Seabiscuit

I generally leave pop culture commentary to the Trunk, but sometimes I can’t resist a plug. This is old news, but if you haven’t read Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit, you should. It is a great book in every way; a wonderful slice of American history written not by an academic historian but by a writer for Equus and Thoroughbred Times magazines. Seabiscuit is one of the best books to appear in some years, and, while its author had no political intentions whatever, the book’s themes will appeal strongly to conservative readers.
Universal Pictures is coming out with a movie, starring Tobey Maguire as Red Pollard, Seabiscuit’s principal jockey, in July. I, for one, can’t wait. In the meantime, PBS has jumped on the bandwagon with a special to be aired Monday night. Based on this review in the New York Times, it sounds pretty good. You can switch to it after the Little Trunk interview on MSNBC.
Hillenbrand’s book says that in 1938, the personality to whom the largest number of column inches of press were devoted was not Hitler or Roosevelt, but Seabiscuit. The photo below shows Seabiscuit, center, in one of his last races, at the Santa Anita racetrack in 1940. All I can say is–whether you’re already a horse racing fan or not, read the book.