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Second-place winner of Barnes & Noble's 2001 Discover Great New Writers Award for Nonfiction
Her 1998 American Heritage article on Seabiscuit won the Eclipse Award for Magazine Writing, the highest journalistic award for Thoroughbred racing.
She served as a consultant on the Universal Pictures movie based on Seabiscuit as well as a PBS documentary on Seabiscuit's life. An alumna of Kenyon College, Laura lives in Washington, D.C.
Author biography courtesy of Random House, Inc.
On an afternoon in 1903, long before the big cars and the ranch and all the money, Howard began his adulthood with only that air of destiny and 21 cents in his pocket. He sat in the swaying belly of a transcontinental train, snaking west from New York. He was twenty-six, handsome, gentlemanly, with a bounding imagination. Back then he had a lot more hair than anyone who knew him later would have guessed. Years in the saddles of military-school horses had taught him to carry his six-foot-one-inch frame straight up. He was eastern born and bred, but he had a westerner's restlessness. He had tried to satisfy it by enlisting in the cavalry for the Spanish-American War, and though he became a skilled horseman, thanks to bad timing and dysentery he never got out of Camp Wheeler in Alabama. After his discharge, he got a job in New York as a bicycle mechanic, took up competitive bicycle racing, got married, and had two sons. It seems to have been a good life, but the East stifled Howard. His mind never seemed to settle down. His ambitions had fixed upon the vast new America on the other side of the Rockies. That day in 1903 he couldn't resist the impulse anymore. He left everything he'd ever known behind, promised his wife Fannie May he'd send for her soon, and got on the train.
He got off in San Francisco. His two dimes and a penny couldn't carry him far, but somehow he begged and borrowed enough money to open a little bicycle-repair shop on Van Ness Avenue downtown. He tinkered with the bikes and waited for something interesting to come his way.
It came in the form of a string of distressed-looking men who began appearing at his door.
Eccentric souls with too much money in their pockets and far too much time on their hands, they had blown thick wads of cash on preposterous machines called automobiles. Some of them were feeling terribly sorry about it.
The horseless carriage was just arriving in San Francisco, and its debut was turning into one of those colorfully unmitigated disasters that bring misery to everyone but historians. Consumers were staying away from the "devilish contraptions" in droves. The men who had invested in them were the subjects of cautionary tales, derision, and a fair measure of public loathing. In San Francisco in 1903, the horse and buggy was not going the way of the horse and buggy.
For good reason. The automobile, so sleekly efficient on paper, was in practice a civic menace, belching out exhaust, kicking up storms of dust, becoming hopelessly mired in the most innocuous-looking puddles, tying up horse traffic, and raising an earsplitting cacophony that sent buggy horses fleeing. Incensed local lawmakers responded with monuments to legislative creativity. The laws of at least one town required automobile drivers to stop, get out, and fire off Roman candles every time horse-drawn vehicles came into view. Massachusetts tried and, fortunately, failed to mandate that cars be equipped with bells that would ring with each revolution of the wheels. In some towns police were authorized to disable passing cars with ropes, chains, wires, and even bullets, so long as they took reasonable care to avoid gunning down the drivers. San Francisco didn't escape the legislative wave. Bitter local officials pushed through an ordinance banning automobiles from the Stanford campus and all tourist areas, effectively exiling them from the city.
Nor were these the only obstacles. The asking price for the cheapest automobile amounted to twice the $500 annual salary of the average citizen‹some cost three times that much‹and all that bought you was four wheels, a body, and an engine. "Accessories" like bumpers, carburetors, and headlights had to be purchased separately. Just starting the thing, through hand cranking, could land a man in traction. With no gas stations, owners had to lug five-gallon fuel cans to local drugstores, filling them for 60 cents a gallon and hoping the pharmacist wouldn't substitute benzene for gasoline. Doctors warned women away from automobiles, fearing slow suffocation in noxious fumes. A few adventurous members of the gentler sex took to wearing ridiculous "windshield hats," watermelon-sized fabric balloons, equipped with little glass windows, that fit over the entire head, leaving ample room for corpulent Victorian coiffures. Navigation was another nightmare. The first of San Francisco's road signs were only just being erected, hammered up by an enterprising insurance underwriter who hoped to win clients by posting directions into the countryside, whose drivers retreated for automobile "picnic parties" held out of the view of angry townsfolk.
