Seabiscuit
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Sports
4
(537)
Laura Hillenbrand
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of the runaway phenomenon Unbroken comes a universal underdog story about the horse who came out of nowhere to become a legend.Seabiscuit was one of the most electrifying and popular attractions in sports history and the single biggest newsmaker in the world in 1938, receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler, or Mussolini. But his success was a surprise to the racing establishment, which had written off the crooked-legged racehorse with the sad tail. Three men changed Seabiscuit’s fortunes: Charles Howard was a onetime bicycle repairman who introduced the automobile to the western United States and became an overnight millionaire. When he needed a trainer for his new racehorses, he hired Tom Smith, a mysterious mustang breaker from the Colorado plains. Smith urged Howard to buy Seabiscuit for a bargain-basement price, then hired as his jockey Red Pollard, a failed boxer who was blind in one eye, half-crippled, and prone to quoting passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson. Over four years, these unlikely partners survived a phenomenal run of bad fortune, conspiracy, and severe injury to transform Seabiscuit from a neurotic, pathologically indolent also-ran into an American sports icon.BONUS: This edition contains a Seabiscuit discussion guide and an excerpt from Unbroken.Praise for Seabiscuit “Fascinating . . . Vivid . . . A first-rate piece of storytelling, leaving us not only with a vivid portrait of a horse but a fascinating slice of American history as well.”—The New York Times “Engrossing . . . Fast-moving . . . More than just a horse’s tale, because the humans who owned, trained, and rode Seabiscuit are equally fascinating. . . . [Laura Hillenbrand] shows an extraordinary talent for describing a horse race so vividly that the reader feels like the rider.”—Sports Illustrated “REMARKABLE . . . MEMORABLE . . . JUST AS COMPELLING TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1938.”—The Washington Post
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More Details:
Author
Laura Hillenbrand
Pages
448
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2003-07-01
ISBN
0345467396 9780345467393
Ratings
Google: 4.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"Laura Hillenbrand writes some of the most engaging historical nonfiction around. Seabiscuit makes you care about a race horse even if you've never cared about race horses."
C V
Caitlin V
"I'm going to stick with my opinion that non-fiction is another word for textbook. I was bored the whole time. I rarely not finish books, but this one was a waste of time. I told myself to try to read a fourth of it but I gave up before I got there. I can't do non-fiction. And I couldn't care less about horses, especially if they're named Seabiscuit. I also disliked the movie Black Beauty. That should have been a sign. (Rating: 1 star)<br/><br/>UPDATE: I'm not a quitter. I'm going to finish this book of the devil if it's the last thing I ever do!<br/><br/>UPDATE: I finished it! I'm so darn proud of myself. I didn't want to quit and my sister-in-law appealed to my extremely competitive side when she told me she was going to be the only one not defeated by books. That did it for me.<br/><br/>I still can't believe that after giving the book a chance and getting used to the textbook writing (yes, that opinion hasn't changed) I actually ended up caring a little. Chapter 5 was the chapter than turned it all around for me. I was so interested in how jockeys torture their bodies to make weight and that chapter just spoke to me. Plus, that was when I fell in love with Red Pollard. I think the fact that I even finished the book at all was because I wanted to know more about him. His story was the one that mattered to me, so much that I went back to Chapter 4 and re-read it, as opposed to skimmed it, this time. I feel like I never cared enough about Seabiscuit. Yeah, he was this awesome horse, I guess. But what makes a book for me is the people, and Red Pollard was just the right person to get me through it.<br/><br/>So, I take back my "waste of time" comment. I still don't think it was the best book ever and I doubt I'll read it again, but I liked it enough to finish it. That counts for me."
"Great book about an underdog. Very detail oriented which makes it lengthy but worth it!"
H
Hannah
"I enjoyed this far more than I was expecting to! An excellent non-fiction book. The horse has a personality but is still definitely a horse. Meanwhile, the reader gets a fascinating glimpse into a particular time in history and why Seabiscuit became such a national legend--both due to his own feats but also what he represented to the public. I never saw the movie so I can't compare--but I thoroughly enjoyed the book on its own!"
"2021"
J J
Jennifer Johnson
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