Beautiful Jim Key: The Lost History of the World's Smartest Horse | 
 enlarge | Author: Mim E. Rivas
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 187365
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 006056704X
Dewey Decimal Number: 179.3
EAN: 9780060567040
ASIN: 006056704X
Publication Date: April 1, 2006
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Condition: Good copy with moderate reader wear. May have some blemishes or creases. Orders Shipped in One Business Day! Great Customer Service. Your Satisfaction is Guaranteed!
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Product Description
Beautiful Jim Key -- the one-time ugly duckling of a scrub colt who became one of the most beloved heroes of the turn of the century -- was adored not for his beauty and speed but rather for his remarkable abilities to read, write, spell, do mathematics, even debate politics. Trained with patience and kindness by one of the most renowned horse whisperers of his day -- former slave, Civil War veteran, and self-taught veterinarian Dr. William Key -- Jim performed in expositions across the country to wildly receptive crowds for nine glorious years, smashing box office records, clearing towering hurdles of skepticism and prejudice, and earning the respect and admiration of some of the most influential figures of the era, from Booker T. Washington to President William McKinley. This is the remarkable true saga of a truly exceptional animal -- and the no less exceptional man who led him to greatness.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Beautiful Book September 29, 2008
Am a little shocked to find such harshly negative reviews of the book; this is easily one of the best animal books ever written. Arguably one of America's first media "superstars", Beautiful Jim Key toured the country for many years performing and was a major catalyst for both animal rights and human rights as well. It should also be stressed that the horse's act was minutely scrutinized by reporters and a team of professors from Harvard, who found no secret coaching or cues were given to the horse - he really could do everything it was claimed he could do, although the book only lightly touches on how long and arduous a process teaching him must have been. Any animal lover and/or history buff will fall in love with this book and never want it to end.
 Incredible Nonsense May 1, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Jim Key, the horse who did marvelous stunts like talking, counting, and keeping his owner in money, was a part of daily life in times of the depression when performers, human and otherwise, traveled the countryside from one end of the U. S. to the other to sell products or services to the populace. Jim was owned by a black man in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and was the first talking horse recorded up to that time. He was not a mule. He did not keep people who saw or observed him in stitches, amazement, or wondering how he did the tricks. It was typical carnival fare, and Jim was just a mere horse.
Why he was described as beautiful, I was unable to determine. I've seen many more beautiful with coloring and eyes even in our continuous parades. I take photos of them and so I know of which I speak. Jim was not beautiful, nor unusual. His owner used him to get money from poor people who were brainwashed into thinking he was an unusual animal. His dead body was buried in the countryside outside Shelbyville, home of the Tennessee Walking Horse. If they could not talk and count, they sure could walk funny. Jim was ordinary, but Mark Mayfield (not real last name) was gullible to think this was a special horse. Where'd he grow up, not in Kentucky the home of racing horses.
In My Top 5 October 24, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is in my Top Five to recommend. It was such a great read that I tried not to finish it too fast because I did not want the story to end. It is filled with great background information covering the various World's Fairs to Slavery to the Civil War. It is not just a book about an incredible horse, but of his teacher as well as the mindset of our race and the history being made during that time period. Jim and Bill Keys connection to animal rights were equally facinating. To me this book is in the vein of "The Professor and the Madman" offering an excellent story with welcomed historical information.
 Good Story Ruined by Author May 13, 2006
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
I hate it when an author takes a perfectly good [true] story and ruins it with a lousy writing style filled with too much preaching and garbage that detracts from the story.
The parts about the horse himself and his intelligent abilities were great.
The rest of the book is not worth reading. I just skimmed over those parts.
It was an easy book to put down except when I was reading about the horse himself.
This story would be great had a different author done the writing.
This author, however, was a terrible choice for such a magnificent story.
Incredible Story March 24, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is one of the most amazing and entertaining true stories I've ever read. I couldn't put this book down. It is really two stories in one - the man's adventurous life and the horse's almost unbelievable intelligence.
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