Finally, driving itself was something of a touch-and-go pursuit. The first automobiles imported to San Francisco had so little power that they rarely made it up the hills. The grade of Nineteenth Avenue was so daunting for the engines of the day that watching automobiles straining for the top became a local pastime. The automobiles' delicate constitutions and general faintheartedness soon became a source of scorn. One cartoon from the era depicted a wealthy couple standing on a roadside next to its dearly departed vehicle. The caption read, "The Idle Rich."...
| Preface | 11 | |
| Part I | ||
| 1. | The Day of the Horse Is Past | 17 |
| 2. | The Lone Plainsman | 41 |
| 3. | Mean, Restive, and Ragged | 58 |
| 4. | The Cougar and the Iceman | 83 |
| 5. | A Boot on One Foot, a Toe Tag on the Other | 106 |
| 6. | Light and Shadow | 131 |
| Part II | ||
| 7. | Learn Your Horse | 153 |
| 8. | Fifteen Strides | 172 |
| 9. | Gravity | 192 |
| 10. | War Admiral | 212 |
| 11. | No Pollard, No Seabiscuit | 233 |
| 12. | All I Need Is Luck | 258 |
| 13. | Hardball | 277 |
| 14. | The Wise We Boys | 298 |
| 15. | Fortune's Fool | 323 |
| 16. | I Know My Horse | 338 |
| 17. | The Dingbustingest Contest You Ever Clapped an Eye On | 351 |
| 18. | Deal | 366 |
| 19. | The Second Civil War | 384 |
| Part III | ||
| 20. | "All Four of His Legs Are Broken" | 407 |
| 21. | A Long, Hard Pull | 425 |
| 22. | Four Good Legs Between Us | 434 |
| 23. | One Hundred Grand | 452 |
| Epilogue | 467 | |
| Acknowledgments | 484 | |
| Notes | 497 |
THE DAY OF THE HORSE IS PAST
Charles Howard had the feel of a gigantic onrushing machine: You had to either climb on or leap out of the way. He would sweep into a room, working a cigarette in his fingers, and people would trail him like pilot fish. They couldn’t help themselves. Fifty-eight years old in 1935, Howard was a tall, glowing man in a big suit and a very big Buick. But it wasn’t his physical bearing that did it. He lived on a California ranch so huge that a man could take a wrong turn on it and be lost forever, but it wasn’t his circumstances either. Nor was it that he spoke loud or long; the surprise of the man was his understatement, the quiet and kindly intimacy of his acquaintance. What drew people to him was something intangible, an air about him. There was a certain inevitability to Charles Howard, an urgency radiating from him that made people believe that the world was always going to bend to his wishes.
On an afternoon in 1903, long before the big cars and the ranch and all
the money, Howard began his adulthood with only that air of destiny and
21 cents in his pocket. He sat in the swaying belly of a transcontinental
train, snaking west from New York. He was twenty-six, handsome, gentle-manly, with a bounding imagination. Back then he had a lot more hair than
anyone who knew him later would have guessed. Years in the saddles of
military-school horses had taught him to carry his six-foot-one-inch frame
straight up.
He was eastern born and bred, but he had a westerner’s restlessness.
He had tried to satisfy it by enlisting in the cavalry for the Spanish-American War, and though he became a skilledhorseman, thanks to bad
timing and dysentery he never got out of Camp Wheeler in Alabama. After
his discharge, he got a job in New York as a bicycle mechanic, took up
competitive bicycle racing, got married, and had two sons. It seems to have been a good life, but the East stifled Howard. His mind never seemed to
settle down. His ambitions had fixed upon the vast new America on the
other side of the Rockies. That day in 1903 he couldn’t resist the impulse
anymore. He left everything he’d ever known behind, promised his wife
Fannie May he’d send for her soon, and got on the train.
