Customer Reviews

Man O' War

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is clearly the best account of Man O' War written. It reads briskly like a novel, it is full of energy and excitement, and ends with an excellent section detailing Big Red's lineage and performance. As you come to the book's close you will feel sadness when he passes away because the horse raced so well and then went on to live an incredibly long life that you come to know him as a real being, not some sort of aloof creature. Page and Cooper's book is a great tribute to this magnificent animal. For anyone of any age who likes a good story, a good book, and definitely anyone who enjoys horses, this account is sure to become a favorite. One of the best books I've read this year.

This book is a reprint of a 1950 title that I had never run across before, and it's quite fascinating. Though a paperback, it includes some great photos I hadn't ever seen. It also includes more information than I had previously seen on some of Man O'War's competitors, and a wonderful sire-by-sire section at the end which traces Man O'War's lineage back to the Godolphin Arabian. It has more detail than I could've imagined existed on some of these horses. Highly recommended!

OMG...I just now found out about this REPRINT! I am SO EXCITED. I have read this book many times when our library actually had TWO copies in circulation. Of course, like most of the really great horse books in our library system, both copies were 'lost' by someone who checked 'em out (riiiiiight). Dang, I HATE that...arrrggh.

Anyway, I've come across used copies for sale but they're always so freaking expensive - I could never bring myself to spend all that MONEY. So it's a GREAT thrill to see this wonderful book - which has everything you could possibly want in a book about that great, legendary horse - at around $10 or so here on Amazon! Yay!

Like Walter Farley's "faction" version of the great horse's life, the authors used the unpublished manuscript "Turf Career of Man O'War" a good deal but the book also includes a COMPLETE list of his progeny, auction prices, race records, mares bred to, etc. AND every single one of the Daily Racing Form official charts for his 21 races. Amazing, and great reading. Of course something to keep in mind was when the book came out in 1951, there were still a lot of folks alive who remembered seeing "Big Red" in person, and the horse himself had just died four years before, a lot of key people were still alive and so on. This book is like a rich slice of chocolate cake, immensely delicious and satisfying!

If you haven't figured it out by now, I recommend this book :)

This is a must read. I read Walter Farley's book on Man O' War as a child and it lite my imagination then, but this book goes much farther and fills in the history of the "Mostest Hoss" with his partentage included as well as the acomplishments of his offspring it makes for very, very, interesting reading. Highly recommend. Great work on history almost lost!! So fascinating to see the pedigree go back to the Godolphin Arabian as well as seeing the lineage being carried on. One must be a horse lover and a lover of history to appreciate.

This is my favorite race horse of all times. first book I read about him was from the library. I just love this book...very good read.

I grew up reading this book....I was the only one who checked it out of our local library for about 10 years, and I checked it out more than once. So being able to buy it finally was a real treat. Very engaging book that puts you inside the Man o'War story like no other.

I absolutely loved this book! I had read Walter Farley's novel about Man o' War, and enjoyed that book too even though it was written for children. This book is historical fact, but is not at all dry. It is completely about the horse, not the jockey, not the owners (except where and when necessary for clarity, or how they influenced the horse). The authors made Man o' War truly come alive on the pages, and told us about his lineage without losing me. When I read in the Introduction "He was always a horse you referred to as 'who' instead of 'which'" I knew I was in the right book, and was going to love it. It did not let me down; the authors never for a minute consider Man o' War a 'which'--he is always 'who.' Royalty! This book is history made interesting. My parents were born about the time Man o' War was born, and my mother was raised in Saratoga Springs, NY where Mr. Riddle bought Man o' War. I am the owner of a great-great-great granddaughter of Man o' War, great-great granddaughter of War Admiral, Winspiration, and her foal, Dark Stormy Night. These facts explain my special affinity for this book, but those with no such connections, I believe, would still enjoy this book. All my horses are "who," never "which." This is a great book for horse lovers, especially thoroughbred horse lovers.

Perhaps I am a little biased. As a Black Stallion series fan, I have read Walter Farley's account of Man O'War and thought it was fantastic. It was well written, fast paced and informative. However, I figured there were some things missing, or not exact, and like many I've always been intrigued by Big Red, so I tried to find another book about the mostest horse. Cooper and Treat's book came highly recommended so I figured "Why not?"
I was not that impressed. The addition of Man o War's heritage and sons and daughters was interesting. And knowing the odds for all the races (the actual tickets are in the book, too) was neat. But I though the book was very slow paced, and very dry. I understand that there was not as much characterization in terms of the people...after all, this was a book about a horse. But Man O' War never really came alive in the pages of this book. At least, not like he did in Farley's.
All in all, if it wasn't for the heritage and other extras, I would say to skip this book. There weren't many pictures (let alone good ones) and it was rather dull. You would be better off with Farley's novelization.

This was one of the best Man O' War biographies I've read. I found it to be informative yet not dragging, rather entertaining, especially for a biography, and the extras such as complete race records of all his foals and the like were a great bonus. Man O' War's personality really shown through, and just enough background on his owners, trainer, jockeys, and his rivals was provided, without completely taking the story away from him. There were several pictures I hadn't seen before, too. I would recommend this to any horse/horse racing enthusiast.

A wonderful book, not the dry statistical information that you could look up online. It gives you a real sense of the political climate, world events and the people and the truly magnificent Man O' War. A warm insight into to his incredible racing ability. "Red" was a happy, intelligent gracious animal. If only humans could take a lesson. What a delight. Highly recommended.