Laughing in the Hills (A Hungry Mind Find) [Paperback]

Bill Barich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

This wonderful 1980 horse racing classic never loses its luster or charm. Author Bill Barich explores explores the day-to-day internal world of horse racing-- from the backside to the backstretch. This entertaining story of the lives and tribulations of various racetrack personalities is sure to extract every human emotion. The author's summer adventure after a family tragedy finds him living the life many diehard racing enthusiasts wish they could. Barich's adventure discovers more than he could ever imagine about something much bigger than racing-life itself.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Barich debuted in 1980 with this magnificent meditation on horse-racing, yet the rich, full portrait he paints of the track and its colorful citizenry--human and hoofed--is only prelude to the work's enduring appeal. It is really a finely crafted memoir about loss and longing, renewal and affirmation.

Its opening is irresistible: "For me it did not begin with the horses. They came later, after a phone call and a simple statement of fact: Your mother has cancer." Barich copes with that horrible reality as best he can, losing his pain in the drama of the track, and finding himself in a pilgrimage through Renaissance literature and the memories of an earlier part of his life lived in Florence, Italy. If the combination seems a longshot at best, remember: the greater the odds, the better the pay-off, and Laughing in the Hills pays off staggeringly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Hungry Mind Press (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188691320X
• ISBN-13: 978-1886913202
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,373,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please read this book, January 24, 2002

By 

Philip Reed (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Laughing in the Hills (A Hungry Mind Find) (Paperback)

I'm not even finished with this book yet, but I got online to see what kind of response it has received. I'm staggered to see it is not ranked higher and had only a few reviews.

This is one of those books where every page brings insights so painful, or so beautiful, I shake my head in amazement. I'm reading it slowly, lovingly, and I'll tell all my friends about it.

I'm a writer, and have written a novel about horse racing. I've explored this same territory. I almost wish I'd written this book. It is filled with truth and sadness and many, many fine portraits of the people that hang around on the backside of the track.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book for thoroughbred owners to read., December 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Laughing in the Hills (A Hungry Mind Find) (Paperback)

This guy is a very honest type of writer who sets aside his ego to get at the truth.

The book tells the story of the author's attempt to make a go of professional handicapping, but he spends a lot of time on the backstretch getting to know the people and the horses.

There is the backstretch as your trainer describes it to you ("well-oiled machine operating at peak efficiency"), and the backstretch as Barich paints it (loosely collected ragtag assortment of people and horses trying to stay afloat). Even though luck is hard to come by for many of the characters in the book, they have an earnest dignity as Bill Barich depicts them, and love and respect for the animals is predominant.

If you like racing you will like this book; if you don't like racing or are indifferent to it, you will probably like the book anyway.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorites., December 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Laughing in the Hills (A Hungry Mind Find) (Paperback)

This unusual and beautifully written work gets right to the heart of its topics. OK, I happen to love racing and fine horses, appreciate Florentine art and culture, and enjoy fly fishing, but I believe "Laughing in the Hills" would appeal to all who enjoy good writing. I have read this book a few times since first discovering it, and have shared it with friends as well.