Seabiscuit: An American Legend

4.6 | 4,461 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 08-22-2024

About this item

Number-one New York Times best seller

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.

“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)

Judy

This book is very interesting and well researched. I think it is a keeper.

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2024

The story of the horse and his handlers is very inspiring. Also, the extreme hazards of horse racing during the Great Depression years are revealed in all their very ugly details. I learned a lot about raining horses as well as horse racing in general! I think that it is very important to remember our history. This book helps us recall a very difficult period in American history with the theme of horse racing and training at the center of it all. By the way, I also bought the film which is very beautiful.

Amazon CustomerJoanne

Tears to my eyes

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2024

Great writer and wonderful story. Learned so much about racing and man and animal communication. Inspiring story of endurance and positivity

MwM NZ

A truly great read

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2020

I won't repeat what others have said, it's an excellent read. I would've given it 5 stars if early in the book the great horse Phar Lap wasn't referenced as the best Australian horse when it was actually a New Zealand horse. Nothing irks us kiwis more. Toward the end of the book there is a section on Phar Lap which acknowledges he was born in NZ and became one of Australasia's greatest horses. So a correction of sorts!

Kevin F. Kiley

'Come on Dover, Move Your Bloomin' ...!!!

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2003

I just found out about this absolutely magnificent book last month. I was channel surfing, and ran across the Laura Hillebrand interview on C-Span. I was immediately mesmerized by the name 'Seabiscuit' and listened intently to the story of how the book was done, saw the Seabiscuit memorabilia Miss Hillebrand brought to the interview, and was fascinated with the facts of the horse himself, what he did, and how it came about. I immediately ordered the book.
It is a fascinating story of the little horse that could, his rich owner, the extraordinary man who trained him, and who could talk to horses, and the tragic, magnificent jockeys who rode him in his famous races. All I could say when I finished the book was, 'What a horse!'
It is a story straight out of Hollywood, but this is the real thing. As unlikely a partnership that ever was found the soon-to-be-great horse, bought him, trained, him, rode him, and loved that stellar animal that mesmerized Depression-ridden America in the mid-to-late thirties. No matter what others may say, there was only one Seabiscuit, and there is only one book to get on him-this one. He may have been the greatest race horse the United States ever produced, bar none.
The author is a magnificent story-teller. Except in Dick Francis novels (and he was a jockey) I have never read the stride-for-stride descriptions of horse races that the author here discribes. You actually hold your breath as you read the passages, and you end up reading them so fast to see who wins, you have to go back and reread them so as not to miss anything. Miss Hillebrand is one of the three best authors I have ever read, and she has captured the spirit of her horse, those who were closest to him, and the spirit of the times in this very well-done book. I certainly hope she continues to write, and I will look forward to her next effort with great anticipation. This is one of the best books of this or any other year.
This is one of the great horse stories of all time, and if you don't read it, you are missing out on both a literary treat, a great American saga, and a first-rate read that is impossible to put down. If you love horses and stories about them, or just love a great read, this is the book for you. It deserves the Pulitzer.

Sandy D.

Great story

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2024

Definitely differs from the movie. The book is great. Highly recommend.

Amazon Customer

a horse lover’s book

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024

Such a beautiful story of an amazing yet ordinary horse and the people who loved him. Moving. And it’s true

IAB

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2024

This is an exciting and fast paced story about the early days of horse racing. The story of this amazing little horse and the people who had so much faith in him is very moving. I’ve known the story of Seabiscuit for a long time and have seen the movie, but this telling by Laura Hillenbrand brings so much more to life. If you haven’t read this book about Seabiscuit you probably don’t know all that went into bring him into the world of racing and the hearts of millions of fans.

Charlomer

ONE THRILLING RIDE FROM BEGINNING TO END

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2005

I'm one of those racing fans that the tracks just hate. I love watching the beauty of the horses running, & then I worry about the horses that don't win. I never bet or get into the money or snobbery aspect of racing which is probably why I saw the movie & didn't bother to read the book until recently. I liked the movie, but I purely LOVED the book! It was one of those books that you try to stretch out as long as you can, yet you can't wait to get back to reading, & then miss it like heck when you do finish.

For starters, Laura Hillenbrand's writing is remarkable. Even though I thought I knew the story-and there was so much more to it-it still held my attention from the very first page to the last. Her choice of words was particularly descriptive. The train didn't puff into the station; it groaned. In the match race between Seabiscuit & War Admiral, War Admiral "scratched & tore at the track" & Seabiscuit "drove over the track, his forelegs pulling the homestretch under his body & flinging it back behind him." These are perfect action words. Her description of trainer, Tom Smith is pure poetry: "He had a colorless translucence about him that made him seem as if he were in the earliest stages of progressive invisibility." Reading the author's descriptions of the races isn't like watching the race. It is more like viewing it from the back of the horse, & all the excitement is that much more heightened.

"Seabiscuit" engages your heart from the start--for the characters & certainly for the horses. And when Red Pollard is severely hurt-which he is again & again, when Seabiscuit is injured at Santa Anita while under George Woolf & later when Woolf is killed, your heart your heart cries. Many times I had to remind myself that these events were unfolding more than 60 years ago because Hillenbrand makes them seem so immediate. Last, but certainly not least, is the inspiration of the story. What was it that made Red Pollard get back on a horse after nearly dying twice. (I do wish she had mentioned what happened to Modern Youth, the horse Red was thrown from in the barn.) Where did they get the stamina to continue? Whenever I think I can't go on, I'll think of these people. Some reviewers say even those who aren't into horse racing will like this book. I'm not sure I agree, but reading this book might just make a racing fan out of you.

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