This was an enjoyable book.

I haven’t seen the recent movie based on this book. I have seen the highly fictionalized 1949 movie The Story of Seabiscuit (with Shirley Temple and Barry Fitzgerald). The race scenes in that movie—often footage of the real Seabiscuit (especially for the race with War Admiral, where Hollywood couldn’t find convincing stand-ins)—are amazing to watch.

And the book has that same “amazing” feel. Just about the time you think “the Biscuit” has events all sewed up, fate rears up and smacks down the horse and his followers. And about the time you think nothing will ever go right for the horse, Seabiscuit makes some incredible effort and pulls off another miracle.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I’m glad I’ve read it. I appreciated the way Hillenbrand made the characters—two-legged and four-legged—come alive for the reader. You can’t read this book and come away feeling that Seabiscuit was a racing automaton. He was a living, breathing, thinking, feeling creature, and you won’t doubt that after you read this book.

Released on Tuesday, November 09, 2004 at about 6:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at Johnnie MacCracken's Celtic Firehouse Pub in Marietta, Georgia USA.

I'm taking this to MeetUp tonight. If it's not picked up by someone tonight, it'll be left on the OBCZ shelves (last room on the right).

Caught at today's (my last...sniff) Cobb Bookcrossers Meet-Up.
Thanks KF-in-Georgia!

In the neighbourhood sharing box, Rue Liotard.