I picked it up one day when it was the only thing on my bookshelf and hardly put it down until I finished it. This book is much, much more than the story of a race horse!
Seabiscuit: An American Legend
If you like the story of an underdog, a story about hard work and persistence, a good biography, a drama, or just a nice story about an animal- you're in luck here. Seabiscuit's author, Laura Hillenbrand, combines the biography of a millionaire and his wife (not the Gilligan's Island kind), the biography of a scrawny, improbably jockey, the biography of an ignored and undervalued trainer, the story of a horse that couldn't win, and a historic novel to create one of my all time favorite books.
When you look at an event in history, it's easy to forget that many lives have to interact to create that one explosive moment. This book is the story of those lives and how they combined to culminate in the explosive moment when a tiny, crooked-legged horse beats a world class racer. And if you don't like horses, you will still easily get enthralled with the life stories of the owners, trainer and jockey that make the horse into what he was.
This story reaches far beyond the world of horse racing and into the culture, lifestyles and stories of people in the 1920s. Hillenbrand tells the story of a jockey's lifestyle and struggles, how a man made his fortune and fell in love with a small, unlikely horse, and how a roughneck Mustang breaker became a champion trainer. She follows the characters lives as well as the horses' racing career.
This is a beautiful book that will have you crying and cheering as you read it. I was kicking my legs and bouncing as I read many of the racing scenes! A very fun, very educational read.
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