By far the premier jewel of this triple crown of historical tale telling is Laura Hillenbrand's best seller Seabiscuit: An American Legend. Rarely does a true story containing all the elements of best selling fiction fall into the hands of someone who excels as both a writer and a historian. Hillenbrand the historian uses personal interviews, official track chart books, racing histories, newspaper stories, and magazine articles to write an accurate and fascinating story. As for Hillenbrand the writer, the reader knows from the last sentence of the short preface -- "It began with a young man on a train, pushing west." -- that this 400 page journey will be something special.
Laura Hillenbrand also knows horses and horse racing. She skillfully educates the reader about the sport of kings (the squeamish may want to avoid the chapter on the hazardous life Depression era jockeys), while telling a warm human tale of three men and a horse. Hillenbrand traces her main characters' separate biographies to a convergence in 1936: the successful businessman-owner Charles Howard, the journeyman trainer Tom Smith, the hard-luck jockey Red Pollard, and the woebegone horse, Seabiscuit, who would join their fates together on a whirlwind ride into American legend.
The documentary Seabiscuit is another winner from a long line of thoroughbred documentaries out of PBS and the American Experience series. This version of Seabiscuit's story clocks in at a fast sixty minutes. The documentary's archival footage presents the viewer with raw realities. We can only wince at seeing Pollard thrown from his mount, Fair Knightess, an accident that crushed his chest and would have crushed the riding career of a less determined man. The viewer also sees Seabiscuit's incredible speed along with all his "faults" -- the crooked legs, the eggbeater gait, the short blunt body -- as this son of Man o' War, charges down the stretch in some of the most exciting races ever run.
Appearing on camera with personal comments are Pollard's daughter Norah Christianson, former jockey Farrell Jones, writer Gene Smith, sportscaster Jack Whitaker, and the documentary's senior creative consultant Laura Hillenbrand. Scott Glenn does the narration and his words are backed by period music -- Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman swing and Bing Crosby sings popular tunes of the late '30s. The documentary Seabiscuit is well done from the starting gate to the finish line.
The final leg of this entertainment triple crown is
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Earl Rickard's U.S. History 1929-1945 topic, please visit the Discussions page.