Horse America

In a powerful blend of history and contemporary reporting, New York Times reporter David Philipps traces the rich history of wild horses in America: their introduction by the Spanish conquistadors, their role in the epic battles between Native Americans and settlers, their vital place in American self-mythology. He travels through some of the most remote parts of the American West, known as Wild Horse Country, to investigate the wild horse's current dilemma, caught between the clashing ideals of ranchers, scientists, and more.

A peaceful mountaintop setting crucially removed from the constant scrutiny of the press, Camp David has served as both a site of critical diplomacy and unparalleled tranquility. It is where President and Mrs. Reagan rode horses through the mountains, where Gerald Ford could take a moment to jump on a trampoline with his daughter, where Nixon rode shotgun with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, and where Jimmy Carter could find the ultimate flight-sledding - only to break his clavicle two weeks before the end of his tenure.

Crazy Horse was the legendary military leader of the Oglala Sioux whose personal power and social nonconformity contributed to his reputation as being “strange.” Crazy Horse fought in many battles, including the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn, and held out tirelessly against the US government’s efforts to confine the Native Americans to reservations. Eventually, in the spring of 1877, he surrendered to military forces and ended up meeting a violent death. Now, nearly a century and a half later, Crazy Horse continues to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of people.

Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull: Their names are iconic, their significance in American history undeniable. Together, these two Lakota chiefs, one a fabled warrior and the other a revered holy man, crushed George Armstrong Custer’s vaunted Seventh Cavalry. Yet their legendary victory at the Little Big Horn has overshadowed the rest of their rich and complex lives. Now, based on years of research and drawing on a wealth of previously ignored primary sources, award-winning author Mark Lee Gardner delivers the definitive chronicle, thrillingly told, of these extraordinary Indigenous leaders.

The rescue of the last diving horse in America and the inspiring story of how horse and animal rescuer were each profoundly transformed by the other—from the award-winning animal rescuer of retired racing greyhounds and author of the best-selling Adopting the Racing Greyhound.

Americans have always loved animals, and those living prior to World War II were still close enough to their pioneer roots to feel a special affection for horses. After all, it was these noble animals that had carried soldiers and pulled plows and milk wagons alike. A horse was more than just a pet; it was a partner in the fight for survival. Just as many Americans had known special, unforgettable individuals, so they had known special horses.

He was the most feared and loathed Indian of his time, earning his reputation in surprise victories against the troops of Generals Crook and Custer at the Rosebud and Little Bighorn. Despite his enduring reputation, he has remained an enigma (even the whereabouts of his burial place are unknown, and no portrait or photograph of him exists). Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas Powers brings Crazy Horse to life in this vivid work of American history.

The home run horse, the runner that makes your fortune and changes your life, can come from anywhere. This book will explore the quest for the superior thoroughbred, who takes up the search for a life-changing horse, and why they do it with limited success.

In 1974, a disenfranchised young man from a broken home set out to do the impossible. With $100 in his pocket, a beat-up cavalry saddle, and a faraway look in his eye, John Egenes saddled his horse Gizmo and started down the trail on an adventure across the North American continent. Their seven-month journey took them across 11 states, from California to Virginia, ocean to ocean.

Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 — known to be one of the most sweeping and strict anti-immigration state laws passed in the United States — caused tremendous upheaval in Bob Worsley’s religious community in Mesa, Arizona. Deeply troubled by the blatantly racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric swirling in public political discourse, Worsley ran for state senator in 2012 against the previous Senate president and author of SB 1070, and won.

Hutton has now written a fascinating full biography of Sergeant Reckless, who earned two Purple Hearts for her heroic efforts, among other military decorations. Hutton has spoken with the marines who fought alongside Reckless and tells the complete and captivating tale of how a would-be Korean racehorse became one of the greatest Marine Corps wartime heroes. Sgt. Reckless brings the legend back to life more than half a century later.

Who was the most famous athlete one hundred years ago? A horse. In fact, harness racer Dan Patch was more than a celebrity, he was once the most recognizable figure in American sports. Born with a bad leg and nearly euthanized in 1896, Dan Patch led an ordinary wagon horse existence, pulling the grocer’s cart in Oxford, Indiana. It was when he won a race at the Indiana State Fair that Dan Patch’s fame began to build.

Her Korean name was Ah-Chim-Hai, meaning Flame-of-the-Morning. Af our-year-old chestnut-colored Mongolian racehorse with a white blaze down her face and three white stockings, she once amazed the crowds in Seoul with her remarkable speed. But the star racer was soon sold to an American marine and trained to carry heavy loads of artillery shells up and down steep hills under a barrage of bullets and bombs. The marines renamed her Reckless. Reckless soon proved fearless under fire, boldly trekking alone through the fiery gauntlet, exposed to explosions and shrapnel.

Of all the things that a nation, or even an individual, need to survive a crisis, none is perhaps as necessary as hope. That feeling that somehow one can survive, win even, though the odds are stacked against them and the outlook is grim. Throughout its history, the United States has been blessed, often when most needed, with hope from a strange place.

Winning the Triple Crown is considered the greatest accomplishment for a thoroughbred racehorse. The fact that there have been only eleven thoroughbred horses to win the Triple Crown, puts these non-human, super athletes into a class of their own. Take a trip into horse racing history with Bryan Jordan, where he will tell you the story behind each horse and looks into the lives of horse racing's finest - the Triple Crown Champions. Learn about the upsets, the rivals, and their amazing triumphs, which often times came with tremendous challenges.

The contemporary lore surrounding the 1879 Alford-White affray--that occurred in Tarrant County, Texas--has celebrated George H. White as a forgotten Fort Worth peace officer killed in the line of duty by horse thieves and desperados. This sensationalized narrative, based on the yellow journalism of the day, has been glamorized in books, has been written about in magazine articles, and has been honored on national and local memorials. Nevertheless, 20 years of research has revealed a different insight.

Henry Lee learnt to ride before he was five, joined Washington's Army at nineteen, and was appointed Captain of the Fifth Troop of Virginia Dragoons at twenty. At twenty-two, Colonel Lee took command of a mixed cavalry and infantry unit known as "Lee's Legion"—the finest offensive team in the Continental Army. Nicknamed "Light-Horse Harry" for his raids on British supply wagons, the young Virginian quickly earned a reputation for horsemanship and distinguished himself as one of the most skilled and courageous cavalry officers of the American Revolution.

It’s 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don’t get to own. So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to the place where land is free—if they can get to it fast enough. But the journey isn’t easy—the terrain is rough, the bandits are brutal, and every interaction carries a heavy undercurrent of danger.

Isaac Murphy, born enslaved in 1861, still reigns as one of the greatest jockeys in American history. Black jockeys like Murphy were at the top of the most popular sport in America at the end of the nineteenth century. They were internationally famous, the first African American superstar athletes—and with wins in three Kentucky Derbies and countless other prestigious races, Murphy was the greatest of them all.

Henry Lee III - whose nickname, "Light-Horse," came from his legendary exploits with mounted troops and skill in the saddle - was a dashing cavalry commander and hero of America's War for Independence. By now most Americans have forgotten about Light-Horse Harry Lee, the father of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, but this new biography reveals he may be one of the most fascinating figures in our nation's history. A daring military commander, Lee was also an early American statesman whose passionate argument in favor of national unity helped ratify the Constitution.