Finished Lines: A Collection of Memorable Writings on Thoroughbred Racing [Hardcover]

Frank Scatoni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2002

In this book, author and editor Frank Scatoni captures the essence of the sport that is both exhilarating and breathtaking, frustrating, and cruel.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Daily Racing Form (October 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970014732
• ISBN-13: 978-0970014733
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,412,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Did you like "Seabiscuit"? Know anybody who did?, December 12, 2002

By 

"uthorje" (Wayne, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finished Lines: A Collection of Memorable Writings on Thoroughbred Racing (Hardcover)

This book is a fabulous collection of writings about the world of horse racing--horses, jockeys, trainers, the works--by some of the best writers the sport and the world has ever seen. Count down to Derby Day 1955 with William Faulkner, revel in Damon Runyon's snappy verse about a jockey named Sande, and follow the great Andrew Beyer's misadventures at a bush track in Massachusetts.
An excellent gift for racing fans or for fans of superior writing!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent, but quite nice anyway., April 21, 2006

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finished Lines: A Collection of Memorable Writings on Thoroughbred Racing (Hardcover)

Frank Scatoni, Finished Lines: A Collection of Memorable Writing on Thoroughbred Racing (DRF Press, 2002)

The anthology is a curious beast. Someone culls thousands upon thousand of pages of writing that might possibly be included and selects what that person thinks is the best (or most appropriate) of that writing to include. And I can't offhand think of a single anthology where more than an handful of other people agreed with the editor that the writing chosen was, in fact, the best or most appropriate of those thousand of pages.

Finished Lines continues on in that grand tradition. There is some amazing writing here, including some which has been far too long neglected (I pity both horse fans and non horse fans alike who have not yet read Bill Barich's brilliant Laughing in the Hills, excerpted here, even as I envy them the experience of being able to read it for the first time, and racing enthusiasts who have not read David Alexander's brilliant writing on Kelso's career have a real treat in store as well), and some that has achieved a form of immortality only because it was popular back in the day, and is the yesteryear equivalent of, say, a Britney Spears tune (do we really, really need to immortalize the mediocre prose and unreadable doggerel of Damon Runyon any more? Honestly?).

Still, the pearls certainly outweigh the swine, and this one's a great investment for any horse fan. You're sure to find some old friends as well as some wonderful new writing waiting to be discovered. Worth your time. *** ?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best collection of columns on horse racing, January 6, 2006

By 

David Bridgforth (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finished Lines: A Collection of Memorable Writings on Thoroughbred Racing (Hardcover)

Simply terriffic book compiling columns from racing writers through the century. As a fan of the game it's a bit sad to see how the sport has lost significance as the century passed. Still, this was the best racing book I own. As much as I like "Seabiscuit", "Ruffian", and the "Secretariat" books, "Finished Lines" is my favorite because it keeps moving and covers so many great writers.