Rating: 
Summary: a real-life suspense novel
Review: This marvelous book reads like a suspense novel. Of course, those of us who saw the 1973 Triple Crown races (I was 14 years old when I saw them, and I will never forget the second half of the Belmont-- race announcer Chick Anderson exclaiming, "He is moving like a tremendous machine"-- and meanwhile, my Mom and I watching the whole thing on TV and yelling "Look at him go!") know how the tale ends, but Mr. Nack is such a wonderful storyteller that that you can't help feeling the goosebumps as you read about the events leading up to the Triple Crown races, as well as the exquisitely detailed descriptions of those races. I agree with the the reviewer who stated that Ms. Nack does a wonderful job of describing the details of horseracing; especially his explanation of the 12-second furlong and how that leads into his grand description of the 1973 Belmont Stakes. And so many wonderful major and minor characters: The aristocratic owner, Mrs. Tweedy; the volatile trainer, Lucien Lauren; the jockey, Ron Turcotte, who was the first to realize that he was riding the best race horse ever; and Charles Hatton, the "Daily Racing Form" columnist who was in constant search of the right metaphor to describe the Thoroughbred that surpassed all others in terms of speed, stamina, and heart.
Rating:
Summary: Written with love, and it shows
Review: William Nack is the definitive biographer of Secretariat, and he earned this honorable position by pouring his heart and soul into this book and his essays about the horse. Nack records each detail of Meadow Stable's wonderkind with fanatical attention, as if he were afraid of letting any nuance of the horse's magic slip away. If you want a blow-by-blow account of Secretariat's life, as seen by one close to the action, then this book is for you. Also try to find Nack's tribute to Secretariat, an essay written the year of the horse's death, 1989.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: With all the hype of this year's Triple Crown and hoping for another champion, the media managed to bring up bits of Secretariat's remarkable accomplishments. I remembered his Triple Crown, but had not known much more about this amazing animal. I became starved for information on Secretariat and thus came across Mr. Nack's book. What a wonderful, wonderful piece of work. I am thankful for the opportunity to read it, and finished it in two days, wishing there was more. Though he never says it blatantly, I get the impression from statements made by Mrs. Tweedy, that she never really had the love for the horse that he deserved, seems she always gave him a back seat to Riva Ridge, and I think he deserved more from her. Here is a remarkable animal with incredible abilities that served his human caretakers and lifted them up to a greater level. Thank you Mr. Nack for the thoughts of those who rode and worked with the horse closely, as they relate through their hearts the soul & spirit of the animal, and how truly great he was. That the horse touched you the way he did gives me faith in the hearts of men that we can appreciate and realize when gifts are given to us and share those feelings with others.
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