Man o' War: A Legend Like Lightning

Very engaging and informative story about the race horse that all other race horses are compared to. Full of verified information from reliable sources, it’s told in a very readable style. If you’re interested in Thoroughbred horse racing in the early to mid 1900s I think you would enjoy this book.

The author does a remarkable service telling the story of American horse racing's legend of the roaring twenty 's . The insight into Man O War's groom is enlightening and entertaining.

I thought at first that this book was a little condensed and perhaps was for kids. Then I got into it and found that it added more about the Man's personality than some accounts have said. He is generally portrayed as almost as bad as his sire and grand sire in temper and nervousness. However, it is apparent that he liked his jockeys and they liked and trusted him. Mr. Riddle was not quite the guy who depresses all at the party as he seemed to be much more open about sharing Big Red and his farm with the public than with War Admiral but he was younger then. That was good to learn. The pictures are a delightful bonus. To stand a picture of Man o War next to one of Secretariat would start a new war on social media about which horse was greater as they both had magnificent conformation and you could see the determination in their eyes. Lastly there is an appendix at the end giving a history of the foundation sires of the American Thoroughbred breed as well as Man O War's lineage and the foals he sired with their racing history. Don't write this one off. This book is appealing to horse lovers and non horse lovers alike. It provides a good peak at the good and bad of horse racing.

What an enlightening peer into the history of American horse racing! Tracing the life of an amazing thoroughbred through the tracks of history as seen by all who loved him. See the development of horse racing develop to where we see it now. Great writing!

Man O' War's story is beautiful, gripping, empowering and frustrating. He was in such a class by himself that there is no denying that we never truly got to see Man O' War to his fullest extent. While this book does its best to dispel rumors and myths about Man O' War, it also makes it shockingly clear just how fast and incredibly multi-faceted this horse was. Man O' War could handle distances both short and long, and he often set both American and World Records running only against himself, as unfortunately the more people realized how fast he was, the less likely anyone wanted to try and face him. While the book starts off a little slow, Ms. Ours ultimately weaves a cohesive and informative story with many insights into the personal challenges and struggles that both Man O' War, his trainer Lou, his jockeys, and his owner Sam Riddle had to face as they came to realize the sheer power of the horse in their hands. Ms. Ours also does a wonderful job giving us some context for the time by sharing information about Sir Barton, the first triple crown winner who would come to be seen by the public as Man o' War's biggest challenger, which helps set the stage for Man o' War's epic match race with him at the end. I really enjoyed learning about Sir Barton because when you see all of his accomplishments it creates an actual sense of rivalry while also really shedding light on just how incredibly fast Man o' War was, as the final race with Sir Barton gives you a pretty straight comparison between the two horses. Man O' War is a legend not only because he broke many records and scared other horse owners from even racing him (as time went on), but he also is a legend because there still remains some doubt as to whether we ever saw Man O' War pressed to his full extent, not to mention we never did see him race as a four year old (for understandable reasons). In fact the book only recounts one instance where a whip was used on him, and only one time, and when the whip hit he took off ahead of another horse in the last few furlongs so fast that people couldn't believe he could have any energy left to do that at the pace he was setting. Here was a horse so fast and powerful it is likely we will never see such a spectacle again. For horse racing lovers and sports history lovers, Dorothy Ours has done a masterful work with Man O' War.

Nice book, full of history and human interest, including the bizarre politics of NY racing and the Jockey Club. However, it was a bit short on the kind of "horsey" information that horse lovers crave. Such a shame not to have included more about Will Harbut's relationship to Man O'War, but gave a clear portrait of the man himself. Good read.

As a Man o' War fan, I've read every one of the biographies currently available on him, and liked or loved them all. What I like about Ms. Ours' book is that she uncovered the truth behind the legend and presented it in a readable form. In the end I learned several new things about him and his connections. I also liked that she covered Sir Barton's side of the story, and I found out that actually, as a three-year-old he was a really good horse. Another thing I liked is that Ms. Ours kept the book clean. There was the occasional language when quoting sportswriters or Man o' War's people, but there was nothing crude. She also didn't go overboard in praising Man o' War for his accomplishments - she acknowledged he was a great racehorse, but didn't attempt to compare him with any others or the like. The book covers Man o' War's parents' careers, nearly his entire life (there is very little coverage on his stud career, which was disappointing), what happened to his connections, and Sir Barton's career and his connections; the majority of the book focuses on Man o' War's racing career and what surrounded it. One of the uncovered pieces of history I found interesting was that high imposts (weight he would have to carry as a four-year-old) was maybe not the only thing that prompted Man o' War's retirement. It was refreshing to see a view on his legendary 100-length win in the Lawrence Realization that looks into *why* he won by roughly that much, not just that he did. There is also a good selection of photographs. If you're a die hard fan of Man o' War or a horse racing fan, this is probably the book for you. If you're new to horse racing, it might be a bit much, with the load of information it contains, in which case I would recommend the Thoroughbred Legends biography of Man o' War.

You learn about the history of thoroughbred racing in detail as well as Man o’War. The font is small in the paperback but, the book is worth reading if you love thoroughbred horses.