He got off in San Francisco. His two dimes and a penny couldn’t carry
him far, but somehow he begged and borrowed enough money to open a
little bicycle-repair shop on Van Ness Avenue downtown. He tinkered
with the bikes and waited for something interesting to come his way.
It came in the form of a string of distressed-looking men who began appearing at his door. Eccentric souls with too much money in their pockets
and far too much time on their hands, they had blown thick wads of cash
on preposterous machines called automobiles. Some of them were feeling
terribly sorry about it.
The horseless carriage was just arriving in San Francisco, and its debut
was turning into one of those colorfully unmitigated disasters that bring
misery to everyone but historians. Consumers were staying away from the
“devilish contraptions” in droves. The men who had invested in them
were the subjects of cautionary tales, derision, and a fair measure of public loathing. In San Francisco in 1903, the horse and buggy was not going the
way of the horse and buggy.
For good reason. The automobile, so sleekly efficient on paper, was in
practice a civic menace, belching out exhaust, kicking up storms of dust,
becoming hopelessly mired in the most innocuous-looking puddles, tying
up horse traffic, and raising an earsplitting cacophony that sent buggy
horses fleeing. Incensed local lawmakers responded with monuments to
legislative creativity. The laws of at least one town required automobile
drivers to stop, get out, and fire off Roman candles every time horse-drawn vehicles came into view. Massachusetts tried and, fortunately, failed to
mandate that cars be equipped with bells that would ring with each revo-
lution of the wheels. In some towns police were authorized to disable passing cars with ropes, chains, wires, and even bullets, so long as they took
reasonable care to avoid gunning down the drivers. San Francisco didn’t
escape the legislative wave. Bitter local officials pushed through an ordinance banning automobiles from the Stanford campus and all tourist
areas, effectively exiling them from the city.
Nor were these the only obstacles. The asking price for the cheapest
automobile amounted to twice the $500 annual salary of the average citizen— some cost three times that much—and all that bought you was four
wheels, a body, and an engine. “Accessories” like bumpers, carburetors,
and headlights had to be purchased separately. Just starting the thing,
through hand cranking, could land a man in traction. With no gas stations,
owners had to lug five-gallon fuel cans to local drugstores, filling them for
60 cents a gallon and hoping the pharmacist wouldn’t substitute benzene
for gasoline. Doctors warned women away from automobiles, fearing slow
suffocation in noxious fumes. A few adventurous members of the gentler
sex took to wearing ridiculous “windshield hats,” watermelon-sized fabric
balloons, equipped with little glass windows, that fit over the entire head,
leaving ample room for corpulent Victorian coiffures. Navigation was another nightmare. The first of San Francisco’s road signs were only just
being erected, hammered up by an enterprising insurance underwriter
who hoped to win clients by posting directions into the countryside,
whose drivers retreated for automobile “picnic parties” held out of the
view of angry townsfolk.
Finally, driving itself was something of a touch-and-go pursuit. The
first automobiles imported to San Francisco had so little power that they
rarely made it up the hills. The grade of Nineteenth Avenue was so daunting for the engines of the day that watching automobiles straining for the
top became a local pastime. The automobiles’ delicate constitutions and
general faintheartedness soon became a source of scorn. One cartoon from the era depicted a wealthy couple standing on a roadside next to its dearly
departed vehicle. The caption read, “The Idle Rich.”
Where San Franciscans saw an urban nuisance, Charles Howard saw
opportunity. Automobile-repair shops hadn’t been created yet—and
would have made little sense anyway as few were fool enough to buy a car.
Owners had no place to go when their cars expired. A bicycle repairman
was the closest thing to an auto mechanic available, and Howard’s shop
was conveniently close to the neighborhoods of wealthy car owners.
Howard hadn’t been in town long before the owners began showing up on
his doorstep.
Howard had a weakness for lost causes. He accepted the challenge,
poked around in the cars, and figured out how to fix them. Soon he was
showing up at the primitive automobile races held around the city. Before
long, he was driving in them. The first American race, run around
Evanston, Illinois, had been held only eight years before, with the winning
car ripping along at the dizzying average speed of seven and a half miles
per hour. But by 1903, automotive horsepower had greatly improved—
one car averaged 65.3 mph in a cross-European race that season—making
the races a good spectacle. It also made for astronomical casualty rates.
