Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Ratings43
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings43
Average rating4.2
Retraces the journey of Seabiscuit, a horse with crooked legs and a pathetic tail that made racing history in 1938, thanks to the efforts of a trainer, owner, and jockey who transformed a bottom-level racehorse into a legend.
Reviews with the most likes.
I haven't seen the film adaptation, so I went into this delightfully blind. I've read (and thoroughly enjoyed) Unbroken, so I knew Hillenbrand can write some phenomenal nonfiction. Seabiscuit is no exception. As a competitive track runner, it was fun to see the parallels between horse racing and people racing that I had never considered before. And the history - so fascinating (if not disturbing) learning about the lifestyles the jockeys lead. Hillenbrand has a knack for creating well-rounded characters of historical figures that makes them so relateable - no doubt why her two bestsellers have gotten movie deals.
But truly, the writing is eqsquisite. I was entirely captivated by the race scenes in particular, and was impressed by how nervous and excited I became reading each one. Hillendbrand has a way of casting a visceral spell on the reader in these moments. I felt like I was on the racetrack, smelling the jockey sweat on a breeze, hearing the furious clopping of hooves, enraptured by the suspense that would build paragraph on paragraph.
I get really bored about halfway through; Ms. Hillenbrand's second book is amazing but this failed to deliver the same narrative suction.
I was told that this book was good even if you don't care that much about horses. Which was true, it's well-written and an interesting story. But when you get right down to it, I still don't care that much about horses.
