Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
This book was recommended to me by a friend and so I picked it up from the library and started reading it without actually looking at the author. I wasn't even halfway through the book when I realized, just from the style, that it was written by an author I don't care for. Even after that I kept trying to read it but could not finish.
What is it that bothered me about this book so much? It seems the author is determined to make the reader understand what these people went through so much that she creates what she thinks they may have been thinking and feeling, which can be fine to a point, but in this case it is too over the top. Its as if she doesn't trust her readers to think for themselves and imagine what may have been going on in the characters heads, so she has to, over and over again, explicitly tell you what everyone is feeling and thinking. Unless she could crawl into these peoples heads, she has no idea. It is a bunch of bull that shouldn't be called non-fiction. She also tends to talk down to her readers to the point of it being insulting. I understand the story is a wonderful one, but it blows my mind that so many readers can look past the terrible writing and the large amount fluff to rate it so highly.
What is it that bothered me about this book so much? It seems the author is determined to make the reader understand what these people went through so much that she creates what she thinks they may have been thinking and feeling, which can be fine to a point, but in this case it is too over the top. Its as if she doesn't trust her readers to think for themselves and imagine what may have been going on in the characters heads, so she has to, over and over again, explicitly tell you what everyone is feeling and thinking. Unless she could crawl into these peoples heads, she has no idea. It is a bunch of bull that shouldn't be called non-fiction. She also tends to talk down to her readers to the point of it being insulting. I understand the story is a wonderful one, but it blows my mind that so many readers can look past the terrible writing and the large amount fluff to rate it so highly.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5 stars
[a:Elizabeth Letts|568672|Elizabeth Letts|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1464824500p2/568672.jpg] has deftly woven together a true story of the famous Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, introducing us to the men who worked tirelessly and with incredible dedication to protect and save these incredible animals, highlighting a previously-unknown facet of WW II. It's compiled from first-person accounts, archival material, books and monographs, and supplemented with detailed end notes for those who wish to learn more, or to trace the source.
Setting the stage in the 1936 Summer Olympics, she showed the German drive for supremacy (and even some cheating) which led to an increased obsession with eugenics and breeding the perfect German horse. This is where we meet two of the main characters: Gustav Rau and Alois Podhajsky. Later, we meet the Americans Colonel Hank Reed and Tom Stewart, and the German army vet Rudolf Lessing.
It's filled with fascinating facts, bringing in a short but relevant history of horse breeding as well as the use of horses in war, either as cavalry or within the army itself, but all carefully introduced within the story. War is so despicably wasteful, and this highlights how centuries of culture and heritage can be lost in just a couple of years. Indeed, the thought of the horses growing to recognize air raid sirens, the desperation of the staff trying to rescue Austria's national treasure while hampered by Nazi occupation and fearing the Russian troops, and the images of broodmares and foals walking for miles towards safety brought tears to my eyes at times. I didn't know that Poland used to be famous for its Arabians, and the thought that 80% of them perished during that time... heartbreaking.
Letts shows the years of patient training from men who devoted their entire lives to their horses, their heartbreak at being separated, and yet also how these horses brought together men and women from America, Czechoslovkia, Poland, Austria and Germany in an effort to save them.
The writing itself was somewhat dry in its factual presentation, each sentence patiently plodding away, but it did move steadily, including numerous photographs of both horses and men throughout, and kept my interest the whole time. It felt a lot longer than 384 pages should, though the epilogue and end notes took up about a quarter of the book.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
[a:Elizabeth Letts|568672|Elizabeth Letts|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1464824500p2/568672.jpg] has deftly woven together a true story of the famous Lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, introducing us to the men who worked tirelessly and with incredible dedication to protect and save these incredible animals, highlighting a previously-unknown facet of WW II. It's compiled from first-person accounts, archival material, books and monographs, and supplemented with detailed end notes for those who wish to learn more, or to trace the source.