The European race, for one, turned into such a godawful bloodletting that
it was ultimately halted due to “too many fatalities.”
Howard was beginning to see these contraptions as the instrument of
his ambition. Taking an audacious step, he booked a train east, got off in
Detroit, and somehow talked his way into a meeting with Will Durant,
chief of Buick Automobiles and future founder of General Motors.
Howard told Durant that he wanted to be a part of the industry, troubled
though it was. Durant liked what he saw and hired him to set up dealerships
and recruit dealers. Howard returned to San Francisco, opened the
Pioneer Motor Company on Buick’s behalf, and hired a local man to manage
it. But on a checkup visit, he was dismayed to find that the manager
was focusing his sales effort not on Buicks but on ponderous Thomas Flyers. Howard went back to Detroit and told Durant that he could do better.
Durant was sold. Howard walked away with the Buick franchise for all of
San Francisco. It was 1905, and he was just twenty-eight years old.
Howard returned to San Francisco by train with three Buicks in tow.
By some accounts, he first housed his automobiles in the parlor of his old
bicycle-repair shop on Van Ness Avenue before moving to a modest building
on Golden Gate Avenue, half a block from Van Ness. He brought Fannie
May out to join him. With two young boys to feed, and two more soon
to follow, Fannie May must have been alarmed by her husband’s career
choice. Two years had done little to pacify the San Franciscan hostility for
the automobile. Howard failed to sell a single car.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
1. Seabiscuit grew so popular as a cultural icon that in 1938, he commanded
more space in American newspapers than any other public
figure. Considering the temper of the times as well as the horse’s
early career on the racetrack, what were the sources of The Biscuit’s
enormous popularity during that benchmark period of U.S. history?
Would he be as popular if he raced today? What did the public need
that it found in this horse?
2. The Great Match Race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral in 1938
evoked heated partisan passions. These passions spilled over on
radio and into the daily prints, with each colt leading a raucous
legion of followers to the barrier at Pimlico Race Course that autumn
day. What were the differences separating these two horses, and
what did each competitor represent in the American experience that
set one apart from the other?
3. All jockeys in the 1930s endured terrible hardships and hazards,
starving themselves to make weight, then competing in an exceptionally
dangerous sport. For George Woolf and Red Pollard, there
were additional factors that compounded the difficulties and dangers
of their jobs—diabetes for the former and half-blindness for the
latter. Why, in spite of this, did they go on with their careers? What
were the allures of race riding that led them to subject themselves to
such risk and torment?
4. What was the role of the press and radio in the Seabiscuit phenomenon?
How did Howard use the media to his advantage? How did
the media help Seabiscuit’s career, and how was it a hindrance?
5. Seabiscuit possessed all the qualities forwhich the Thoroughbred
has been prized since the English imported the breed’s three foundation
sires from the Middle East three hundred years ago. What
were those qualities? What made this horse a winner?
6. Horses of Seabiscuit’s stature, from Man o’ War in the 1920s to
Cigar in the 1990s, have always generated a powerful gravitational
field of their own, attracting crowds of people into their immediate
orbit, shaping relationships among them, and even affecting the
personalities of those nearest them. How did Seabiscuit shape and
influence the lives of those around him?
7. Red Pollard, Tom Smith, and Charles Howard formed an unlikely
partnership. In what ways were these men different? How did their
differences serve as an asset to them?
8. What critical attribute did Howard, Smith, and Pollard share? How
did this shared attribute serve as a key to their success?
9. In what ways was each man in the Seabiscuit partnership similar, in
his own way, to Seabiscuit himself? How did these similarities help
them cultivate the horse’s talents and cure his ailments and neuroses?
10. What lessons can be drawn from the successes of the Seabiscuit
team? What does their story say about the role of character in life?
Anonymous
Posted March 23, 2009
I happened upon this book by mere coincidence and only read it to get in the good graces of my English teacher who was unleashing a vicious wrath on those who disagreed with her book choices. She handed it to me with high reccomendations. With my gradess at stake, I struggled to maintain focus during the first few pages of interminable facts, but soon fell in love with the gripping tale of a quiet trainer, a garralous owner, and horse with both character and a huge heart.
