Customer Reviews

Barbaro: A Nation's Love Story

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This book dishonors Barbaro. It is poorly written with many sloppy mistakes. It is a hodge-podge of unattributed articles. Some great pictures, but again, poorly edited and sometimes incorrect captions.
Buyers, beware!!!

The authors are unable to even identify the subject of their book. A photograph of Barbaro and his stable mate Messaging appears on page 9 with the caption, "Another view of Barbaro's mom, La Ville Rouge." I understand that a few editing errors will slip past into the final printing, but this book contains page after page of such errors.

Photographs blur and lose definition because they are cheaply printed in black and white on the same paper stock as the text. There are almost thirty pages of padded filler where the authors simply transcribed the
UPenn Barbaro web site updates and messages from fans.

This book appears to have been primarily "researched" at a keyboard.

One of the many things that made Barbaro's story so remarkable is the wonderful confluence of horse and people. Fine people were taking care of a fine horse, all supported by a loving fan base, and each involved for all the right reasons. These authors have put out a careless book that does no service to Barbaro, or even to themselves.

This book would be good for someone who did not follow the story of Barbaro's recovery in depth. I am an avid FOB (Fan of Barbaro) and was hoping to read new, insider information in this book...unfortunately, I did not learn anything new...there were two pictures(one of Barbaro and one of La Ville Rouge)where the captions were switched. I believe a non-FOB would not notice, however, I did because I am such an avid fan of Barbaro.

This book is about what I expected-- an overview of things we've already heard. Anyone who remotely followed Barbaro's story through the media already knows everything written in this book. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year, this isn't worth the read. This book almost seems a sacrilege to Barbaro and to those who loved and cared for him-- the author seems to be willing to paste the horse's name on a mediocre book for the sake of a quick dollar. Do yourself a favor and read 'real' racing literature, like Hillenbrand's "Seabiscuit" or Nack's "Secretariat- The Making of a Champion." A quick internet search on Barbaro will uncover better information by more talented writers.

In summation, a huge disappointment. But hopefully one that will be corrected by the authors. Mr. Philbin is a wonderful man. I thank him for his kindness and his efforts to address the concerns of his customers, and I am sure that he will do what he can to get the book revised.

That being said ...

There is absolutely nothing in this book that Barbaro fans (FOBs) who know how to surf the internet don't already know. There aren't even any original photographs. Believe me; if you are an FOB, you've seen it all before.

Typos are painfully obvious. There are a lot of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization that make the book quite difficult to read.

It was obviously thrown together at the last minute, but that is NO excuse! The concept behind the book was well intentioned, but in their rush to get the book to press it seems the quality suffered a great deal.

I hope this book is taken off the shelves until some major revisions can be made. It has potential, but in its current form it is an absolute disgrace to Barbaro, his connections and his fans. Barbaro deserves better consideration than this. His story touched millions and the effects of his life and death will reverberate throughout the horse industry forever.

I was looking forward to receiving this book, but now that I have it I could not be more disappointed. I'm sending mine back. I've been a loyal Amazon customer for years and this is the first time I have ever felt the need to return an item.

If it is revised though, I will gladly purchase another copy.

So just a friendly warning to all of you wonderful Amazon customers - SAVE YOUR MONEY. There are currently two other Barbaro books available here on Amazon that I think you'll appreciate much more than this one. I simply urge you to think twice before you purchase this, chances are you will be just as disappointed as the rest of us.

I was deeply disappointed with this book. Having followed Barbaro's recovery avidly on a daily basis, and having fallen in love with him, there is a hole in my heart now which cannot be filled. He will always remain a champion and will be remembered by all of those who loved him.

Therefore, much to my dismay, I was disapointed, not only by the book's appearance and presentation, but the writing, the errors, the apparent haste in which the book was thrown together to be released quickly.

I was looking forward to a really wonderful book, with photographs and a quality of writing and presentation that would be worthy in honoring this horse. I must say that my expectations were not met. I have returned the book to Amazon for a refund.

This book is superficial. There's nothing here I didn't already know. The writing is bad and it's hard to read. I didn't like that the pictures (black & white) were not on glossy paper. Don't waste your money!!!!!!!!!

I waited to buy this book, knowing that I wasn't emotionally ready to read it. I eventually bought it when I bought W. Nack's Ruffian book and the book about Secretariat's groom. I read the other two books first, and then the Barbaro book. The Barbaro book is littered with mistakes. The editors did an extremely poor job. I realize that casual horseracing fans will probably enjoy the book and won't notice the errors, but there is sooo much missing from this book! I was extremely disappointed in this book. It is not a worthy remembrance of Barbaro, his connections and the fans worldwide who followed his story.

What a poorly written book about such a fantastic horse. It is loaded with other obscure facts unrelated to the horse, trainer or story line. As a reader, we are forced to endure "side trips" as directed by the author which have nothing to do with the horse.
Remember this horse was a spectacular race horse, but it is difficult to tell with this book! I would not recommend this book to anyone, except to the authors to revise this.
Sad, such a poor tribute to such a great horse.

I would not recommend this book. I was so surprised by how poorly written it was that I actually came on Amazon to see how other people reacted to it. The writing is very hard to follow, with many mistakes. The book is definitely not for horse people, as even basic terminology is explained. Overall, I would say that this book leaves much to be desired.