BOOK NOTES by Joan Ruddiman
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‘Seabiscuit: An American Legend’ comes to the screen
The national best seller "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand is soon to be a major motion picture starring Toby McGuire. The early buzz is that it is a winner like the horse and great book he inspired. However, in case the movie doesn’t do the subject justice, be sure to read the book that really does capture the spirit of this remarkable horse and his handlers.
"Seabiscuit" the book did for Ms. Hillenbrand what Seabiscuit the horse did for a trio of men. What could have been just an historical narrative appealing to a select audience vaulted to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list, winning accolades from admiring critics and awed readers. Seabiscuit the horse also had limited appeal he looked more like a cowpony than a thoroughbred but became the hero of the nation and truly "An American Legend."
Aficionados of horses and horse racing know the story. Seabiscuit won major races well into his adult years, including beating decisively the magnificent Triple Crown winner War Admiral in a race still considered by many to be "the greatest horse race ever run," according to Ms. Hillenbrand.
She would know. Ms. Hillenbrand is a "turf writer." For over a decade, she has been a contributing writer and editor for Equus magazine and has written for The New York Times, American Heritage and a variety of sports and horse publications. She’s won the Eclipse Award twice the highest journalistic award in thoroughbred racing. She is more than capable of conveying the culture of the track. What sets this book apart is Ms. Hillenbrand’s style. She is an elegant, absolutely superb writer.
Ms. Hillenbrand brings alive the story of three men and one amazing animal. None were much of anything singularly but together they forged a legend. Charles Howard, the owner, had money. Ms. Hillenbrand begins with his self-made millionaire tale. Though a successful man, Seabiscuit brought Mr. Howard the fame he craved. Tom Smith, the trainer, and Red Pollard, the jockey, were nobodies race track transients in a sea of throwaway nobodies. Mr. Smith, a true horse whisperer, was finally recognized as a brilliant horseman when he turned a knock-kneed plug into a promising thoroughbred. For Mr. Pollard, Seabiscuit was the only success of his long, tragic career.
Ms. Hillenbrand’s careful and extensive research immerses the reader in the emotions of these personalities the horse as much as the men creating an "edge-of-your-seat" intensity. Though the book is classified as history, Ms. Hillenbrand provides what historians and journalists expect with comprehensive notes and index. What Ms. Hillenbrand the raconteur delivers is an analysis of the details that reveals the story behind the headlines.
Seabiscuit the name is a clever synonym for his sire Hard Tack is a delightful character. As pleasant as Hard Tack was miserable, Seabiscuit was an uncommon thoroughbred, and not just in his racing prowess. Long before Mr. Smith nurtured the heart of a champion, Seabiscuit was taken for an ugly cowpony with limited hope as a racehorse despite his exemplary lineage. His knees were so poorly conformed that they didn’t lock, which is what allows a horse to sleep standing up in a "fight or flight" guardedness adapted from their ancient ancestors. Seabiscuit slept lying down, which was much of the time. This uncommonly tranquil thoroughbred loved to sleep and eat. He was known to eat his straw bedding when treats were withheld when trainer Mr. Smith was concerned about his ballooning weight.
He was, however, tenacious on the track. Ms. Hillenbrand, who knows horses, maintains that horses apply their own version of psychology. Seabiscuit was the master at "psyching-out" his four-legged opponents, and on several key occasions, his two-legged handlers as well. When Seabiscuit wanted to win, which was usually the case, he did.
The book has the angst of a soap opera and the "ah" of a fairy tale. The horse and his handlers were all underdogs. Mr. Howard, emotionally scarred by family tragedies and steeled by his own boot-strap success, seeks out the "has beens" and "also rans" to take a chance on blunt, stocky Seabiscuit, the taciturn trainer Mr. Smith and Mr. Pollard, a second-rate jockey. Together they overcame every adversity from soupy tracks to smarmy politics to reach the top of the game. In exploring the pain and failure these four face and then surmount, Ms. Hillenbrand is able to convey the true measure of their success.
Beyond the soap opera/fairy tale story of the Seabiscuit team is Ms. Hillenbrand’s own story. In the Ballantine paperback behind the notes, index and appendices is a "Conversation with Laura Hillenbrand." William Nack, a turf writer for Newsday and Sports Illustrated and author of "Secretariat, The Making of a Champion," in an interview with Ms. Hillenbrand reveals the reason why she may have been so sensitive in building the underlying theme of rising above. Ms. Hillenbrand has faced immense physical and psychological pain of her own. A bout with food poisoning in college led to years of debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome. She literally spent years bedridden. That she could work at all, let alone research and write such a remarkable book, is testimony to her own tenacious spirit.
In "Seabiscuit: An American Legend," Ms. Hillenbrand builds a strong case that the fortunes of three men and a horse were made when their unique and deeply hidden talents were unleashed in a confluence of team effort. Add one more to the team, as Ms. Hillenbrand joins Seabiscuit’s legend as the biographer who conquered her own demons to find unimaginable success in her book about what it takes to be a champion.
Here’s hoping the movie version follows the winning tradition.
Joan Ruddiman is a teacher and friend of the Allentown Public Library.