You don't need to be an animal lover to enjoy this enthralling tale though it helps.
While this reccomendation may not have moved you, I hope that you will give this wonderful book a chance as my ability in writing reviews, this being my first, does not in any way reflect the ability of Laura Hillenbrand's amazing story telling ability.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 29, 2009
I will admit, I saw the movie first. However, this only made me enjoy the book more, for it is the amazing detail with which the author brings to life the story of Seabiscuit that makes it such a wonderful read. Yes, I cried. And I was in shock at reading of the horrors the jockeys would inflict upon themselves. Absorbing, wonderful...just wonderful. Some of the best written non-fiction out there.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 25, 2011
It is good not the best ever, but it is interesting if you like history about race horses
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 4, 2011
A really great book. No where close to a childrens book despite the serious cuss words and grusom visual images that are printed in your mind. TAKE THIS ADVICE BECAUSE I AM A CHILD HORSE LOVER, but anyway,great book!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 4, 2012
The truly awesome story of an amazing horse with some of the most intense racing scenes I've ever read. Also the story of the owner, Howard; the trainer, Tom Smith; and the jockey, Red Pollard - all odd balls in their own way. Very moving. Loved it.
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Posted January 22, 2012
I am reading this book now. It is a good book. I am 11 so i skip the cuss words. This is a great book. I want to see the movie. We are tring to find it. It is oone of my fav books. Love it. Go seabiscut. Go seabiscut. I love hores. They are neet animals. I want to have a hores. P.S i love race hores. Like seabiscut, and secratarit ( Red ).
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Posted January 5, 2012
Its a great movie an awesome cause this lil tiny horse who has all the right jeans and the parents are amazing horses and no body ever gave seabiscut a chance all he needed was a chance everyone and everything deserves a second chance :) ;) =~) =•) =-)
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Posted December 26, 2011
A very emotional novel with great description.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 24, 2011
I loved Unbroken and read that first. I decided to go ahead and read this story even though it isn't my usual type of book. Wow. This book was just as good as Unbroken which is high praise. I cannot wait to see what her next project will be...
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This was an inspiring book of the will, perseverance, heart and determination of a magnificent horse and the three man whose lives revolved around him during Depression-era America. It's a great book for anyone, not just horse-people. I found myself rooting for Seasbiscuit even when it seemed like he couldn't do it. My heart raced alongside Seabiscuit. The feats of this brave little horse and his fearless jockey were so incredible and unbelievable, and they earned a place in my heart
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.7251982
Posted October 14, 2011
After reading Unbroken, I was anxious to read another of Laura Hillenbrands books. Wasn't sure if I would enjoy it as much, but Seabiscuit was fabulous! I hated for it to end. The characters were well developed as were the racing events. Highly recommed it! Ms. Hillenbrand is a exceptionally gifted author. I pray that she will be able to bless us with more of her literary talents. Thank You Laura!
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Posted September 20, 2011
I absolutely loved this book. First because it's true history and a story of an "underdog" so to speak who won. The movie is also great, but you will get more details by reading the book.
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Posted September 16, 2011
Over the summer i was forced to do a reading assignment. I have a passion for horses so I thought why not!? The first chapter tended to move a little slowely but then it started to pick up! I started to fall in love with the confident horse,the quiet yet clever trainer and the brave owners. The horse is doubted throughout the whole book, but yet swarmed by press every second of the day. It cunning trainer hides his secret practices and when it is time for the race the horse shines and every person in the crowd is blown away! Seabiscuit wins many races, wins a lot of money, and breaks many records. This book is inspirational and a magnificent tale all around and I reccomend to all!