Setting the stage in the 1936 Summer Olympics, she showed the German drive for supremacy (and even some cheating) which led to an increased obsession with eugenics and breeding the perfect German horse. This is where we meet two of the main characters: Gustav Rau and Alois Podhajsky. Later, we meet the Americans Colonel Hank Reed and Tom Stewart, and the German army vet Rudolf Lessing.
It's filled with fascinating facts, bringing in a short but relevant history of horse breeding as well as the use of horses in war, either as cavalry or within the army itself, but all carefully introduced within the story. War is so despicably wasteful, and this highlights how centuries of culture and heritage can be lost in just a couple of years. Indeed, the thought of the horses growing to recognize air raid sirens, the desperation of the staff trying to rescue Austria's national treasure while hampered by Nazi occupation and fearing the Russian troops, and the images of broodmares and foals walking for miles towards safety brought tears to my eyes at times. I didn't know that Poland used to be famous for its Arabians, and the thought that 80% of them perished during that time... heartbreaking.
Letts shows the years of patient training from men who devoted their entire lives to their horses, their heartbreak at being separated, and yet also how these horses brought together men and women from America, Czechoslovkia, Poland, Austria and Germany in an effort to save them.
The writing itself was somewhat dry in its factual presentation, each sentence patiently plodding away, but it did move steadily, including numerous photographs of both horses and men throughout, and kept my interest the whole time. It felt a lot longer than 384 pages should, though the epilogue and end notes took up about a quarter of the book.
Spoiler
I hated seeing how so many of these treasured horses were lost, some from bombs, some from lack of supplies, or the Red Army's hunger, and still others from a lack of care. Priceless horses just given away because they didn't meet an ideal, or because a governing body didn't see their value at the time. It's such a shame that so many years of breeding was ultimately lost, both in the Polish Arabians and in the Lipizzaners. I was disappointed that the American Jockey Club and their Government not only refused to recognize the pedigree of the "war orphans" but also treated them just like regular assets. (Most people wouldn't equate a purebred horse with old equipment.) I'm sure it would have devastated those who worked so hard to save them, and even the "What became of them" epilogue is bittersweet; only two of those "rescued" to America could be traced.Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
The true WWII story of European horses, among them Thoroughbreds and the amazing Lipizzaners, taken as war prisoners -no other word for it ;) .
The book is written in 4 parts, explaining the horses, the caretakers, The U.S. Army, how the U.S. became involved and an explanation near the ending of where/how they all ended up. It was engrossing, the kind of book I could not put down, This, I might add, was a story I knew nothing about.
It is so sad to realize that we all feel the hurt and loss of humans during war time, and yet how many of us stop to think about what happens to the animals? The sadness of this just ripped me apart. It was a fluke, truly, that the men who rescued these horses were where they were at the time when the horses were near being overtaken by opposing armies.
[author:Elizabeth Letts|568672] research was deep and spot on-I loved this book and highly recommend it.
The book is written in 4 parts, explaining the horses, the caretakers, The U.S. Army, how the U.S. became involved and an explanation near the ending of where/how they all ended up. It was engrossing, the kind of book I could not put down, This, I might add, was a story I knew nothing about.
It is so sad to realize that we all feel the hurt and loss of humans during war time, and yet how many of us stop to think about what happens to the animals? The sadness of this just ripped me apart. It was a fluke, truly, that the men who rescued these horses were where they were at the time when the horses were near being overtaken by opposing armies.
[author:Elizabeth Letts|568672] research was deep and spot on-I loved this book and highly recommend it.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
I had never heard about this, which shocked me because I was very into horses as a kid. Some American soldiers wound up catching a German spy who spilled the beans about some stolen horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. They were determined to save these priceless horses before the Russians came in and slaughtered them for food. This was a really dramatic tale, and I learned a lot about these events. I would recommend this book for both horse lovers and war buffs.
This is one of the most interesting books I've read about World War II. The Kindle version is currently on sale for $2.99.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced