Horse Memoir

In 1904, at age 23, two-time Kentucky Derby-winner Jimmy Winkfield was forced from American horseracing by a virulent combination of racism and hard times. Wink left his beloved Kentucky, bought a steamer ticket for Europe, and made the world his racetrack. There he embarked on a decades-long odyssey, rising to superstardom and winning and losing two fortunes. Driven at gunpoint from Russia by the Bolshevik Army and from France by Nazi occupiers, the 105-pound jockey proved himself the most resilient, courageous athlete of the 20th century.

Tracey had been told this so often as a child. Yet, two months after the horse-riding accident, Tracey was still not able to fulfil it. In fact, at that stage, she couldn’t do anything for herself. You’d think that after nearly losing her life and her abilities to live life as it was before because of the riding accident, that she’d be nervous about getting back on a horse. But her love for horses and riding was so deeply ingrained within her that she couldn’t imagine a life without it. Getting back on a horse...she was determined that she would.

The Horse Lover weaves together Day's recollections of his cowboy adventures astride some of his best horses, all of which taught him indispensable lessons about loyalty, perseverance, and hope. This heartfelt memoir reveals the Herculean task of balancing the requirements of the government with the needs of wild horses.

For many outsiders, the word “ranching” conjures romantic images of riding on horseback through rolling grasslands while living and working against a backdrop of breathtaking mountain vistas. In this absorbing memoir of life in the Wyoming high country, Mary Budd Flitner offers a more authentic glimpse into the daily realities of ranch life - and what it takes to survive in the ranching world. Some of Flitner’s recollections are humorous and lighthearted. Others take a darker turn.

Michael Morpurgo is a national treasure. With books such as Private Peaceful, Kensuke’s Kingdom, and The Wreck of the Zanzibar, he has enchanted a whole generation of children. His is a rare gift. In a unique collaboration, Maggie Fergusson explores Michael Morpurgo’s life through seven biographical chapters, to which he responds with seven autobiographical stories of his own. The portrait that emerges is one of light and shade: the light very bright, the shade complex and often painful.

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.

This is not a fairy tale, nor a love story, but bound into the truths of everyday deeds, in a world that doesn't exist today. Once upon a time, near a century younger, lives so fresh, every experience cherished by a thought and a nation on the brink. From the honesty of memory, we live for the moment, because our next might be our last in a war to end all wars. Hear from the lips of those that lived, those that felt, those that dreamed, and those that didn't make it. This is their story, told from a small city called Perth.

When asked in an interview what he most liked about rodeo, three-time world champion saddle-bronc rider “Cody” Bill Smith said simply, “Horses that buck.” Smith redefined the image of America’s iconic cowboy. Determined as a boy to escape a miner’s life in Montana, he fantasized a life in rodeo and went on to earn thirteen trips to the national finals, becoming one of the greatest of all riders.

As a Jew whose parents survived the Nazi concentration camps, I learned life is fragile, and survival arbitrary. As a jockey, I developed an approach to life of living in the moment, of pushing the envelope, of reacting first, because not reacting can cost you the race, or maybe your life. Jockeys are modern day serfs that travel the country picking up rides where possible, for the most part earning scraps, guaranteed to be seriously injured. Did I bend the rules? Yes. Did I break many of them? Most certainly, because that's the way the game is played.

From the suburban sprawl of 1960s Bloomington, Minnesota, to a stereotypical family farm in western Illinois, to a mid-sized enclave of oil and rusted iron in Ohio, the life journey of Mike Pickett ambles through the last gasp of the Industrial Age and into a digitized world where we imagine ourselves to be different from the thousands of generations that preceded us.

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.

Last Ride of the Iron Horse tells the tale of Lou Gehrig's final year in the Yankee lineup, as he dealt with early effects of the deadly disease ALS. For much of the 1938 season, Gehrig - dubbed the Iron Horse for his strength and reliability - struggled with slumps and a mystifying loss of power. Fans booed, and sportswriters called for him to be benched.

In Celebrating the Seasons, Amanda shares funny and charming stories about life with her family and their many four-legged charges and describes their activities at Ravenseat, from lambing and shearing to haymaking and feeding the flock in midwinter. Her gorgeous photographs showcase the famous Swaledale landscape she writes about, from the sweeping moors to rare wildflowers and the elusive hares glimpsed in the field.

In Golden Sheaves, Black Horses, Archer has recorded the beauty of the west of England and the villagers living in the area during the last decades of the 19th Century. Archer explained his decision to write about these stubborn and strong characters by saying: "I felt it would be such a pity if, when these characters died, their sayings, customs, ways of life, how they dressed, should vanish with them." Thanks to Fred Archer's powers of observation and memory, and above all his truthful turn of phrase, they never will.

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.

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.

In this delightful coming-of-age memoir, Rich Israel takes off on a journey of self-discovery during the late 1960s. Renouncing societal norms, he hitchhikes across the country, works at a circus, and rides a horse hundreds of miles through the Rocky Mountain wilderness - all the while, the draft and Vietnam War are nipping at his heels. Join Rich and his canine companion, Charlie, as they encounter one colorful character after another, from a loudmouthed carnival boss to an ax-loving dishwasher to a sultry flower child, whose bewitching powers lead to lust, longing, and heartbreak.

Corey White was a golden child. He knew this because his father would hit his mother and his sisters but not him. And his mother adored him so much she let him drop out of primary school. After losing his father to jail and his mother to heroin, though, he became a target for cruelty and dysfunction in foster homes. A scholarship to a prestigious boarding school lifted him out of foster care and awakened a love of learning and reading for him, but this was soon overwhelmed by a crushing depression and drug addiction.

They had no business being there. They were up against million-dollar horses owned by patricians, oilmen, Arab sheiks, and Hollywood producers. They were 10 regular guys, and all they wanted was to win a race. Instead, they won the hearts of America.

The father of the Kentucky Derby called him "the greatest all-around Thoroughbred in American racing history". Sportswriter Grantland Rice simply called him "the greatest racehorse". Now Eliza McGraw tells the story of how a gangling, long-shot Kentucky Derby winner named Exterminator became one of the most beloved racehorses of all time.