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Posted September 11, 2011
Almost everyone knows the story of Seabiscuit, a lazy little horse that had a rough start to life and a fantastic finish. The horse that every American was mesmerized with 1938 as he blazed through track records across the country. He taught us that no matter how tough your life is and how difficult the times may be, if you put your mind to it you can pull through it and amaze everyone as you do so. Hillenbrand told the story of Seabiscuit so well that I enjoyed reading it, and I never, ever, read books like this no matter who, or what it's about. The way she described things made you think that she was the jockey, and the trainer, and the owner. She didn't only focus on the horse, but also on the people who helped through the tough times. I didn't like how sometimes it seemed she'd get stuck on a subject but that was about it in the way of things I didn't like. If you like horses and reading about true underdogs that rose to do great things, this is a book for you. As I rarely read non-fiction books, I don't know any other books written by her other than the one listed on the cover, Unbroken, and if that book is written anything like this one, I'd give it a shot. Overall, I think this is a well written book and I LOVED it!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Seabiscuit is an amazing story that touches you heart. I read this story for my English class and I have to say that it was a little slow at the beginning while the author was setting up the story and all the characters, but after everyone was put together the book took off. The way Laura Hillenbrand described the races made my heart pound the anticipation and want to read more. The tragedies that the characters in the book went through were unbelievable. From deaths of loved ones to almost death themselves, what they were put through and with the situations they went through they managed to make a mark in American history. It shows how strong these people and horses were. This book is a truly breathtaking story that everyone should read. and you do not have to be an animal lover to enjoy this spectacular book.
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Posted September 11, 2011
I read the book Seabiscuit , It is about how a horse who was breed from two of the best racing horses in that time period and how he came out the as this short horse who couldn't run and wanted to sleep all day. A jockey who was given up as a child and all he wanted to do was race horses but he always lost, he turned to fighting as a way to get money. A man who fixed cars and had his son die in a car accident, he didn't think he could be happy again. A trainer who was weird in his own ways for example he was able to fix horses and "talk to them". When Charles Howard, Tom smith, Pollard, and Seabiscuit came together they showed America that if you work hard at something you can win it even if you're the under dogs. I liked that the book gave people a message the under dogs can win, what I didn't like about the book is how they switched a lot between the characters and at different time periods. The people who should read this is horse lovers it is a great book even though it is a little slow at times it is a American legend that everyone should know. Some big messages and themes are basically that if you work for something even if your poor and sleeping in horse stalls that if you love something and work for it you can win but you can't give up. Pollard was in the hospital multiple times but he never gave up even in a body cast he wanted to ride biscuit. I would rate this with 4 stars, It is a great book and anyone who loves horses should read the American legend of Seabiscuit.
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Posted September 11, 2011
In Laura Hillenbrand's heartening tale one horse lifts the country as he races to unlikely victories. The novel tells the tale of Seabiscuit, a doubted horse that despite all of his setbacks, rises and becomes, arguably, the best race horse of the century. All adding a dash of depth, Hillenbrand, connects us to the characters of, Tom Smith the quiet and wise trainer, Red Pollard the blind battered jockey, and the owner; a charming self made man, Charles Howard. It is inevitable the personal connection made with all the characters, but the connection to Seabiscuit even makes non-horse lovers fall in love with his comedic and stubborn personality. Hillenbrand brilliantly intertwines the hardships and poverty of the country with the main theme of perseverance to overcome. Using imagery, Hillenbrand, portrays the toll that racing had on not only Seabiscuit, but also his main jockey Red. As the horse and jockey became more beaten throughout the story their importance, perseverance, and unbreakable bond only grew greater. The novel also yields the message of teamwork and the importance of taking risks. As the economy crashed Howard's growing business as a car repairman halted and he, like so many other Americans, questioned what to do. Following his interest in the dying sport of horse racing he purchased Seabiscuit, the son of Hardtack (a miraculous race horse). With the combination of Seabiscuit, Red Pollard, and Tom Smith, Charles Howard hoped victory would proceed. Working as a team the unlikely horse rose to greatness, demonstrating that risks and hard work are essential to the success of any feat large or small. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, with the exception of the small portion of dry writing in the beginning, and I would indefinitely recommend this book to someone. It tells an uplifting and touching story of perseverance, relationships, and victory, that anyone would enjoy reading. Other inspirational novels such as Secretariat and Man O' War would be great additional reads to Seabiscuit. In 1938 every stride Seabiscuit made towards victory captured the hearts of Americans and now through every page of this novel he is capturing more.
