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Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura…
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Seabiscuit: An American Legend (edition 2001)

by Laura Hillenbrand

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7,8741551,117 (4.16)302
Biography & Autobiography. History. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:#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.
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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.
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.… (more)
Member:jaelleer
Title:Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Authors:Laura Hillenbrand
Info:Random House (2001), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 399 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:biography, horses, non-fiction, animals

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Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

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English (154)  Spanish (1)  All languages (155)
Showing 1-5 of 154 (next | show all)
This bestseller opened my eyes to horses and horse racing - and to an amazing animal with some human instincts. A little long, but a well told story of an amazing odyssey. The book gave another view of life in the United States from the beginning of the 20th Century to the early 40's.

When I look with dismay at excessive news coverage about entertainers, I am reminded of something I learned at the beginning of this book. With newsmakers like FDR, Winston Churchill, Lou Gehrig, Howard Hughes, Clark Gable, and some bad guys starting to do some bad things in Europe, the subject of the most column inches in newspapers in 1938 was Seabiscuit.

Now that I understand the sport a little better, I'll look at jockeys and other riders in a completely different light. There's not enough money for me to train to be a jockey. ( )
  dlinnen | Feb 3, 2024 |
Very good NF about probably the greatest racehorse ever. Reads like a novel.
  derailer | Jan 25, 2024 |
Seabiscuit: an American Legend is a beautifully written book. The book tells the stories of the horse, Seabiscuit, and the people most close to him: his owner (Charles Howard), trainer (Tom Smith), and primary jockey (Red Pollard). Hillenbrand gives us a lot of detail about their lives, so that we feel like we know them. Her descriptions of their appearance is as vivid and detailed as you would find in a novel. In fact, the book reads like a novel. And the story of Seabiscuit is extraordinary. Short and unimpressive in appearance, he did not have the look of a champion. But with unexpected speed and heart, he was able to win races the experts did not believe that he could. He became wildly popular with the depression-era audiences, who loved his underdog story.

Hillenbrand masterfully recounts the stories of Seabiscuit's most important races, with an especially dramatic telling of the famous match race with War Admiral. We follow the lives of Seabiscuit, his owner, trainer, and jockey through all their ups and downs. This is truly a tale that if someone wrote it as fiction, no one would believe it.

Laura Hillenbrand completed an extraordinary amount of research in order to provide the rich details of the story. I am thankful that she was able to talk to so many who could provide eyewitness details before they were gone. A truly unforgettable book. ( )
  atozgrl | Feb 24, 2023 |
As mentioned in many of the status updates for this book, I had seen the Jeff Bridges film several times so it made sense to read it. To say this is an inspiring story doesn't do it justice. Given the time frame of the story, the risk involved for Charles Howard to dip his toe into horse racing was monumental. But he was no ordinary man nor were his choices. A tight-lipped trainer that was too old, a red headed jockey that was too big, and a race horse nobody wanted. Who would have thought this group would achieve countless records while taking in nearly a half million in winnings? But this is the 1930s which in today's dollars would be billions! Remarkable in all ways, you don't have to be a racing fan or horse lover to enjoy this: I'm not. And like most adaptations, creative liberties are taken to modify story to actors or length. See the movie; read the book! ( )
  Jonathan5 | Feb 20, 2023 |
Great story of famous horse that was given up on, but 3 men, owner, trainer and jockey, got together and made him a great racer. He was a Depression era favorite. Movie not bad too. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
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» Add other authors (6 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Laura Hillenbrandprimary authorall editionscalculated
Davidson, Richard M.Narratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lamberti, NicolettaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Newbern, GeorgeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nutbey, HannekeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Payno, IsabelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Run, MichaelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Nobody lives their life all the way up except bullfighters.
    -- Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
Dedication
For Borden
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In 1938, near the end of a decade of monumental turmoil, the year's number-one-newsmaker was not Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hitler, or Mussolini.
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Wikipedia in English (3)

Biography & Autobiography. History. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:#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.
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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