crowd, believed that [his owner] had simply balked at the 132-pound impost and didn't care enough about the consequences of scratching to do the sportsmanlike thing. The crowd had run out of patience. A cacophany of boos and catcalls rolled down the grandstand for a full two minutes. [The owner], wrote one spectator, 'was accused of everything under the sun save the shooting of Lincoln and the current recession.'"
(Also this book is very funny I couldn't pick a more general quote, so I hope you enjoy this little peek into how human sports audiences really never change:)
"War Admiral's scratch appeared on the jockey board in the infield. Most of the reporters, and much of the crowd, believed that [his owner] had simply balked at the 132-pound impost and didn't care enough about the consequences of scratching to do the sportsmanlike thing. The crowd had run out of patience. A cacophany of boos and catcalls rolled down the grandstand for a full two minutes. [The owner], wrote one spectator, 'was accused of everything under the sun save the shooting of Lincoln and the current recession.'"