Native Dancer: The Grey Ghost Hero of a Golden Age - Hardcover

Eisenberg, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446530700 ISBN 13: 9780446530705

Publisher: Warner Books, 2003

Synopsis

A portrait of celebrated thoroughbred racing horse Native Dancer, nicknamed "The Grey Ghost," relates his competition in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, two-time win of the Horse of the Year title, and induction into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. 40,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

John Eisenberg, lead sports columnist for the Baltimore Sun, lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reviews

With an introduction that compares 1950s racehorse Native Dancer with Elvis and Milton Berle, Eisenberg puts a great deal of pressure on his volume to convince readers these comparisons are viable. Thankfully, in most cases, the book and author live up to the challenge. Alternating between captivating retellings of Dancer's come-from-behind racing style (the account of Dancer's rally from 10 lengths down in 1954's Metropolitan is stunning) and a detailed account of how TV catapulted horse racing to the top of America's sports scene, Eisenberg's evenhanded writing style makes it easy to see how Dancer captivated Americans from coast-to-coast. Like the horse's popularity, Dancer's diverse race team-a Vanderbilt owner, a Cajun high school dropout rider, a folksy black groom-personified a cross-section of American society and helped make Dancer as American as the glamorous Elvis or the comforting Berle. If there is a hitch in this book's giddap, it is its focus on the controversial 1953 Kentucky Derby, which, though covered engagingly, occurred in the middle of Dancer's career, forcing the book to a premature climax. But that fault belongs to real-life timing, not Eisenberg, whose thorough research, historical analysis and old-fashioned horse sense bring to life an American hero whose nickname, the "Grey Ghost," should be as remembered as those of the King and Uncle Miltie-if not Seabiscuit. Illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A number of recent books have tried to follow in the remarkable hoofprints of Laura Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit, hoping to share a measure of that best-seller's phenomenal success. This one actually merits the comparison. Native Dancer's story lacks the drama of Seabiscuit's rags-to-riches tale. He was a regally bred colt owned by one of America's richest aristocrats, and he was never an underdog through his 22-race career from 1952 through 1954. Native Dancer was nevertheless a great horse, and he captured the country's imagination much as Seabiscuit had done in the late 1930s, employing an indomitable will and a devastating stretch kick to win 21 races, with his only loss coming by a heartbreaking nose in the 1953 Kentucky Derby. His fame was amplified by the popularization of television and his gray coat, which made him easy to find on the black and white screens, to the degree that TV Guide named Native Dancer, along with Ed Sullivan and Arthur Godfrey, as the nation's biggest television star of 1953. Eisenberg's research into the lives of Native Dancer, owner Alfred Vanderbilt, trainer Bill Winfrey, and jockey Eric Guerin is exhaustive, and he tells their stories with skill and understanding. If the stories aren't quite as compelling as those of Seabiscuit and his connections, they can still be read with a great deal of pleasure. Dennis Dodge
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Warner Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0446530700
• ISBN 13: 9780446530705
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304