ONE OF USA TODAY'S "20 SUMMER BOOKS YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS"
In the bestselling tradition of works by such authors as Susan Orlean
and Mary Roach, a New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist
explores why so many people--including herself--are obsessed with
horses.
It may surprise you to learn that there are over seven million horses in
America--even more than when they were the only means of
transportation--and nearly two million horse owners. Acclaimed
journalist and avid equestrian Sarah Maslin Nir is one of them; she
began riding horses when she was just two years old and hasn't stopped
since. Horse Crazy is a fascinating, funny, and moving love letter to
these graceful animals and the people who--like her--are obsessed with
them. It is also a coming-of-age story of Nir growing up an outsider
within the world's most elite inner circles, and finding her true north
in horses.
Nir takes readers into the lesser-known corners of the riding world and
profiles some of its most captivating figures. We meet Monty Roberts,
the California trainer whose prowess earned him the nickname "the man
who listens to horses," and his pet deer; George and Ann Blair, who at
their riding academy on a tiny island in Manhattan's Harlem River seek
to resurrect the erased legacy of the African American cowboy; and
Francesca Kelly, whose love for an Indian nobleman shaped her life's
mission: to protect an endangered Indian breed of horse and bring them
to America.
Woven into these compelling character studies, Nir shares her own moving
personal narrative. She details her father's harrowing tale of surviving
the Holocaust, and describes an enchanted but deeply lonely upbringing
in Manhattan, where horses became her family. She found them even in the
middle of the city, in a stable disguised in an old townhouse and in
Central Park, when she chased down truants as an auxiliary mounted
patrol officer. And she speaks candidly of how horses have helped her
overcome heartbreak and loss.
Infused with heart and wit, and with each chapter named after a horse
Nir has loved, Horse Crazy is an unforgettable blend of beautifully
written memoir and first-rate reporting.