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Posted September 11, 2011
A wonderful novel of the underdog story of the exhilarating and intense life of Seabiscuit as he ran his way to the top of the charts and a place in American history. Along with the miraculous tale of Seabiscuit, the story is about three very different yet audacious men. The three men, being a taciturn trainer, Howard the owner, and Seabiscuits jockey are as much of the book as the Seabiscuit himself. The book goes through each step of Seabiscuits, his owner, trainer, and jockeys life with a plethora of facts. That is one reason I liked the book, with multiple differing characters things stayed interesting. Charging through adversity and tremendous obstacles, the scraggly and miss-shaped colt named Seabiscuit was brought under Tom Smiths training to be made into a phenomenal record holder. The book tells of the many wins and triumphs, and the very few defeats against the legend know as the Biscuit. I would highly recommend this book because the reader doesn't have to know a single thing about horses to love the skillfully and well researched writing by Hillenbrand. I like the book because the vivid and descriptive writing brings the horses tale to life and enthralls the reader. When reading the book I felt like I knew the characters more personally after each chapter and event in their life. It was easy to form a connection with all the characters and was interesting how you got a different look at the events through each characters eyes. The theme of determination and talent shines through in the life of Seabiscuit, inspiring readers even if they are not horse racing fans. Along with determination, character development is another theme present. All three men, and one horse developed and grew together as their stardom spiraled into superstardom and practically celebrities. The only dislike I had was, at points, the book became a little like a textbook with just listing facts. The few dry textbook like parts were short lived, and followed up by more rich crafty writing. Hillenbrand has done her research well and the book provides entertainment and also has a great number of historical facts. I would recommend this to any reader of any age. One of my favorite books I have read in the past few years.
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Posted September 10, 2011
Laura Hillenbrand has done an amazing feat with her novel, Seabiscuit, by writing a non-fiction book that reads like a story. Most would think fact after fact gets repetitive and downright boring, but Hillenbrand brings it all together and turns it into a wonderful story revolving around a 'cowpony' named Seabicuit, an accomplished owner, a stern trainer, and a reckless jockey. It tells an incredible story about how man and animal overcome great hurdles to achieve their goals.
Seabicuit, is a story of a racehorse that shouldn't have been able to win and then won it all. In 1938, he was the biggest newsmaker, and captured the minds and hearts of Americans across the country. People would jam the streets and stands just to see him race across a track and would hide in the rafters of nearby buildings to see him practice late at night. It doesn't only explain the riveting tale of his winnings but of the struggles of the men that made him. She tells the story of, Charles Howard, an ex-automobile seller, later becoming a pushy and caring owner; Tom Smith, a quiet and collective horse breaker, that avoided the press at all costs; and, Red Pollard, a partially blind but determined jockey. These three men bought a horse with an indolent attitude and turned him into a winner.
Hillenbrand also has an amazing talent for writing so you have no chance but form an emotional attachment to each character. She puts you in the shoes of a jockey and teaches us a thing or two about racing and its people with obsessive betting habits. The history has already been written so the reader starts out knowing the tale must end for the wonderful characters, and when the end does come, she gives it to us straight and doesn't skip out on the details. She does wonderful on bringing the past to the present.
A major theme through the entire novel is belief in oneself and your goals. Even though Seabiscuit was indeed a horse, he did believe in his gift and most of the time gave everything he had. Seabicuit was notorious for staring into the eyes of his competitors and intimidating them. He would ride right along side other racers and tease them, trying to get them to play his games, and most the time to his advantage. For many, Seabiscuit became a hero to people who thought they couldn't achieve their goals and this is why many fell in love with his belief and the belief of his companions, which Hillenbrand portrays fantastically. If you enjoyed Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand or Secretariat by William Nack, then you will enjoy this highly rated novel.
6933986
Posted July 8, 2011
Excellent! LH is in my top 3 favorite authors. Unbroken was fantastic also! Would love to know what she is working on for her next piece.
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Overview
BONUS: This edition contains a Seabiscuit discussion guide and an excerpt from Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken.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 ...