| |  | Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Publisher: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
Category: Book
Buy Used: $32.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  635 reviews
Sales Rank: 2051042
Media: Turtleback
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0606290087
Dewey Decimal Number: 798.400929
EAN: 9780606290081
ASIN: 0606290087
Publication Date: August 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: hardcover and dust jacket in good condition
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| Customer Reviews:
 Seabiscuit Review February 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a true American legend at its best. "Seabiscuit" was written by Laura Hillenbrand based on a true story of one horse and jockey's incredible life. This biography is set in the 1930's and 1940's and takes you on a journey with someone and something that no one believed in until they were given a chance to prove themselves. The perseverance of these two characters is admirable; they never give up, no matter what. The jockey, John Pollard, was struggling in life until given the shot to show he was more than just an average jockey. Seabiscuit, on the other hand, is my favorite character; he never accepts the possibility of losing. Pollard and Seabiscuit's relationship started when trainer Tom Smith paired them together out on the racetrack. I love that they were given a chance to prove everyone wrong by winning race after race with odds stacked against them; both had been injured numerous times. Read about how they smashed people's disbelief and made history, performing one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports. The theme of "never giving up no matter what" would most likely interest people who enjoy sports novels. "Seabiscuit" is truly the greatest sports story of all time.
It's a winner January 31, 2008
This narrative leaps out of the first paragraph in the same way Seabiscuit learns to bolt from the starting gate. From the start, Laura Hillenbrand draws the reader into the story with colorful, taut writing. There are no meaningless side stories in this book - each detail weaves itself back into the tale of a horse who beat the odds to become one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
This story is gripping even if you have no interest in horseracing.
Ecxellent Read !! January 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved this book !! It made me feel as though I was there watching the drama unfold as the unknown underestimated horse rose to champion status. The characters are real and the story is built piece by piece. If you like rooting for the underdog and enjoy the thrill of competition, this book is for you. The large print of this edition was easy on the eyes as well.
Seabiscuit won my heart December 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book follows the life of Seabiscuit, an incredible racehorse in the 1930's, and the three men who were entwined in his life: live-wire owner Charles Howard, taciturn trainer Tom Smith, and reckless jockey Red Pollard. WOW. This is an amazing book. I read it because I had watched the movie and loved it, but I wasn't thinking I would actually enjoy the book. I felt obligated to read it. Well, it's probably my favorite book to read this year. The author sets up each character carefully, going back to the man's birth, or further back, and the reader really gets a sense of what drives each person. The character development for "the Biscuit" is truly great, as well. His personality really shines, and I wish I could have met him! Her insertion of anecdotes is masterful, as well. The era (the Depression), the nation's mindset, the men who loved Seabiscuit, the means jockeys undertook to maintain racing weight are all described and explained wonderfully, without the author ever becoming pedantic or talking down to us folks who don't know racing. One doesn't have to be a "race person" or a "horse person" to enjoy this beautifully crafted book. The rave reviews are well-deserved. It's the story of underdogs achieving great things. It was an exhilarating and enthralling read; better than any fiction I read this year. After reading this, I would read anything this author put out.
Seabiscuit: The Little Horse With a Big Heart December 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In her story of Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand has opened a unique window into the world of horse racing. The main characters are a quiet horse trainer named Tom Smith, the flamboyant horse owner Charles Howard, a horse named Seabiscuit and jockey's Red Pollard and George Woolf.
The owner and trainer first hooked up at the Aqua Caliente Race Track in Mexico. Smith and Howard were as opposite as night and day, but they made accommodations for each other's differences and their relationship flourished. Once Smith worked the stable's horses into racing condition they moved the operation north to Santa Anita and into Barn #38.
Their first season together was successful and near the end of the Santa Anita season Howard decided to move his stable to a small track in Michigan called the Detroit Fairgrounds. Smith was sent farther east to look for some mature horses to augment their juvenile stable. On June 29th at Boston's Suffolk Downs a horse stopped in front of Tom Smith and for a long moment the two eyed one another. Fate? The horse continued in the post parade, but Seabiscuit had gotten Smith's attention. It wasn't his build, he had a rectangular body with short legs, but Smith looked at the program and saw that the horse was a descendent of the great Man O' War and was sired by Hard Tack. Seabiscuit reflected none of the beauty and breadth of his forebears.
All of Mam O' War's descendents had something in common - they were all nasty, mean and unruly in one-way or another. Seabiscuit was no exception.
Tom Smith wanted that horse and Charles Howard made arrangements. Seabiscuit was taken to the Howard barn, but the former owners had worn the horse out. Seabiscuit was exhausted from a hard racing campaign. The horse was only three years old and had already run as many races as most horses would accumulate in a full career. What Tom Smith wanted was time to rest the horse, and give himself a chance to figure out the horses problems and how best to deal with them. Seabiscuit had been abused by a number of jockey's and it would take some time to turn the horse's attitude around.
Jockey's Red Pollard and George Woolf showed up at the right time and became the two main riders for Seabiscuit. They were friends and great competitors. They also had their own physical problems to deal with. Red Pollard had but one eye and George Woolf was diabetic.
In November of 1936 Howard's stable of horses were in the San Francisco Bay area of California, the idea was to enter Seabiscuit in the Santa Anita handicap on February 27th of the next year.
Tom Smith had finally found a way to settle the horse down and got Seabiscuit interested in what he was born to do - run. They ran him in two prep races at Bay Meadows and won them both. Red Pollard was aboard in both wins. Then it was on to Southern California for two more prep races prior to the Santa Anita Handicap.
The big cap was run before 60, 000 raucous and cheering race fans. Pollard rode a perfect race weaving his way through the field and got the lead in the stretch - but the jockey let the horse relax around the eighth pole. No one knows for sure, but chances are due to Pollard's right blind eye he probably didn't see Rosemont flying down the middle of the track. Seabiscuit was overtaken and couldn't regain the momentum to win. He lost in a photo finish but won the hearts of Americans all over the depression-plagued land. There was something about that little horse that gave hope to millions who had little more than hope to cling to during those hard times.
The little horse with a big heart gave them that. Seabiscuit became a legend, not because he won all of his races, he didn't, but because of the mystique that grew out of the horses will to win, the odd owner trainer combination and two less than perfect jockey's Red Pollard and George Woolf.
Hillenbrand has fashioned a great horse story and readers will come away with knowledge they could have only learned from a legend.
Tom Barnes author of:
"Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone"
"The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle"
"The Goring Collection."
Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone: The Life and Times of John Henry Holliday
The Hurricane Hunters And Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
The Goring Collection
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