Red Horse Review



The Disney movie Secretariat has been highly with a star studded cast including Diane Lane and John Malkovich. This movie was inspired by the book with the same name by author William Nack. It is entirely non-fiction taking actual conversations, press articles, and horse races.
A reader can easily tell what this book is about, unless they are unfamiliar with horse racing. Spoiler alert, the horse’s name is Secretariat. It tells of the horses racing career and ends with the biggest and greatest performance of his career. The great thing is that there is not much opinion from the author. He never blatantly says, “Secretariat is the greatest race horse ever.” Nack uses the term, “Who many believe is the greatest race horse ever.” Also, for those of low intelligence, PICTURES, conviently located once in the middle of the book.
This is a great book about a great story. It poses new information to those totally in the dark about horse racing. Unfortunately, this book will not be liked by all. There may be some who quit in the first 100 pages (I almost did), because it tells textbook in depth of Secretariat’s family tree and the family tree of his owner. To me, that was the most boring part of the book. After the tree finishes, it really kicks off, getting really good, almost immediately turning into racing. Furthermore, some may not like the book because of the horse dialect used: furlongs, lengths, groom, Secretariat, and dam (actual word). There was also a lot of names being tossed around. So many I couldn’t follow and barely remember. But the book is definitely recommended to anyone passionate about horses. Also, if there are any history nerds, who may like detailed family tree or connections of too many people, do I have the book for you. Warning: if you read Secretariat, which if unclear I do personally recommend, there are some parts about horse sex that I think have scarred me mentally for life, especially since I am very visual when I read.
Secretariat is a great movie based on a great book on a great true story, more importantly the book idea, but still. . . The book is a great read for horse fans and tells of one of the greatest.