Seabiscuit: An American Legend
by Laura Hillenbrand

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Book Reviews of Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Book Review: Simply Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars

Each had his own obstacles - the jockey's blind eye, the trainer's unorthodox methods, the owner's western roots - and that's not even mentioning the horse. Seabiscuit had even bigger problems. He didn't look like a champion, for starters. And he was raced far too much as a 2-year old, which stunted his progress and made him appear to be a joke to much of the racing establishment.

But once these men began to work with Seabiscuit, it was not long before his true promise came to be realized. Seabiscuit won numerous races, set many track records, and retired as the leading money winner of his time. Not bad for an "also-ran!"

Hillenbrand tells Seabiscuit's story while also managing to give many details about "big picture" stories as well - e.g., life in 1930s America, the trials and tribulations of jockeys, the up-and-down popularity of the sport of horse racing. Telling all of these while keeping the reader not only interested but riveted, Hillenbrand has written an exceptional book.

I did not know the story of Seabiscuit before this book came along; now, I will never forget it! His is one of the great "underdog" stories of all time.

Five stars. Absolutely fantastic!

Summary of Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Seabiscuit rose to prominence with the help of an unlikely triumvirate: owner Charles Howard, an automobile baron who once declared that "the day of the horse is past"; trainer Tom Smith, a man who "had cultivated an almost mystical communication with horses"; and jockey Red Pollard, who was down on his luck when he charmed a then-surly horse with his calm demeanor and a sugar cube. Hillenbrand details the ups and downs of "team Seabiscuit," from early training sessions to record-breaking victories, and from serious injury to "Horse of the Year"--as well as the Biscuit's fabled rivalry with War Admiral. She also describes the world of horseracing in the 1930s, from the snobbery of Eastern journalists regarding Western horses and public fascination with the great thoroughbreds to the jockeys' torturous weight-loss regimens, including saunas in rubber suits, strong purgatives, even tapeworms.

Along the way, Hillenbrand paints wonderful images: tears in Tom Smith's eyes as his hero, legendary trainer James Fitzsimmons, asked to hold Seabiscuit's bridle while the horse was saddled; critically injured Red Pollard, whose chest was crushed in a racing accident a few weeks before, listening to the San Antonio Handicap from his hospital bed, cheering "Get going, Biscuit! Get 'em, you old devil!"; Seabiscuit happily posing for photographers for several minutes on end; other horses refusing to work out with Seabiscuit because he teased and taunted them with his blistering speed.

Though sometimes her prose takes on a distinctly purple hue ("His history had the ethereal quality of hoofprints in windblown snow"; "The California sunlight had the pewter cast of a declining season"), Hillenbrand has crafted a delightful book. Wire to wire, Seabiscuit is a winner. Highly recommended. --Sunny Delaney

20th Century Books

• Subjects > History > Americas > United States > 20th Century
• Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Horses > Racing
• Miscellaneous > History of Sports