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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
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: NEW - COLLECTIBLE. First Edition, First Printing. BRAND NEW & COLLECTIBLE, showing a whisper of margin discoloration. First Edition, First Printing. Outstanding biography of racehorse Seabiscuit (1933 - 1947), who, despite odds of inauspicious beginnings and handicapped by being short on physical endowment, galloped to championship. His fantastic and improbable successes made him the natural American symbol of hope of all underdogs from the 1930s though 1940s during the Great Depression. Hillenbrand's elegant narrative was adapted to film 2003 and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Lives of his bike repair man and car salesman owner Charles Howard, reclusive trainer Tom Smith, and down-on-his-luck jockey Red Pollard added to Seabiscuit's mystique, drawing multitudes of devoted fans to every race. A wonderous chapter in the often corrupt world of horse racing and dire economic hardships. Seller Inventory # 015169
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 0449005615
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